Ven. Ajahn Mettiko

Born in Germany, Ven. Ajahn Mettiko was ordained at Wat Pa Nam Rin, Chiang Mai in Thailand in 2004 and spent four years with Luang Phor Thong Daeng Varapanno at Wat Phra Jao Tun Luang in Chiang Mai. Ven. Ajahn also spent time at Wat Pa Nanachat and went on tudong in Thailand and Germany.

Later, he went on tudong in New Zealand and also stayed at Vimutti Monastery.

He currently resides at Muttodaya Forest Monastery in Germany, the first forest monastery in his home country.

Ven. Ajahn Cagino

Ven. Ajahn Cagino, a Malaysian graduate of Liberal Arts was a professional photographer. As a photographer from the age of 22 to 27, he won no less than 40 awards and came out first in the Asia photography Competition. Before he ordained, he embarked on a journey to search for the Dhamma which led him to the forests of Thailand and New Zealand. He then ordained as a Samanera for one and a half years at the Ang Hock Si Temple in Penang. In 1996 at 29 years old, he ordained as a Theravada Bhikkhu and spent the next 5 years under Luang Por Gungha in Thailand. In 2001, he re-ordained at Wat Pah Nanachat under the Ven. Ajahn Chah tradition. It is during this period that he went “tudong” wandering through the forests of  the North and North East of Thailand covering a distance of no less than 4000km on foot. During his stay in the caves in Mae Hon Son province, he came across poor and innocent orphans of the minority tribes whom he thought have great potential if they have the right guidance and education. This led Ven. Ajahn  setting  up Dhammagiri Foundation, a Buddhist orphanage to help the orphans.

Luang Por Tiradhammo

Luang Por Tiradhammo is one of the most senior monks in the tradition of Ajahn Chah. He became interested in Dhamma in his student years while traveling through Sri Lanka.  Coming to Thailand and meditating at Wat Umong, he took ordination at Wat Meung Man in Chiang Mai with Venerable Tong in 1974. In 1975 he moved to study with Ajahn Cha at Wat Pa Pong and Wat Pa Nanachat. He went on several tudong journeys through the northeast of Thailand and the mountains of Chiang Mai, visiting many famous forest meditation masters. Venerable Tiradhammo was invited to England in 1982 to help with developments there. He spent two years at Chithurst Monastery and three years in charge of Harnham Vihara in Northumberland. In 1988, Ajahn helped establish Dhammapala Monastery near Bern, Switzerland, and also later at its new location in the Bernese Alpine village of Kandersteg where he was the senior monk until 2005. In July 2005 he assumed the position of a senior monk at Bodhinyanarama, Wellington, NZ where he remained as abbot for six and a half years.  Ajahn is currently of no fixed abode and travels widely to teach the Dhamma and to hold meditation retreats. His visits to many monasteries and other locations can be followed on his blog: http://tiradhammo.blogspot.com/.  Ajahn’s last visit to Singapore was in January 2019 where he held a 2-day non-residential meditation retreat at Wat Palelai on the 26th and 27th of January 2019.