Ajahn Sumedho

Intuitive Awareness

Intuitive Awareness

This book is compiled from talks given mostly in 2001 by Ajahn Sumedho. The first edition was originally published in 2004, but has long since been out of print.

This new edition has been reviewed for typographical errors and redesigned, and some re- editing has been done. However, the Dhamma content has not been changed. The talks were transcribed, edited and proofread by various members of the sangha as well as people from the broader community, and a variety of people helped with the creation of the front cover. The editors wish to express their deep gratitude for all of the generous and kind-hearted effort put into making these teachings available in book format.

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About Ajahn Sumedho

Ajahn Sumedho (born Robert Karr Jackman, July 27, 1934) is one of the senior Western representatives of the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism and a former disciple of Ajahn Chah. He was abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, UK, from its consecration in 1984 until his retirement in 2010.

A bhikkhu since 1967, Ajahn Sumedho is considered a seminal figure in the transmission of the Buddha's teachings to the West. Ajahn Sumedho is a prominent figure in the Thai Forest Tradition. His teachings are very direct, practical, simple, and down to earth. In his talks and sermons he stresses the quality of immediate intuitive awareness and the integration of this kind of awareness into daily life.

Like most teachers in the Forest Tradition, Ajahn Sumedho tends to avoid intellectual abstractions of the Buddhist teachings and focuses almost exclusively on their practical applications, that is, developing awareness and wisdom in daily life. His most consistent advice can be paraphrased as to see things the way that they actually are rather than the way that we want or don't want them to be ("Right now, it's like this…").

He is known for his engaging and witty communication style, in which he challenges his listeners to practice and see for themselves. Students have noted that he engages his hearers with an infectious sense of humor, suffused with much loving kindness, often weaving amusing anecdotes from his experiences as a monk into his talks on meditation practice and how to experience life ("Everything belongs").

All posts by Ajahn Sumedho

You yourselves must strive, the Buddhas only point the way

Buddha, Dhp 276