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Phra Ajaan Thate Desaransi, (Ajaan Thate) (Phra Rajanirodharangsee) (Luangpu Thet Thetrangsi) (Phra Desarangsee) (1902–1994) was one of the most famous masters of Theravada Buddhist meditation known as the Thai Forest Tradition who lived in northern Thailand.〔Tiyavanich K. Forest Recollections: Wandering Monks in Twentieth-Century Thailand. University of Hawaii Press, 1997〕 == Background == Ajahn Thate was born into the family of Ree-o rahng on 26 April 1902 (in the Buddhist calendar the fourth day of the waning moon in the year of the tiger). His birthplace was the village of Nah Seedah, in the subdistrict of Glahng Yai, Bahn Peur District, Udorn-thani Province. His father's first name was Usah, and his mother's Krang. They were rice-farmers and both had grown up as fatherless orphans. Thate was one of ten children.〔Ajahn Thate. Ariyesako, Bhikkhu (trans) The Autobiography of a Forest Monk http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/thate/thateauto.html (last accessed 19 June 2009) 〕 Thate was a disciple of the very respected Forest Monk teachers Ajahn Sao and Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta. One of his fellow disciples at that time was the Ajahn Chah.〔A Still Forest Pool: The Insight Meditation of Achaan Chah (Jack Kornfield ed.)Theosophical Publishing House (1985). ISBN 0-8356-0597-3.〕 Another fellow disciple who remained a lifelong friend was Ajahn Maha Bua.〔Maha Boowa, Arahattamagga, Arahattaphala: the Path to Arahantship – A Compilation of Venerable Acariya Maha Boowa’s Dhamma Talks about His Path of Practice, translated by Bhikkhu Silaratano, 2005, http://www.forestdhammabooks.com/book/3/Arahattamagga.pdf (consulted 19 March 2009)p.99 〕 Living and meditating in isolated caves and forests, Thate began to obtain acute insights into the workings of the mind. ''"I directed mindfulness so that it was keeping closely aware of the mind, following it to know what happens at death. Mindfulness stayed with the heart right up to the final moment when only the barest awareness remained. A feeling was present that to release that faint degree of awareness would be death. At this point, the question became whether it would be better for me to let go and allow death to take place. I felt that my heart was currently quite pure and that if I were to let go, I wouldn't lose because of it. Although there also remained a delicate feeling that expressed the thought that: 'rather than letting go and die, by remaining alive, I could continue to be of benefit to other people. If it were all to finish here with my death, then it could only be to my own purely personal advantage. Also, people wouldn't know the full circumstances and causes of this death. If that's the case, it's certainly better not to let myself die.' I therefore attempted to wiggle and move my hands and feet, until I came around."''〔 ''"Sometimes, it even happened that although I was asleep and aware of the fact, I was unable to get up. It took some effort on my part to move the body and by that come back to waking consciousness again. My own understanding at that time was that the stilled, one-pointed heart, didn't allow thoughts to careen away externally and so would definitely be able to transcend every bit of suffering. I thought that wisdom's only function was to purge the out-wanderings of the heart and return it to a state of stillness."''〔 Thate came to dwell and meditate in the forest near what is now Wat Hin Makpeng in 1964. There, as well as constructing kutirs (or sleeping quarters) and temples for the monks, he assisted with funding local schools, hospitals and sewerage treatment works. The Ajahn Thate became widely renowned for his humility and the development of his consciousness through Buddhist meditation not just through all sections of society in Thailand but internationally, particularly as a result of international speaking and meditation practise tours to Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. In addition to his large following of disciples in Thailand, Ajaan Thate trained many western disciples in meditation. He wrote a profound short book on the practise of meditation.〔Phra Ajaan Thate Desaransi. Steps Along the Path. Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans) Theravada Library 1994. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/thate/stepsalong.html (last accessed 19 June 2009) 〕 On 26 May 1982 The Supreme Patriarch of Buddhism in Thailand (the late Somdet Phra Vaasana Mahaathera) came to officiate at the ceremonial opening of the a Mondop building there and officially declared Wat Hin Mark Peng to be a 'Model Monastery' and gave the Ajahn Thate official recognition of his high status in Buddhism in Thailand.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ajahn Thate」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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