Venerable Luang Por Anan Akiñcano

Venerable Luang Por Anan Akiñcano was born in the provincial town of Saraburi, Central Thailand, on 31 March 1954, with the name Anan Chan-in.

From an early age, he regularly accompanied his parents to the local temple to chant and pay respects to the monks, and developed a deep faith in the Buddha and the Buddhist teachings. He excelled in his studies and, soon after graduation, began working as an accountant at the Siam Cement Company. Although he was a diligent employee, he found himself increasingly drawn to Buddhist practice and began spending his free time living and practising at a nearby monastery.

For the next year, he continued working as an accountant while observing the eight precepts of a lay practitioner and deepening his meditation practice. After offering food to monks each morning, he would travel to work and return to the monastery in the evening to meditate. Through his practice, he gradually became certain that he wished to dedicate his life to the Buddha’s teachings and decided to enter the monastic order.

On 3 July 1975, he took full ordination under his preceptor and teacher, Reverend Luang Por Chah, receiving the Pali name Akiñcano, meaning “One Without Worries.”

Training under Luang Por Chah

Venerable Luang Por Chah (Bodhiñāṇa Thera) was one of Thailand’s most renowned meditation masters and a leading figure in the Thai Forest Tradition. Born in 1918 in Ubon Ratchathani Province in northeastern Thailand, he ordained as a monk at the age of 20. After completing his studies in the traditional Buddhist curriculum, he became increasingly drawn to the direct practice of meditation and in 1946 began the austere life of a wandering forest monk.

Following the example of the great forest masters, including Venerable Luang Por Mun, Luang Por Chah spent many years travelling through remote forests and practising meditation under various teachers. He eventually established Wat Nong Pah Pong, a forest monastery in northeastern Thailand that became the centre of a growing lineage of monastic practice.

It was at Wat Nong Pah Pong that Luang Por Anan spent the early years of his monastic life. He practised closely under Luang Por Chah and served as his personal attendant. Living in close proximity to his teacher allowed Luang Por Anan to receive direct guidance in meditation, monastic discipline, and the practical application of the Buddha’s teachings to everyday life.

Luang Por Chah was known for presenting the Dhamma in a direct, practical, and accessible way, emphasizing mindfulness, simplicity, discipline, and the investigation of the mind. His teachings attracted both Thai and international practitioners, and the tradition he established eventually spread to monasteries and communities around the world.

Luang Por Anan's Practice

Luang Por Anan spent the first four years of his monastic life practising at Wat Nong Pah Pong and its associated branches. His close relationship with Luang Por Chah played an important role in the development of his understanding of the Dhamma.

Encouraged by Luang Por Chah to seek out secluded places and deepen his meditation practice, Luang Por Anan subsequently spent approximately five years wandering through the forests of Isaan and the jungles of Central Thailand. During this period, he encountered many hardships, including wild animals, difficult conditions, and five near-fatal bouts of malaria.

In 1984, Luang Por Anan ended his wandering and founded a monastery on a newly offered section of uninhabited land on the coast of Central Thailand. Accompanied by two other monks and a novice, he settled in the dense forest of Rayong Province at what is now known as Wat Marp Jan, or “Monastery of the Moonlit Mountain.”

Over the following decades, Wat Marp Jan developed into an important centre of meditation and Dhamma practice, attracting monks and lay practitioners from Thailand and around the world.

Luang Por Anan is known for emphasizing the fundamentals of meditation and mindfulness, while presenting the Buddhist path in a manner that practitioners from different backgrounds can understand and apply to their lives. His teachings continue the tradition of practice transmitted through his teacher, Luang Por Chah, while reflecting his own decades of meditation, monastic experience, and teaching.

Today, Luang Por Anan serves as the abbot and teacher of Wat Marp Jan and guides a growing community of monks and lay practitioners. His teachings have attracted practitioners internationally, including monks from Australia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and many other countries.

His life and teachings continue to emphasize the importance of sincere practice, mindfulness, compassion, wisdom, and the gradual cultivation of the mind on the path to liberation.