An Isle of Wight-born Buddhist monk has made global history after becoming the highest-ranking foreign-born monk in Thailand’s Theravada Buddhist hierarchy following a royal appointment.
68-year-old Shaun Michael Chiverton, now known as Ajahn Jayasaro, has been elevated to the rank of Somdet Phra Rachakhana, placing him just one level below Thailand’s Supreme Patriarch – the highest authority in the country’s Buddhist order.
The appointment, announced by royal decree and published in Thailand’s Royal Gazette earlier this month, marks the first time a foreign-born monk has reached the prestigious rank.
Born on the Isle of Wight, Shaun’s interest in Buddhism began during his teenage years in the 1970s. After studying Buddhist philosophy in England, he travelled to Thailand in 1979 to immerse himself in the Theravada tradition.
He became a disciple of the highly respected meditation master, Luang Por Chah Subhaddo, and was ordained as a fully-fledged monk within 18 months, receiving the monastic name Jayasaro, meaning ‘one who is victorious through the dhamma’.
Over the following decades, Ajahn Jayasaro became one of the most respected figures in Thailand’s Buddhist community. He spent 16 years at Wat Pah Nanachat – the International Forest Monastery, where he served as both deputy abbot and later abbot before stepping down in 2003 to live at a forest hermitage.
Since then, he has focused on teaching meditation and has authored numerous books in both English and Thai on Buddhist philosophy and practice.
His contribution to Buddhism has been widely recognised having previously been described by the Bangkok Post as “one of Thailand’s most respected contemporary Buddhist teachers.”
In 2011, he received an honorary doctorate in Buddhist Communications from Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, before being granted Thai citizenship by King Vajiralongkorn in 2020.
Ajahn Jayasaro has continued to rise through Thailand’s monastic hierarchy in recent years, receiving several promotions before his latest historic appointment.
Theravada Buddhism is the second-largest branch of Buddhism worldwide and is the dominant religion in Thailand, where the vast majority of the population identify as Buddhists.
The country is home to more than 44,000 registered temples and an estimated 300,000 Buddhist monks.
