Ajahn Thate
| Phra Rajanirodharangsee Gambhirapanyavisiddhi (Thet Desarangsi) |
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|---|---|
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| Religion | Buddhist |
| School | Theravada |
| Lineage | Thai Forest Tradition |
| Other names | Luangpu Thet Thetrangsi Venerable Ajahn Thate |
| Dharma names | Desarangsi |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | Thai |
| Born |
April 26, 1902 Baan Nah Seedah, Tambon Klang Yai, Amphoe Ban Phue, Udon Thani Province |
| Died | 17 December 1994 (aged 92) Wat Hin Maak Peng, Amphoe Si Chiang Mai, Nong Khai Province |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Wat Hin Maak Peng |
| Title | Than Ajahn |
| Predecessor | Venerable Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta Mahathera |
| Religious career | |
| Teacher | Venerable Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta Mahathera |
Phra Ajaan Thate Desaransi, (Ajaan Thate) (Phra Rajanirodharangsee) (Luangpu Thet Thetrangsi) (Phra Desarangsee) (1902–1994) was one of the most famous masters of Theravada Buddhist meditation known as the Thai Forest Tradition who lived in northern Thailand.
Ajahn Thate was born into the family of Ree-o rahng on 26 April 1902 (in the Buddhist calendar the fourth day of the waning moon in the year of the tiger). His birthplace was the village of Nah Seedah, in the subdistrict of Glahng Yai, Bahn Peur District, Udorn-thani Province. His father's first name was Usah, and his mother's Krang. They were rice-farmers and both had grown up as fatherless orphans. Thate was one of ten children.
Thate was a disciple of the very respected Forest Monk teachers Ajahn Sao and Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta. One of his fellow disciples at that time was the Ajahn Chah. Another fellow disciple who remained a lifelong friend was Ajahn Maha Bua.
Living and meditating in isolated caves and forests, Thate began to obtain acute insights into the workings of the mind.
"I directed mindfulness so that it was keeping closely aware of the mind, following it to know what happens at death. Mindfulness stayed with the heart right up to the final moment when only the barest awareness remained. A feeling was present that to release that faint degree of awareness would be death. At this point, the question became whether it would be better for me to let go and allow death to take place. I felt that my heart was currently quite pure and that if I were to let go, I wouldn't lose because of it. Although there also remained a delicate feeling that expressed the thought that: 'rather than letting go and die, by remaining alive, I could continue to be of benefit to other people. If it were all to finish here with my death, then it could only be to my own purely personal advantage. Also, people wouldn't know the full circumstances and causes of this death. If that's the case, it's certainly better not to let myself die.' I therefore attempted to wiggle and move my hands and feet, until I came around."
"Sometimes, it even happened that although I was asleep and aware of the fact, I was unable to get up. It took some effort on my part to move the body and by that come back to waking consciousness again. My own understanding at that time was that the stilled, one-pointed heart, didn't allow thoughts to careen away externally and so would definitely be able to transcend every bit of suffering. I thought that wisdom's only function was to purge the out-wanderings of the heart and return it to a state of stillness."
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