Ajahn Chah (1918-92) was part of a movement to establish simple monastic communities in the remote forests of Thailand. At this date over one hundred forest monasteries have been established that look to his teaching as their inspiration. Ajahn Chah's simple yet profound style of teaching has a special appeal to Westerners, and in 1979 the first of several branch monasteries in the West was established in England, and there are now more than ten monasteries in the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Ajahn Amaro is abbot of the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in southeast England and author of numerous books and articles on Buddhist themes across traditions. Born in England in 1956, Ven. Amaro received his BSc. in Psychology and Physiology from the University of London. He studied Buddhism in Thailand in the Forest Tradition and was ordained as a bhikkhu by Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah at Wat Pah Nanachat in 1979. He returned to England and joined Ajahn Sumedho at the newly established Chithurst Monastery. He resided for many years at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England, and in 1996 he established Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, California. He lived there until 2010, when he was called back to Amaravati to assume the duties of abbot. Jack Kornfield co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, in 1975 and later the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. He holds a PhD in clinical psychology. His books include After the Ecstasy, the Laundry and the national bestseller A Path with Heart.