Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu

Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (also known as Ajahn Geoff; born December 28, 1949) is an American Buddhist monk and author. Belonging to the Thai Forest Tradition, he studied for ten years under the forest master Ajahn Fuang Jotiko (himself a student of Ajahn Lee). Since 1993, he has served as abbot of the Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego County, California—the first monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition in the U.S.—which he cofounded with Ajahn Suwat Suvaco.

Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu is perhaps best known for his translations of the Dhammapada and the Sutta Pitaka—almost 1000 suttas in all—provided free of charge on his website "Talks, Writing & Translations of Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu" as well as translations from the dhamma talks of the Thai forest ajahns. He has also authored several dhamma-related works of his own, and has compiled study-guides of his Pali translations.

Biography

Early life Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu was born Geoffrey DeGraff in 1949 and was introduced to the Buddha's teaching on the Four Noble Truths as a high-school exchange student on a flight back from the Philippines. Tricycle writes: "he grew up 'a very serious, independent little kid'", spending his early childhood on a potato farm on Long Island, New York, and later living in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Time at Oberlin At Oberlin College in the early 1970s, "he eschewed campus political activism because 'I didn't feel comfortable following a crowd.' For him, the defining issue of the day wasn't Vietnam, but a friend's attempted suicide." After a two-year search, Ṭhānissaro found a forest teacher: Ajahn Fuang Jotiko, a Kammatthana monk who studied under Ajahn Lee Dhammadaro.

After a brief stay with the teacher, which was cut short by malaria, he returned to the U.S. to weigh the merits of academia and monasticism. In 1995, Ajahn Geoff became the first American-born, non-Thai bhikkhu to be given the title, authority, and responsibility of Preceptor (Upajjhaya) in the Dhammayut Order. He also serves as Treasurer of that order in the United States.

Teachings

Classical Buddhist modernism

Views on commentarial meditation practice Ṭhānissaro rejects the practice of kasina outlined in the Visuddhimagga, and warns against forms of "deep jhana" practiced by contemporary meditation teachers who draw from the commentaries. Ṭhānissaro calls these meditations "wrong concentration", and says that they have no basis in the Pali Canon, which he argues should be considered ultimately authoritative.

Forest as teacher and Buddhist counterculture Ṭhānissaro talks about the importance of the forest to give rise to the qualities of mind necessary to succeed in Buddhist practice. Barbara Roether writes:

Unbinding with reference to nibbana Ṭhānissaro and others use the term "unbinding" when discussing nibbana.

On the self Ṭhānissaro says that our sense of self is an activity, and a strategy for avoiding suffering and maximizing happiness.

Achieving "true happiness" Ṭhānissaro writes, "You let go of the grosser forms of happiness, the grosser strategies for happiness, and get used to more and more refined ones. And they finally take you to the point where there's no course left but to let go of strategies. All strategies... This is the way to true happiness."

Publications

Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu's publications include: Translations of Ajahn Lee's meditation manuals from Thai With Each and Every Breath, a basic meditation guide Handful of Leaves, a five-volume anthology of sutta translations The Buddhist Monastic Code, a two-volume reference handbook on the topic of monastic discipline Wings to Awakening, a study of the factors taught by Gautama Buddha as being essential for awakening The Mind Like Fire Unbound, an examination of Upādāna (clinging) and Nibbana (Nirvana) in terms of contemporary philosophies of fire The Paradox of Becoming, an extensive analysis on the topic of becoming as a causal factor of dukkha (suffering) The Shape of Suffering, a study of patittasamuppāda (dependent co-arising) and its relationship to the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path Skill in Questions, a study of how the Buddha's fourfold strategy in answering questions provides a framework for understanding the strategic purpose of his teachings Noble Strategy, The Karma of Questions, Purity of Heart, Head & Heart Together, and Beyond All Directions, collections of essays on Buddhist practice Meditations (1-10), collections of transcribed Dhamma talks Dhammapada: A Translation, a collection of verses by the Buddha And as co-author, a college-level textbook, Buddhist Religions: A Historical Introduction

Aside from Buddhist Religions, all of the books and articles and talks mentioned above are available for free distribution on Bhikkhu's website dhammatalks.org.

Some teaching locations Metta Forest Monastery Portland Friends of Dhamma Barre Center for Buddhist Studies The Cambridge Insight Meditation Center Insight Meditation Center