BANGKOK — Shaun Chiverton, a 68-year-old Briton, was elevated this summer to the rank of Somdet Phra Rachakhana, or royal monastic leader, making him the first non-Thai to reach the second-highest level in Thailand's monkhood. He is now known as Ajahn Jayasaro and is one of just 18 monks holding this rank.
His journey began five decades ago when he traveled to India to study Buddhist teachings. Jayasaro grew up in a secular family on the Isle of Wight. As a teenager, he sought answers to fundamental questions about how to live and whether the world could improve "given that there's so much suffering and injustice and violence."
After India, he settled in Thailand and became a monk in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, which emphasizes an austere life focused on discipline, renunciation and meditation. He found a sense of belonging at a monastery in northeast Thailand, where he discovered a community that shared his spiritual aspirations. He has spent much of the past two decades living in a hermitage near the Khao Yai mountains.
Jayasaro has contributed to Buddhist literature through several books in English and Thai, conducts regular retreats and maintains a YouTube channel with 100,000 subscribers.
In 2020, Jayasaro was granted Thai citizenship through a royal decree. This citizenship paved the way for numerous royal promotions, culminating in his recent elevation to Somdet Phra Rachakhana.
Despite his achievements, Jayasaro expressed humility regarding his new rank. He said, "In many ways I'm completely unqualified," comparing his "completely left-field" forest life to that of other senior monks who lead prominent monasteries.
He believes his background offers distinct insights. "I have a broader knowledge in terms of relating traditional Buddhist teachings to the changing world that we live in," he said.
Regarding women in Thai Buddhism, Jayasaro supports the broad ban on female ordinations but said a system should exist to accommodate women with genuine spiritual vocations, "to provide a vehicle and a way for them to live a life."
His teachings advocate for living virtuously, letting go of material attachments and negative habits, and developing qualities such as kindness and compassion. Jayasaro also acknowledged "a certain amount of corruption" within the monkhood itself following various sex and fraud scandals.
