Wat Marp Jan, also called Wat Pa Marp Jan or Anandagiri, sits in the hills of Klaeng district in Rayong province, southeast of Bangkok. The monastery is the home seat of Ajahn Anan Akiñcano, one of the senior Western-facing teachers in the Thai Forest tradition and a long-serving disciple of Ajahn Chah. Ajahn Anan ordained at Wat Pah Pong, Ajahn Chah's main monastery in Ubon, in the 1970s and was sent to establish Wat Marp Jan in 1985. He has lived there as abbot ever since. The monastery is large by forest-tradition standards, spread across a mountainside of secondary growth jungle with kutis cut into the slope. Senior Sangha members and a steady stream of international monks live in residence. Lay practitioners, both Thai and foreign, come for stays ranging from a few days to several months. The atmosphere is strict. Vinaya is followed without compromise. Yogis are expected to keep silence, observe the eight precepts, and treat the daily form of the monastery as their practice container. What makes Marp Jan distinctive in the Ajahn Chah lineage is the combination of strong meditative emphasis and the unusual openness to lay long-stay practice in English. Other Wat Pah Pong branches accept Western lay yogis, but few have a teacher of Ajahn Anan's standing personally giving regular dhamma talks in English-friendly settings. The monastery hosts no formal retreat program in the Western sense. Instead, lay yogis fold into the rhythm of the resident Sangha, attending morning and evening chanting, eating one meal a day, doing a work period, and meditating between. Foreign guests apply through the monastery's English-language website. Acceptance is at the discretion of the guest monk and Ajahn Anan's senior students. The monastery does not advertise. It is found by word of mouth across the Insight and Forest networks, and many of its long-stay yogis arrive on the recommendation of a teacher or sangha back home.
There is no taught retreat. Instead, the monastery's daily form is the practice. The day begins between three and four with private meditation in the kuti or walking on forest paths. Morning chanting and group sitting in the main sala start at five. Almsround follows, with the monastic Sangha walking the local villages while lay yogis help prepare the meal hall. The single daily meal is taken before noon in silence, after blessing and reflection chants. Afternoons are for solo practice, work period (sweeping paths, washing robes, kitchen support), and rest. Evening chanting and a dhamma talk from Ajahn Anan or a senior monk run from around six. Sitting continues afterward, often late. Instruction is given through the talks, occasional individual interviews when Ajahn Anan is available, and the form itself. The expected practice is anapanasati paired with mindfulness of the body in daily activity, in the standard Thai Forest pattern inherited from Ajahn Chah. Posture is taught conservatively. Phones are not used during the day. Reading is permitted but discouraged. Yogis who cannot maintain the form are asked to leave.
Wat Marp Jan stands inside the Wat Pah Pong lineage of the Thai Forest tradition. Ajahn Anan trained directly under Ajahn Chah, who in turn trained under Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta, the lineage founder who revived strict forest practice in early twentieth century Thailand. Ajahn Mun's line emphasizes solitary meditation in nature, full Vinaya observance, and the cultivation of samadhi as a base for insight. Ajahn Anan is recognized as one of the most accomplished of Ajahn Chah's surviving Western-fluent successors. His talks circulate widely in the Insight world through translation and recording.
Practitioners who want to live inside a Sangha rather than attend a retreat program, and who can maintain Vinaya and form without daily handholding.
Those who have read Ajahn Chah's teachings or sat with branch teachers in the West (Abhayagiri, Amaravati, Birken) and want to practice with a senior direct disciple.
Yogis ready for a one to three month stay where the daily form, not formal instruction, is the teacher.
Arrival is at the monastery office, often after a long taxi ride from the nearest town. Lay yogis are assigned a kuti, given a robe set if they are taking eight precepts, and shown the morning routine. The first day is observation only. From day two the yogi is expected to keep the full form. The atmosphere is quiet, the hills are steep, the kutis are basic, and the heat in the dry months is intense. Mosquitos are a fact of life. There is no welcoming program. Practitioners who came expecting a retreat-style container sometimes leave early. Those who settle in tend to stay longer than they planned.
Accommodation is in single forest kutis with raised platforms, mosquito nets, and shared toilet facilities nearby. A small number of shared rooms exist for newer guests. Food is one Thai vegetarian meal taken before noon, prepared by lay supporters and offered to the Sangha first. Tea and light drinks are available through the afternoon. Walking grounds cover several kilometers of marked forest paths up the mountain. Cold showers only.
The monastery operates entirely on dana. There is no fee for any length of stay. Lay yogis are encouraged to make a donation in the office at the end of their stay, to support the food fund and ongoing construction. The monastery does not publish rates, suggested amounts, or solicit at any point during the retreat. Many long-stay yogis also offer practical service to the Sangha, helping in the kitchen, on grounds, or with translation work. Travel and visa are the yogi's own.
The form holds you when your motivation runs out.
Through the monastery's English-language website. The guest monk reviews applications and writes back with a possible date. Acceptance often takes several weeks. First-time guests are usually limited to a one or two week initial stay, with the option to extend if they fit the form. The monastery may decline applications without explanation when the Sangha is full.
No. Lay guests keep eight precepts and wear white. Some choose to ordain temporarily after a longer stay, but it is not required. The monastery does ordain temporarily, with the abbot's permission and after a substantial residential period of demonstrated practice.
Ajahn Anan teaches in Thai. His talks are typically translated live into English by senior bilingual monks when international yogis are present. Some longer talks have been recorded and translated and circulate online. Yogis with no Thai will follow most teachings.
Not in the Western retreat sense. Yogis are expected to know the rudiments of anapanasati on arrival. Senior monks answer questions individually, and the daily talks address practice. Beginners are better off starting at a center with structured teaching before coming.
Compare upcoming retreat dates, prices, and availability for Wat Marp Jan (Anandagiri) and similar centers.
OMP earns a small commission if you book through Tripaneer's network. Editorial ranking isn't affected.