Transmission
Winkletter • 26 Dec 2025 •
For Christmas I continued to generate AI videos on Buddhism that I’m adding to a playlist. So far I have 10 videos, and most are scheduled to release each day through Jan 1st. Because of this I decided to run some deep research into the Thai Forest Tradition so I could better understand the many approaches I was seeing.
It’s interesting to trace the lineages and transmission of the teachings, especially the monks who studied in Thailand and set up new monasteries in the US, UK, and Aus. There was a whole schism in 2009 that I missed when Ajahn Brahm fully ordained four nuns in Australia, including Ajahn Vayama who was one of my favorite dhamma teachers. That’s been a whole research rabbit hole to dive into. Apparently, it’s actually illegal in Thailand to ordain nuns, and there’s a Catch-22 loophole in the monastic law to explain why nuns cannot be ordained, along with a historical story about how the Bhikkuni (nun) lineage died out but not the Bhikkhus (monks). All very convenient.
| Year | Event | Significance |
| 11th century | Chola invasion of Sri Lanka | Bhikkuni lineage dies out while Bhikkus revived |
| 1851–1868 | Reign of King Mongkut | Tightened monastic organization and adherence to Vinaya |
| 1946 | Ajahn Chah meets Ajahn Mun | The transmission of the “Dhamma Eye” and method. |
| 1954 | Founding of Wat Nong Pah Pong | Establishment of the “Mother Monastery.” |
| 1967 | Sumedho arrives at WPP | The first sustained Western disciple. |
| 1975 | Founding of Wat Pah Nanachat | First monastery dedicated to training Westerners. |
| 1979 | Founding of Chithurst (UK) | First forest monastery in the West. |
| 1983 | Founding of Bodhinyana (Aus) | Establishment of the lineage in Australia. |
| 1992 | Death of Ajahn Chah | Ajahn Liem succeeds as Abbot of WPP. |
| 1996 | Founding of Abhayagiri (USA) | Expansion to North America. |
| 2009 | The Perth Schism | Ajahn Brahm expelled for ordaining Bhikkhunis. |