Ajahn Thoon Khippapañño

Venerable Ācariya Thoon Khippapañño (Thoon Nonruecha) was born May 20, 1935 at Nong Kho village, Bua Kho sub-district, Mueang district, Maha Salakam province, Thailand. He was the fifth of Uddha and Chan Nonruecha’s ten children. At the age of twenty-seven, Thoon Nonruecha left his family to ordain as a monk in the Dhammayut Order. On July 27, 1961, he took ordination at Wat Photisomporn in Udon Thani, with Ācariya Dhammachedi (Joom Bandhulo) serving as his preceptor.In his early years, Venerable Ācariya Thoon set out on dhūtaṅga to various forest destinations and practiced Dhamma until he profoundly realized and understood according to the truth. He studied under Venerable Ācariya Khao Analayo of Wat Tham Klong Pen in Nong Bua Lam Phu province. In his eighth vassa, Ācariya Thoon attained arahantship at Wat Aranya Wiwek in Pa Lan village, Doi Luang district of Chiang Rai. Venerable Ācariya Thoon Khippapañño dedicated his life to the proliferation of the Buddha’s original teachings, both in Thailand and abroad. Ācariya Thoon’s teachings were distinctive in that he emphasized the importance of starting Dhamma practice with right view (sammādiṭṭhi) and wisdom (paññā). His style of Dhamma practice was also unique in that it enabled laypeople to effectively practice in everyday settings and achieve a level of enlightenment, as he himself had attained the first level (sotāpanna) as a layperson. Ācariya Thoon also stressed the importance of developing both a comprehensive understanding and a true realization of the suffering, harmful consequences, and perils associated with each issue.In 1975, Ācariya Thoon established Wat Pa Ban Koh in Ban Phue district, Udon Thani province. Today, the temple serves as a Buddhist landmark for devotees to honor and venerate the Buddha’s teachings and holy relics housed in the majestic pagoda. The temples founded in Ācariya Thoon’s name in the metropolitan cities San Francisco, New York, Hong Kong, as well as the countless Dhamma retreat centers in America and throughout Thailand that train in Ācariya Thoon’s style of cultivating wisdom (paññā) continue to grow, to this day.Over the course of his lifetime, Ācariya Thoon authored over twenty books, including his own autobiography, and produced various forms of media (mp3, VCD, DVD, etc.) so that Dhamma practitioners from any walk of life could easily access Dhamma. In 1990, the Thai Royal Princess Phra Thep Ratanarachasuda honored Ācariya Thoon with the Saema Dhammacakra award for his outstanding literary contributions to the Buddhist religion.On November 11, 2008, Venerable Ācariya Thoon passed away at the age of seventy-three due to pneumonia and lung tumor complications. Unique to only the greatest arahants, Venerable Ācariya Thoon Khippapañño’s relics formed the day of his cremation ceremony.