Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one’s own acts, done and undone.

Pa-Auk Forest Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in the Theravāda tradition, with emphasis on the teaching and practice of both Samatha (tranquility) and Vipassanā (insight) meditation. Situated in a forest along the Taung Nyo Mountain range in Mon State, Myanmar, the monastery provides a conducive setting for the practice of long-term, intensive meditation. Presently, there are over 100 foreign meditators, originating from over 20 countries, residing in the monastery.

Teaching:

  • Mindfulness-of-Breathing (ānāpānassati) – to develop absorption concentration (the four jhānas)
  • Most of the 40 Samatha subjects taught by The Buddha – including loving-kindness (mettā) meditation, the thirty-two parts of the body, the ten kasiṇas and the four immaterial jhānas
  • Four-Elements Meditation – to analyze ultimate materiality and ultimate mentality
  • Dependent Origination – to discern past, present and future lives by analyzing their causes and conditions
  • Vipassanā Meditation – to discern the five aggregates (materiality and mentality) as impermanent, subject to suffering and without a self

Training:

  • Training and separate accommodations for monks, nuns and male/female lay practitioners
  • Strong support and guidance for those who wish to ordain
  • Regular interviews with qualified meditation teachers (who speak English)
  • Vegetarian diet, including both white and whole-grain brown rice

Facilities:

  • A large meditation hall for men and a separate meditation hall for women
  • Over 280 kuṭis (single meditator huts), many located in secluded areas of the forest
  • A clinic and a sick-bay with doctors trained in both conventional Western and traditional Burmese herbal medicine
  • A large new library with titles in English, Chinese, Burmese and Pāli

The Venerable Pa-Auk Tawya Sayadaw is the abbot and principal teacher at Pa-Auk Forest Monastery. The Sayadaw speaks fluent English and has been teaching foreign meditators here since the early 1990’s.