Welcome. This
page was made in 2014 and at the time it was the only web page dedicated
to Suan Mokkh. (on the official
Suan Mokkh page, you'll see that they used a few of the pictures
that you see here.) Now, in 2026, all of the information you see here
is still relevant with a few caveats.
The retreats
still happen at the same time, the food is still good, and the price
has not increased. All good.
The retreat
center and Suan Mokkh have stayed about the same, but Thailand has
changed. Now so many people have cars that transportation to and from
Suan Mokkh has become a bit more chalenging because the buses and
and other public transportaion is less regular. You'll be find if
you arrive early in the morning. If you arrive later in the day, however,
you may need to take a motorcycle taxi. The taxi drivers know a back
way there so you'll be fine if you don't have too much luggage. Taxis
in Chaiya, even online taxis, can be hard to find.
The other thing
that has changed, as was told to me by an old friend at Suan Mokkh
and I found to be true, is that now the mosquitoes are much fiercer.
If you are sensitive to mosquitoes take extraordinary precaustions.
DEET is not sold at the retreat center, so you are wise to take it
with you. Light colored clothing that covers your entire body can
halp as well.
All of the pictures
that you see here are still, as of 2025, still relevant as well, but
now there is dramatically more shade at Suan Mokkh, which is nice.
My only other
advice is to firmly resolve to stay for the entire ten days. The great
German meditation master, Ayya Khemma, once said, "There is always
an excuse not to meditate and the problem is that the excuses always
make perfect sense."
-- Tom, early
2026
At the Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage you can find out what is truly amazing about "Amazing Thailand" and have an all-around brain-clean while meditating there. You might become a fully enlightened being as well.
Inside this home page you'll find find pictures from the hermitages, often called "the International Center" and pictures from the forest temple, officially known as "Suan Mokkh Phalaram." Meditators attending the ten-day meditation courses that the hermitage offers are given an Introduction to the International Center,, and an introduction to meditation called. Mindfullness of Breathing. Anyone interested in visiting Suan Mokkh and attending the monthly ten-day meditation course should carefully read the above two documents as well as the easy-to-follow rules. You can also study the the Suan Mokkh home page, www.suanmokkh-idh.org, which is excellent.
Across the road from the international center is Suan Mokkh, the forest wat. Founded in 1932 by the savant Buddhist monk, Buddhadasa, it is a center of Thai Buddhism. When I first visited Suan Mokkh in 1983 the area was much less developed than it is today. In those days the International Meditation Center had not been built, the tourist buses (filled with Thai tourists/pilgrims) didn't stop there, and the six-lane divided Asia Highway outside the main entrance was a country road. These days Suan Mokkh is, for better or worse, much more popular with a row of restaurants and snack shops outside; inside is a bookstore and information center.
In 1983 I had the good fortune of meeting Buddhadasa Bhikku on my first day in Thailand.
