Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

Is the title 'Ajahn' a monk who is only in the Thai forest traditions?. Is 'Ajahn' and 'Bhante' pretty much the same thing? I'm quite liking listening to Ajahn Sumedho at the moment, he seems very wise.

Ajahn is Thai for teacher, so it is used also in non-Buddhist contexts. Since it's a Thai word it has no relevance outside of a Thai context (and no formal significance), but of course a large percentage of Western monks were trained in Thailand, hence the common use of the term.

In my experience with Thai monastics, monks of 10 years or more are commonly referred to as Ajahn, particularly when they have a teaching role. It would be unusual to refer to a "younger" monk as "Ajahn".


Mike

Ok cool thanks. I may look more into the thai tradition as it's seems more straightforward.

mikenz66 wrote:Ajahn is Thai for teacher, so it is used also in non-Buddhist contexts. Since it's a Thai word it has no relevance outside of a Thai context, but of course a large percentage of Western monks were trained in Thailand, hence the common use of the term.

In my experience with Thai monastics, monks of 10 years or more are commonly referred to as Ajahn, particularly when they have a teaching role. It would be unusual to refer to a "younger" monk as "Ajahn".


Mike

that's my understanding as well, Ajahn is a Thai title for a monk who has been ordained for atleast 10 years.

Bhante, i believe, means venerable sir and is a title used to show respect.

It's important to note that Ajahn is Thai word, whereas Bhante is Pali and so makes sense as a polite form of address when speaking with any Theravada monk (of any length of ordination). Addressing a monk from Sri Lanka as "Ajahn" wouldn't really make sense, whereas addressing Ajahn Sumedho as "Bhante" would be fine.


Mike

Discussion of "Bhante" continues on this thread: http://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 27#p198227" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Mike