In early July, 1939, Ajahn Kongmaa called a meeting of five local Chanthaburi monasteries. The purpose of the gathering was to cultivate unity and harmony among the monks, novices, and lay people to ensure that Buddhism would continue to prosper in the area. Primarily, he wanted to make the practice of the monastic rules consistent so that monks residing in all five monasteries would be observing the monastic code and practicing proper etiquette to the same standard. After the meeting adjourned, Ajahn Kongmaa delivered an inspiring Dhamma talk to raise the spirits of the monks and novices and stimulate the development of their meditation practice.

At the outset of the rains retreat that year, Ajahn Kongmaa established the daily routine to be followed by all monks residing at Sai Ngaam Forest Monastery. He mandated that silence should prevail after dusk and throughout the night—no one should disturb the quietude. Monks must strive to maintain a calm body and a quiet mind. At 7:30 p.m. every evening, a bell announced the time for evening chanting. Ajahn Kongmaa’s nightly Dhamma talk followed the chanting, after which the monks remained seated in meditation until 11:00 p.m. Ajahn Kongmaa stressed that anyone who fell asleep in the hall before that time had to make up for his lapse of concentration by meditating throughout the night until dawn.

At precisely 3:00 a.m., the first bell of the day woke the monks and novices, calling them to rise from their sleeping mats and begin walking meditation. The bell sounded again at 4:00 a.m., summoning the monks to the main hall to practice seated meditation, and at 5:00 a.m. sharp the morning chanting began. Upon the conclusion of chanting, the monks stood up in unison and quickly focused their attention on their assigned chore of preparing the main hall for the morning meal. Each monk spread a sitting cloth at his appointed seat on the dais, readied water for drinking and washing, and helped sweep the hall clean of dust. Once all the tasks were completed, the monks knelt at their seats and bowed three times to the Buddha statue and then did the same to Ajahn Kongmaa. Only then were they ready to walk to the village to receive alms.

After returning to the monastery with food offerings, the monks ate their meal in silence. The bowls from which they ate were then washed, thoroughly dried, and returned to each monk’s hut where they were put neatly away for the day. By 9:00 a.m. the monks were seated, meditating in the solitude of the forest. Both sitting and walking meditation continued until 3:00 p.m. at which point the paths around the monastery were swept of leaves and twigs and the main hall’s floor was again dusted and polished in keeping with a long-standing tradition of Thai forest monks...

Ajahn Kongmaa trained his students to uphold the high standards expected of forest monastics. In addition to studying the ancient Pāli texts, meditation—aimed at both meditative calm and wisdom—was practiced daily. Ajahn Kongmaa stressed that samādhi and wisdom were like the two wheels on a cart: Only when both wheels worked in unison could the cart move forward. The calm and concentration of samādhi enabled wisdom to reach deeply to remove mental defilements; the intuitive insights that uprooted defilements, in turn, deepened meditative calm. In this manner, the two worked together to lead a practitioner along the path to enlightenment. Besides study and meditation, attendance at the fortnightly recital of the Pāṭimokkha rules was mandatory for the whole community, as was attendance at Sangha meetings and Ajahn Kongmaa’s frequent Dhamma talks. Monastics were obliged to perform pūjās and chant devotional verses on all important Buddhist holy days.