Ajahn Sucitto

Ajahn Sucitto was born in London in 1949, but moved to the small town of Dunstable in his teens. His first encounter with Buddhism came through an interest in Japanese literature while at grammar school, but he found nothing to follow it up in his local town. The continuing interest in literature carried him through a B.A. in English and American Literature at Warwick University in 1971. After that, the search for a meaningful direction in life eventually attracted him to take an overland trip through the East, heading for Australia. Following a period in India, he went to Thailand in 1975, where he happened across a class in Buddhist meditation in Chiang Mai. After a few days' practice, he decided to make a tentative commitment to the Holy Life.

He spent three years in Thailand, mostly at Wat Kiriwong in Nakhon Sawan. During a short sojourn in Chiang Mai, however, he met Ajahn Sumedho, before the latter left for England. When Ajahn Sucitto himself returned to England in 1978 to visit his family, he met Ajahn Sumedho again at the Hampstead Vihara, and decided to stay and train with him. During the years he lived for the most part with Ajahn Sumedho, and was responsible for editing and publishing his talks, as well as other Sangha publications.

Ajahn Sucitto was one of the original group of who founded Chithurst Monastery Cittaviveka in 1979. He also helped to establish a vihara in Northumberland, Aruna Ratanagiri on 1981. In 1984 he was part of the community that moved from Chithurst to Hertfordshire to start Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, where had the responsibility of supervising the nuns training, as well as other teaching duties. During this time he also began teaching overseas. In 1992 he was asked to take over the function of senior incumbent at Chithurst Monastery where he now resides.