Ajahn

Ajahn is a Thai honorific used in Theravada Buddhism to address senior monks who are regarded as teachers. Placed before the monk’s name, as in Ajahn Chah, the term functions as a respectful title rather than an official rank. The word derives from the Pali/Sanskrit ācariya, meaning teacher or master; in Thai it is commonly written with the native term อาจารย์, literally “teacher.” In the Thai Forest Tradition and related monastic communities, Ajahn is attached to respected instructors who have demonstrated learning, practice, and the ability to teach meditation and dhamma. While many Ajahns are abbots or senior teachers within monasteries, the title does not itself denote a specific ordination level; it signals status as a teacher and elder within the Sangha.

Notable Ajahns include Ajahn Chah, the Thai forest master whose monastic lineage influenced centers in the West such as Amaravati and Chithurst; Ajahn Sumedho, his prominent Western successor; and Ajahn Brahm, the founder of Buddhist centers in Australia and Europe. The use of Ajahn is most common in Thai Theravada contexts and among followers of the forest meditation tradition, though its influence has spread through international Buddhist communities.