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Ajaan Chah was born in 1918 in a village in the northeastern part of Thailand. He became a novice at a young age and received higher ordination at the age of twenty. He followed the austere Forest Tradition for years, living in forests and begging for almsfood as he wandered about on mendicant pilgrimage. He practiced meditation under a number of masters, including Ajaarn Mun, who had an indelible influence on Ajaan Chah, giving his meditation the direction and clarity that it lacked. Ajaan Chah later became an accomplished meditation teacher in his own right, sharing his realization of the Dhamma with those who sought it. The essence of the teaching was rather simple: be mindful, don't hang on to anything, let go and surrender to the way things are.
Ajaan Chah's simple yet profound teaching style had a special appeal to Westerners, and in 1975 he established Wat Pah Nanachat, a special training monastery for the growing number of Westerners who sought to practice with him. In 1979 the first of several branch monasteries in Europe was established in Sussex, England by his senior Western disciples (among them Ajaan Sumedho, who is presently senior incumbent at the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, England). Today there are ten branch monasteries in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
Ajaan Chah passed away in January, 1992 following a long illness.
泰國東北部著名大德高僧尊者阿姜查（Ajarn Chah）, 出生於A.D.1918 泰國東北部寮國人區的一個溫馨的農村大家庭, 涅盤於A.D. 1992, Wat Pa Nanachat. 年幼即剃度受沙彌戒，二十歲具足比丘戒. 尊者阿姜查尊者當沙彌時即研讀基本經教，這已超出當時鄉村的四年教育水準。長大後追隨幾位寮語系統的師父修學，過著傳統的叢林苦行生活苦行和雲遊數年，夜宿林間樹下，他遵守林居苦行传统，多年住在森林中，以头陀行游化四方。他曾跟随几位大师修持，其中对他影响深刻的一位是阿姜曼，曾为他指明禅定的方向。 並且在阿姜曼（Achaan Mun，泰寮地區本世
紀最重要的著名大師）門下待過短暫的時間，但卻在那段因緣裡豁然開悟. 阿姜查本人后来也成了一名优秀的禅修导师，把他实现的佛法传给前来求法的人们。他的教导内容简单: 有念住、不抓取、舍弃、服从自然法则。阿姜查的简明而深刻的教导风格，对西方人有着特殊的吸引力。1975年他为越来越多前来以他为师的西方人，建立了瓦帕納那查.
尊者阿姜查,是70-90年代泰國數一數二的大德高僧，若毘婆舍那禪修者大多會認識這位擁有大智慧的大德高僧. 阿姜查未涅盤前，泰王與其家人經常前往拜访這名大德高僧.
