Name: Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
Item: Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
Rating: 3
Author: Cecil humphrey

Amaravati Buddhist Monastery is situated at the eastern end of the Chiltern Hills in south-east England. It is near the Hertfordshire village of Great Gaddesden. The nearest towns are Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted.

Established in the early 1980s, the monastery is inspired by the Thai Forest Tradition and the teachings of the late Ajahn Chah, a Thai monk, a Thai monk and renowned Dhamma teacher, who encouraged Ajahn Sumedho to settle in England and found monasteries in this country. In Autumn 2010 Ajahn Sumedho handed over the position of abbot to the English monk Ajahn Amaro, for the previous fourteen years co-abbot of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley, California.

The purpose of Amaravati Monastery is to provide a place of practice for monastics in the Forest Tradition, whose shared intention is the realization of Nibbana, freedom from all mental suffering. It is also open to guests and visitors who wish to come and stay in a place where there is the opportunity to develop mindfulness, to explore spiritual teachings, and to contribute to the life of the community.

The community consists of monks and nuns, together with a number of full-time lay residents. Usually there are between twenty and thirty bhikkhus (monks) and siladhara (nuns) in residence, living a contemplative, celibate, mendicant life according to the Vinaya (monastic training rules) and Dhamma (the Buddha’s teachings). The community also includes anagarikas, who wear white, observing the Eight Precepts, and who have made a commitment to train within the monastic community for at least a year and may subsequently make a further commitment to the monastic training. The monastery also includes within it an retreat centre, where residential retreats are conducted for the public during nine months of each year.

Retreats have been held at the Amaravati Retreat Centre since the monastery was first established in 1986. The retreats organised by the monastery are led by monks and nuns trained in the Ajahn Chah tradition. They offer an opportunity to put down daily work, chores, commitments and stresses for a short time, and create the space and environment to reflect inwardly and to listen to daily Dhamma teachings. Broadly speaking, the teaching focuses on insight meditation. On some retreats a particular theme or approach to practice is emphasized, such as ‘Death and Dying’ or ‘Walking the Buddha’s Path: the Fruits of Effort’.

‘Just as a deep lake is clear and still,
even so, on hearing the teachings and realising them,
the wise become exceedingly peaceful.’
Dhammapada, verse 82

The Retreat Centre is located in the monastery grounds but is run separately, with its own accommodation facilities, kitchen, and Shrine Room.
Monastic Retreats
Retreat Centre shrine room

We offer weekend, five-day, ten-day, and thirteen-day retreats. Weekend and five-day retreats are suitable for people who have little or no experience of meditation or retreats. The longer retreats are for people who have a meditation practice and previous retreat experience. Participants at any of these retreats must be aged eighteen or more.

Daily routine

The day begins and ends with silent contemplation together; there are also periods of working meditation and some time for individual practice and for attending to personal needs. Following such a routine can be an excellent support for bringing awareness into our hearts and applying it in our daily life.

5:00 am
Morning meeting – silent meditation and chanting.

6:30 am
Daily clean-up – chores in the main area of the monastery.

7:15 am
Light breakfast – usually tea and porridge or cereal.

8:15 am
Work period – chores and general maintenance of the monastery, helping in the kitchen, etc.

11:00 am
Meal offering (11:30 am during British Summer Time).

Washing up and tidying in the kitchen, followed by personal practice – individual meditation and study time.

5:00 pm
Tea.

7:30 – 8:40 pm
Evening meeting – chanting and silent meditation.
(There are no evening meetings on the days before and after the lunar observance day).

Amaravati Bell 2010
Schedule during the lunar observance days

The lunar observance days correspond to the phases of the moon (full moon, etc.). There is no morning group meditation on lunar observance days; most work projects are suspended and the day is devoted to quiet reflection. The evening meeting schedule is as follows:

7:30 pm
Chanting and silent meditation.

8:30 pm until midnight.
Taking the Three Refuges and Eight Precepts by laypeople.

Dhamma talk (reflections on the teachings) for about one hour.

Meditation vigil until midnight.

This event is open to everyone; you are free to join in for as much of the evening as you wish. The lunar observance days are listed on our calendar; a calendar for a full year can be downloaded from the Forest Sangha website.
Puja Sangha 31-05-14

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Cecil humphrey

Overall Experience

Amaravati is a beautiful place with some beautiful people staying as lay people that i met I came from Thailand to visit and stay there i had a near death experience in my car on the way there and had to sleep in my car and arrived at about 5 am I told the guest monk that i had slept in the car and he was off hand saying we don’t want people staying that sleep in cars. I thought that was a bit strange he did not allocate a room for me until the evening i had hoped to be able to discuss dependent origination with some monks there but was unable to I have lived in Thailand almost 20 years and have always been welcomed at the forest temple that i used so i was a little disappointed
I do so hope the guest monk finds his mindfulness.
2 years ago
Fiona Holland

Overall Experience

A must see for anyone one The Path. The building is simple but beautiful and with good accousrics. The Saturday afternoon meditations were lovely and the free publications are beautifully written, designed and printed with great kindness. Thank you.
6 years ago

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Monastic community in the Amaravati Temple
Weekly meditation workshop – Saturdays, 2–4 pm

Every Saturday there is a meditation workshop between 2 and 4pm. This is usually held in the Temple, but sometimes in the main Sala. The workshops, led by a sangha member, offer instruction in sitting and walking meditation and the opportunity to ask questions on practice. There is no charge for attending and no booking is necessary. These events are listed on our calendar.
Annual winter retreat – January through March

Every year the monastic community observes a retreat from the beginning of January until the end of March. During this time overnight accommodation is not available for guests, but it is possible to join the winter retreat lay support team for a month or longer. For more information, please contact the guest monk or nun (applications start in September). During the winter retreat visitors can still come to the monastery during the day to meditate or help with mealtime offerings. A Dhamma talk is usually given on lunar observance nights (see our calendar). The Saturday afternoon meditation workshops continue, held in the Sala and led by an experienced lay teacher. Telephone messages are processed regularly throughout the retreat, but in general written inquiries are not attended to until the beginning of April.

Amaravati Buddhist Monastery

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