Ajahn Tong Sirimangalo

Ajahn Tong Sirimangalo (born Thong Phromsaen, ; 21 September 1923 – 13 December 2019) was a Thai Theravada Buddhist monk and vipassanā meditation teacher. From 2016 he held the ecclesiastical title Phra Phrom Mongkhon (; ), the rank of chao khana rong and the second-highest grade of the Thai monastic hierarchy below that of somdet; in Thailand he is commonly cited by that title. He was abbot of Wat Phra That Si Chom Thong Worawihan in Chiang Mai Province from 1991 until his death, and is credited with establishing one of the most widely disseminated lineages of Mahāsī-style satipaṭṭhāna practice outside Myanmar, with affiliated centres in Europe, Israel and the Americas.

In 2016 he received the ecclesiastical title Phra Phrom Mongkhon, corresponding to the grade of phra racha khana chao khana rong in the vipassanā-dhura (meditation) division of the Maha Nikaya. This is the second-highest grade in the Thai monastic hierarchy, below only that of somdet, the tier from which the country's Supreme Patriarch is chosen. Ajahn Tong was also the first monk raised to that grade to be granted the special ceremonial fan reserved for senior monks of the meditation division.

He was ordained as a novice (sāmaṇera) on 19 January 1934 at Wat Na Kaeng, with Phra Khruba Chaiwong (Khruba Kaeo Chayawangso), abbot of that temple, as his preceptor. Ten years later, on 7 February 1944, he received higher ordination (upasampadā) at Ban Aen, with Phra Khru Khamphirathamma (Khruba Inta Phrommapanyo), abbot of Wat Chai Phrakiat, as preceptor. He was given the monastic name Sirimaṅgalo.

Monastic offices

In 1954 he established the first vipassanā centre in Chiang Mai at Wat Mueang Mang.

In 2000 an international department for foreign meditators, known as Northern Vipassana, opened at the monastery. It was founded by Thanat and Kathryn Chindaporn under Ajahn Tong's guidance; both had been his disciples since the mid-1980s and went on to train many vipassanā teachers in other countries. The centre draws teachers from Canada, the United States, Germany and South Africa, and Ajahn Tong authorised several teachers trained under him to teach the method abroad. The lineage also took root in Latin America, where groups practising in the Chom Thong tradition operate in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina.

Disciples

Western monks ordained under his guidance include Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu, born Noah Greenspoon in Ontario, Canada, who ordained at Wat Phra That Si Chom Thong in 2001. He has taught intensive meditation since 2003 in Thailand, Sri Lanka, the United States and Canada, and founded Sirimangalo International, a registered charity in Ontario dedicated to supporting practice and teaching in Ajahn Tong's tradition. His manual How to Meditate: A Beginner's Guide to Peace has been translated into close to twenty languages.

Ecclesiastical ranks

In the Thai monastic hierarchy, ecclesiastical ranks (samanasak) are titles conferred by the king on the recommendation of the Sangha Supreme Council, traditionally granted on 5 December. Each title is awarded within one of two branches: that of the texts (gantha-dhura, the scholarly path) or that of meditation (vipassanā-dhura), the latter marked by the abbreviation wi. (วิ.) appended to the title. All of Ajahn Tong's appointments fell within the meditation branch. 1983 – phra khru sanyabat of special class. A promotion within the same tier. 1990 – phra racha khana of saman (ordinary) grade, with the title Phra Suphrommayanathera. Entry into the senior dignitary ranks of the Sangha. 1999 – rat grade, with the title Phra Ratcha Phrommachan. The second grade of the scale. 2005 – thep grade, with the title Phra Thep Sitthachan. The third grade. 2009 – tham grade, with the title Phra Thammamangkhalachan. The fourth grade, the highest below the dignity of chao khana rong. 2016 – chao khana rong, with the title Phra Phrom Mongkhon inscribed on a hiraññapaṭṭa. The second-highest dignity in the Thai Sangha, below only somdet.

Works

His teachings were published mainly in Thai, with some translated into English. Titles catalogued under his name in the United States Library of Congress and in the French union catalogue Sudoc include:

Khūmư̄ kānpatibat wipatsanā kammathān nai nǣo satipatthān 4 (คู่มือการปฏิบัติวิปัสสนากรรมฐานในแนวสติปัฏฐาน ๔), a manual of vipassanā practice in the fourfold satipaṭṭhāna method Thāng sāi ēk (ทางสายเอก), also published in English as The Only Way: The Vipassana Meditation Teachings and as Path to Nibbana Pœ̄t pratū nipphān (เปิดประตูนิพพาน), "Opening the door to nibbāna" Kān dœ̄nthāng ʿǭk čhāk khwām khœ̄ichin (การเดินทางออกจากความเคยชิน), "The journey out of habit" Thamma čhāk Lūang Pū (ธรรมะจากหลวงปู่), "Dhamma from Luang Pu" Ngān phœ̄iphrǣ phraphutthasāsanā nai tāng prathēt (งานเผยแพร่พระพุทธศาสนาในต่างประเทศ), on the propagation of Buddhism abroad

Commemorative volumes were also published to mark his anniversaries and promotions, among them one issued in 1998 for his 75th birthday and another in 2005 for his elevation to the thep grade.