About
Kittasaro ordained as a Buddhist monk with Ajahn Chah in Thailand in 1976 and spent 15 years in monastic practice, helping to establish Chithurst and Hartridge Monasteries in the UK. Since disrobing in 1991, he has taught meditation internationally. He has studied Chan, Pure Land, and mantra recitation under Master Hsuan Hua and his lineage since 1980. He is a core teacher at Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts, a guiding teacher at Chattanooga Insight in Tennessee, and a member of the Teachers Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. He co-founded Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat in South Africa with his wife, Thanissara.
Teaching focus
Kittasaro's teaching focus, drawn from the source profile, sits in the Theravada and Mahayana traditions. Several threads come up: steady attention to body and breath; the relationship between ethics and meditation; and short, direct teachings rather than long talks. On talks, the style is closer to thinking-along than presenting. Kittasaro works with whatever shows up in the room rather than reading from notes, which is part of why these talks land as conversational instead of scripted. Short pauses, longer sits, and questions that come back to direct experience are usual. Listed specialties on the source profile include retreat, advanced practice. The bigger move Kittasaro keeps making is back toward attention itself: what's happening, how it's being held, and what gets in the way. That keeps the teaching close to practice rather than drifting into commentary about practice. For talks, schedules, and longer essays, the affiliated organization's page is where the live material lives. Kittasaro's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on. Kittasaro's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on.
Background
Kittasaro teaches in the Theravada and Mahayana traditions. The teaching home is InsightLA. From the teacher's own profile: Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Kittisaro graduated from Princeton as a Rhodes Scholar. After leaving Oxford in 1976, he ordained with Ajahn Chah in Thailand. During his 15 years as a Buddhist monk, he helped found Chithurst and Hartridge Monasteries in the UK. Since disrobing in 1991, he has taught meditation internationally in the States, Europe, South Africa, and Israel. Inspired and guided by Master Hsuan Hua and his disciples since 1980, he has extensively studied and practiced Chan, Pure Land, and the recitation of mantras. Dedicated to the unification of the Mahayana and Theravada teachings, Kittisaro is interested in how the two traditions balance and support one another. Having completed two year-long self retreats, he enjoys exploring embodied meditation, wise reflection, and the power of puja recitation. Kittisaro is a core teacher at Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts, guiding teacher of Chattanooga Insight in Tennessee, and a member of the Teachers Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. He is co-founder with his wife, Thanissara, of Dharmagiri Sacred Mountain Retreat in South Africa, and Sacred Mountain Sangha, a public charity in Sebastopol. In the Insight stream Kittasaro works inside, the emphasis is on direct attention to body, feeling tone, and mind, alongside the brahmaviharas and an ongoing investigation of how clinging and aversion arise. Talks tend to be conversational rather than scripted, and there's room for sila and ethics to be talked about as part of practice rather than as a separate topic. Kittasaro's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Kittasaro's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Kittasaro's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Kittasaro's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Kittasaro's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography.
Lineage
Kittasaro teaches as a monastic teacher in the Theravada and Mahayana traditions. The institutional home, per the source listing, is InsightLA, and that's where most of the public teaching schedule and any retreat offerings will be posted. The Insight lineage in the West runs through teachers like Mahasi Sayadaw, U Ba Khin, Anagarika Munindra, and Dipa Ma into the founders of IMS, Spirit Rock, and the regional centers, and most contemporary Insight teachers position themselves somewhere in that broad family.
What to expect
On a class or retreat with Kittasaro, the basic shape is short instruction, longer sittings, and some Q&A. Retreats are part of the offering, usually a few days to a week, mostly silent. The container is shaped by InsightLA, so format details, fees, and access policies follow that organization's norms. Expect plenty of silence, less talking-at-you than you might think, and an emphasis on letting the practice do its work rather than chasing experiences. For exact dates, registration, and any sliding-scale or scholarship information, There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice.
