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Ajahn Khemadhammo OBE
Personal life
Born	Alan Adams (1944-07-17)17 July 1944 (age 81) Gosport, England
Religious life
Religion	Buddhism
Order	Maha Nikaya
School	Theravāda
Lineage	Thai Forest Tradition
Ordination	26 May 1972, aged 27 (53 years ago)[1]
Senior posting
Teacher	Ajahn Chah
Post	Abbot of the Forest Hermitage (since 1985)
Website	The Forest HermitageLuangpor's News & Musings

Ajahn KhemadhammoOBE (also known asChao Khun Bhavanaviteht; born(1944-07-17)17 July 1944)^[1] is aTheravādaBuddhist monk and retired professional actor. He is one of the founders of theThai Forest Tradition in the West.^[2]

Khemadhammo was born inPortsmouth, England.^[3] In 1971, after training at theRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama andDrama Centre, London and practising as a professional actor, working for several years at theRoyal National Theatre in London withLaurence Olivier andEdward Petherbridge (a period in which he appeared inShakespearian dramas as well as in plays byTom Stoppard andAnton Chekov, studying intensivelyStanislavski's system), he travelled toThailand via theBuddhist pilgrimage sites inIndia. In December 1971 inBangkok he became anovicemonk and about a month later moved to Ubon to stay withAjahn Chah atWat Nong Pah Pong : Wat Nong Pah Pong (Generally shortened to:Wat Pah Pong, Thai: วัดหนองป่าพง) is aTheravada Buddhisthermitage inUbon Ratchathani Province, (Amphoe)Warin Chamrap, devoted to the practice ofcontemplation,Dhutanga practice andasceticism which was established by the lateAjahn Chah as the mainmonastery of theThai Forest Tradition. On the day beforeVesakha Puja of that year, 1972,Ajahn Khemadhammo receivedUpasampadā as abhikkhu, a fullyordainedBuddhistmonk.

In 1977, Khemadhammo returned to the UK with Ajahn Chah and stayed with him during his two-month visit at the old HampsteadVihara.^[4] AfterAjahn Chah's return toThailand,Ajahn Khemadhammo remained at Hampstead and eighteen months later set up a smallreclusemonastery on theIsle of Wight. In 1984, at the invitation of a group of BuddhistSamatha andVipassanā meditators that he had been visiting monthly for some years, he moved to Banner Hill nearKenilworth and formed theBuddha-Dhamma Fellowship. In 1985, he moved to his current residence, thecontemplative ForestHermitage, a property inWarwickshire; in 1987, with considerable help from meditator-acolytes and devotees in Thailand, this land was purchased by theBuddha-Dhamma Fellowship. Astupa was built there in 1988 bySayadaw U Thilawunta, known as the EnglishShwedagon Pagoda.

Khemadhammo began Buddhist prison chaplaincy work in 1977. In 1985, with the help of others, Angulimala, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy, was launched with him as its Spiritual Director.^[5] Currently, Luang Por Khemadhammo continues to visit prisons and teachmeditation both at his foresthermitagecontemplativemonasteryVihara and atWarwick University.^[5]

Ajahn Khemadhammo was appointed an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's Birthday Honours, June 2003 for 'services to prisoners'.^[6]

In December 2004, on the birthday ofKing Bhumibol Adulyadej, he was made aChao Khun with theecclesiastical title ofPhraBhavanaviteht. He was only the second foreign-born monk to receive such an honour.

In May 2013 he was awarded an HonoraryDoctorate inVipassanabhavana byMahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Thailand.

In January 2015, on Burmese Independence Day (Independence Day (Myanmar)), it was announced by the President ofBurma that he had been awarded the titleAggamaha Saddhamma Jotikadhaja. This was duly conferred at an investiture ceremony in Nay Pyi Taw, the new capital ofMyanmar (Burma), on 4 March 2015.

He is the Chair of TBSUK – theTheravadaBuddhistSangha in the UK.

• Beckford, James A. (2005).Religion in Prison: 'Equal Rites' in a Multi-Faith Society.Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0521021531.
• Kittisaro; Thanissara (2014).Listening to the Heart: A Contemplative Journey to Engaged Buddhism.North Atlantic Books.ISBN 978-1583948392.
• Snelling, John (1992).The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice, and History. Inner Traditions.ISBN 978-0892813193.

• Website of the Forest Hermitage (Santidhamma & Bhavanadhamma)
• News and Musings - Luangpor Khemadhammo's blog
• Angulimala Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy
• Dhamma Talks by Ajahn Khemadhammo atAmaravati Buddhist Monastery
• Ajahn Khemadhammo onFacebook
• Ajahn Khemadhammo onInstagram

This article uses text adapted from the Forest Hermitage'sbiography of Ajahn Khemadhammo. It is available for free distribution under the terms of theGFDL.

• Theravada Buddhist monks
• Officers of the Order of the British Empire
• Alumni of the Drama Centre London
• 1944 births
• Living people
• English Buddhist monks
• English Theravada Buddhists
• Thai Forest Tradition monks

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