Wat Boonyawad

Wat Boonyawad is a forest monastery in Bo Thong district, Chonburi province, east of Bangkok. Ajahn Dtun, who was ordained by Ajahn Chah in 1978, founded it after two years of solitary practice in the area. In 1992 he accepted an offering of land from the Jenjirawatana family, and monks began living there in 1993. The grounds now cover about 160 acres.

The monastery is listed as the 130th branch of Wat Nong Pah Pong, Ajahn Chah’s mother monastery. Amaravati puts the community at forty to fifty monks. The monastery’s own podcast description says sixty to seventy usually spend the Rains Retreat there. The translator of his 2020 autobiography signed the introduction from Wat Boonyawad.

Ajahn Dtun spent five years helping Ajahn Anan establish Wat Marp Jan in Rayong before he came to Chonburi, so the two monasteries share a history. Wat Marp Jan publishes English guidance for visitors. Wat Boonyawad’s own site is in Thai.

The monastery’s published material is in Thai, including the podcast of Ajahn Dtun’s talks. Dhammagiri’s list of Ajahn Chah monasteries says it also accepts Westerners who wish to ordain as monks. If you want to visit or stay, contact the monastery first and ask what it can arrange for non-Thai speakers. His English books, such as This is the Path and The Sacred Equation, are free to read through Amaravati and Abhayagiri.