Thai Monastery Words: A Practical Guide for Your First Visit

Ajahn means teacher. You may also see Ajaan or Achaan. In Thai forest monasteries it is commonly used for a senior monk or teacher, usually followed by a name: “Ajahn Chah”, for example. In Thailand the word is also used for teachers outside monasteries.

Bhante is a respectful Pali form of address for a monk, rather like “Venerable Sir”. It is useful when you do not know the person’s name. Luang Por, often translated as “venerable father”, is an affectionate, respectful Thai title for a senior monk.

Use the title given in the introduction. “Ajahn, may I ask about the walking practice?” is perfectly sufficient. The abbot is the person who leads the monastery; not everyone called Ajahn is an abbot.

• Wat: a Buddhist temple or monastery. The word can refer to the whole grounds, not just one building.
• Pa: forest. A wat pa is a forest monastery.
• Kuti: a small monastic dwelling or hut. It is someone’s living space, so do not enter without an invitation.
• Sala: a pavilion or hall. Its use depends on the building: meditation, teaching, meals or another shared activity.

If someone says “the sala”, they usually mean a particular hall already familiar to the group. On your first day, the useful follow-up is “Which hall?” At Tam Wua, practical arrival questions begin at Information.

Buddha means an awakened one; in the monastery’s chants it usually refers to the historical Buddha, the teacher at the origin of the tradition. Dhamma refers to his teaching and the path of practice. Dharma is the familiar Sanskrit form of the same word.

Sangha usually means the monastic community in an everyday monastery announcement. In the Three Refuges it also points to the community of awakened disciples. Some modern meditation groups use the word more broadly for everyone practising together.

These three—Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha—are the Triple Gem or Three Refuges. A Dhamma talk is a teaching: for example, a monk explaining how to work with distraction. It is not another name for a silent meditation session.

Sadhu expresses appreciation or glad agreement, something like “well said” or “well done” in a Buddhist setting. You may hear people say it together after a teaching or offering. You can listen first and join when comfortable; it is not a password you must know.

Puja is an act or gathering of respect and devotion. A puja on the timetable may include bowing, chanting and meditation. Pali is the language of many Theravada scriptures and chants. It is different from Thai, even when a Pali chant is printed in Thai letters.

A chanting book can therefore contain Pali words, a guide to their pronunciation and a translation into another language. Follow the line the group is using. If you lose your place, listening quietly is fine.

• Dana: generosity or giving. Offering food and helping with useful supplies are examples.
• Sila: ethical conduct. Keeping the precepts and speaking truthfully put it into daily life.
• Bhavana: cultivation or development of the mind, including meditation.
• Metta: goodwill or loving-kindness, the wish that others be well.
• Samatha: developing calm and steadiness.
• Vipassana: developing insight by clearly observing experience.

These words name things you do. You can practise dana by helping prepare a meal, sila by returning a borrowed item, and metta by responding patiently to another guest. None requires a special feeling before you begin.

Thai and Pali sounds can be written in Latin letters in more than one way. Ajahn and Ajaan may refer to the same title; Dhamma and Dharma come through different traditional languages. Vowel marks such as the line over the “a” in dāna help show pronunciation, but are often omitted on signs.

Learn the words you need for today’s activities first. A note with the teacher’s name, meeting hall and next session will help more on arrival than memorising a whole dictionary.