Ajarn Prasert Udhayachalerm
From the first question that began his journey, “Could it be that suffering comes from me?” to his lifelong dedication to the Dhamma, Ajarn Prasert’s path reveals a timeless truth: Peace does not depend on belief, culture, or religion. It begins within.
Through his compassionate guidance at Meditation Island, he continues to share the living Dhamma, not as dogma but as a path for all who seek freedom from suffering and wish to live in harmony with truth and nature.
Walking the Path of True Peace
Before turning toward the study and practice of Dhamma, Ajarn Prasert Uthaichalerm lived an ordinary worldly life. He earned his master’s degree in the United States in 1980 and built a successful career in business, managing import and real estate ventures in Thailand. But in 1996, during the Asian financial crisis, everything changed. The collapse of his businesses brought deep suffering, loss, and disillusionment.
At his lowest point, his mother, Khun Mae Yindee, gently encouraged him to seek peace through the Dhamma. That moment became the turning point of his life.
Turning Toward Dhamma Practice
In 1997, Ajarn Prasert attended his first meditation retreat. As his mind grew calm and deeply concentrated, profound inner experiences began to unfold. A question naturally arose:
“What is the truth between what I see and what I really am?”
One day, while bowing before a Buddha statue, a sudden realization appeared: “Where has the suffering gone?” In that moment, suffering simply vanished. The debts and problems still existed, but the pain within had disappeared. He began to see clearly that suffering arises and fades due to causes and conditions; it is not the external situation, but the inner clinging that creates pain.
A deeper insight followed:
“If suffering comes from me, then peace must also come from within.”
This question became the compass guiding his journey of practice.
For nearly a decade, from 1997 to 2006, he devoted himself to meditation and Dhamma study, seeking to understand the path that leads to the end of suffering. Eventually, he chose to ordain as a monk, driven by one question: “What exactly did the Buddha awaken to?”
Entering Monastic Life
As a monk, Ajarn Prasert practiced with sincerity and discipline under Venerable Ajahn Nuanjan Kittipanyo, a Vipassana master at the Young Buddhists Association of Thailand. He held a deep conviction: “If we wish to see true monks in this world, it must begin with ourselves. There’s no need to criticize others; just practice rightly and live rightly.”
Through years of sincere effort, he gained clear insight into the Dhamma, which inspired his book “Doo Jit Nueng Phansa” (Observing the Mind for One Rains Retreat), later published by Amarin Publishing House. It became a national bestseller, offering readers a glimpse into the inner transformation that comes from mindful awareness.
Though circumstances led him to disrobe after seven months due to an ongoing legal matter, his dedication to spreading the Dhamma only deepened. He continued to teach and guide others toward the path of liberation.
Walking the Buddha’s Original Path
After years of practice and study, Ajarn Prasert sought to rediscover the essence of the Buddha’s original teachings. He asked himself: “How did the Buddha actually teach during his time?”This inquiry led him to study the Tipitaka (Pali Canon) directly, where he found the clarity he had long been seeking. He discovered the pure path of the Noble Eightfold Path.
He later met Luang Por Ian, a direct disciple of Ajahn Buddhadasa, whose guidance helped deepen his understanding of how to live the Dhamma in everyday life. From that point forward, Ajarn Prasert devoted himself to walking and teaching the path exactly as the Buddha taught: simple, direct, and profound.
Sharing the Dhamma with Compassion
Today, Ajarn Prasert’s work focuses on helping others understand suffering and its true cause. His teachings invite practitioners of any faith or background to look deeply into their own experience to see how ignorance, attachment, and mistaken identity give rise to pain, and how insight dissolves it.
He teaches that suffering does not come from the outside world, not from people, things, or events, but from within, through the false sense of “I” and “mine.” When the illusion of self fades, the mind returns to its natural state: clear, still, and free.
Through walking the Noble Eightfold Path, one gradually weakens ignorance, releases clinging, and realizes the nature of all things as impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not-self. When wrong view ends, peace arises. This peace is not an idea, it is the direct realization of truth, known in the silence of the heart.