Wat Pa Ratanawan, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand

Wat Pa Ratanawan is a forest monastery in Wang Nam Khiao district of Nakhon Ratchasima province, on the border of Khao Yai National Park. It belongs to the Ajahn Chah community, the branch monasteries that grew out of Wat Pah Pong.

The abbot is Ajahn Nyanadhammo, an Australian-born monk who speaks fluent Thai. A lineage list compiled by Dhammagiri describes the monastery as large, with few foreign monks, though several of the Thai monks living there speak English.

A 2015 visit report from the International Buddhist College describes the daily life. The monks eat one meal a day before noon, live in separate huts (kuṭi) in the forest, and keep the paths clean as part of their practice of walking meditation. The abbot told the visitors that anyone wanting to stay and practise at the monastery should first train for several years at one of its branches, then be admitted to the community.

That makes Wat Pa Ratanawan a place to approach by arrangement rather than to turn up at for a retreat. No visitor guidance and no course for foreign lay meditators was found, so ask the monastery before going.

For a Thai forest monastery set up for foreign visitors and lay guests, see Wat Pah Nanachat.

Visiting

No visitor guidance from the monastery was found. Contact it in advance before visiting; it is a training monastery, not a retreat centre. Dress modestly, cover shoulders and knees, and remove shoes before entering buildings. Staying long-term is for those who have first trained at a branch monastery.