About Luang Por Boontham
The details we have about Luang Por Boontham’s life are sparse at best. He was originally born in Cambodia, and came first to Thailand in the mid 1950s, searching for Ajahn Mun, who died before he could meet him. Later, he was in the Thai Forest Tradition in the 1970s, having returned to Thailand during the Cambodian war. After being taught in a traditional Thai forest school, he then practiced alone for many years with the suttas as his only teacher. His teachings differ in a few substantial points from those of most traditional Theravada schools, particularly his explanation of sati (mindfulness) and his uncompromising rejection of rites and rituals. He died in 1993 at the age of 85.
About Ajahn Dhammarakkhito
He ordained originally in the late 1980s with a small temple in Montreal, Canada. Later, having by chance heard some parts of Luang Por Boontham’s discourses, he travelled to Thailand where he remained some time as a student of him, up until almost the end of Luang Por’s life. He continued (and continues) to practice according to the guidance he received from Luang Por, in regard to applying the Buddha’s teachings. He currently lives alone in Quebec, Canada, supported by a small number of lay students and supporters. He does not wish to be a public figure.
Recordings of Luang Por’s teachings
In 2018, there came into our possession a number of cassette recordings of the Dhamma discourses of Luang Por Boontham (in Thai). These cassette tapes were recorded clandestinely by some of his students without his permission, Luang Por not wishing to make public teachings at the time. We have been gradually working, with the most generous help of a Thai bhikkhuni, to have them translated to English, but progress is necessarily slow. The cassettes are numerous, (Luang Por was very energetic in his teaching), and there is the difficulty of his Cambodian accent and the poor quality of the recordings to add to the task. However we are convinced that they could be great interest and benefit to practitioners who are truly search for the path to go out of suffering. If you are a fluent Thai speaker who has at least some familiarity with Dhamma, and are interested in helping to translate, you are very welcome to contact us.