LIFE STORY OF VEN. ACHARN TIPPAKORN SUKHITO

Ven. Acharn Tippakorn Sukhito was born on 5th of January 1962 in Bangkok. His mother’s name is Sai Sanom, his father’s name Sawath Bubpar.

His mother gave birth to three daugthers and wished very much to have a son. One day she went to the main chapel of Wat Phra "Kaew" in Bankok. She prayed to the famous Emerald Buddha "Phra Kaew" and asked for a son. Soon after she became pregnant and gave birth to a boy.

Acharn Tippakorn studied market economy. In 1982 he finished his studies and wanted to become a soldier. He entered the army and was sent to the Cambodian border. He received a medal of Honor for his activities in the army.

After one year he left the army and started to work.

It is tradition in Thailand that a young man should ordain once in his lifetime, to repay his parents’ kindness. That was the cause for Acharn Tippakorn to become a monk in 1989. He ordained at Wat Sanghathan, Nonthaburi and the ven. Phra Acharn Sanong Katapunyo was his teacher.

When he started to practise intensive Vipassana Meditation, he experienced happiness which he never encountered before in his life. So, he did not disrobe after one rainy season as was usual but stayed for the first three years of his monkhood at Wat Nong Pai, Suphanburi Province where he spent a long time keeping silence and meditating in his small hut.

Then he went with another teacher to Sukhothai Province, to stay there for the rains-retreat. This teacher got sick and had to return to Bangkok - so Acharn Tippakorn stayed alone in the forest near a village to help the people there. He lived there for one year using just an umbrella and a mosquito net.

After that year he went to Mae Hong Sorn Province and lived there on the top of a mountain near a hilltribe village.

In the beginning he stayed only with his umbrella in the forest. After a while the hilltribes developed faith in him and built him a small hut.

Those hilltribes weren't Buddhists but believed in spirits. They lived mainly from planting Opium and the whole village was addicted to Opium. Within the four years that Acharn Tippakorn stayed there, the whole village stopped taking drugs and cultivating them.

He provided them with nutritional food and medicines in the time of their withdrawal and taught them how to live cleaner and healthier and how to help themselves in many ways. He taught them how to protect themselves and their families and not to allow drugs to enter their village anymore. He introduced them to plant trees and created a whole area were people could not come to cut trees but leave the environment as natural as possible.

Now, he still visits this village every year, giving medicines, warm clothes and toys to the villagers.

After four years he returned to Wat Sanghathan. In 1998 the ven. Luang Phor Sanong Katapunyo, abbot of Wat Sanghathan, asked Acharn Tippakorn to take over Wat Thamkrisanadhammaram at the Khao Yai National Park.

Since then he is the abbot of this temple. He takes care of many Thai and foreign students. He could help a few Thais and foreigners to get rid of their addiction to drugs and helped as well a few people who had mental problems, which were not cured by psychiatric and mental hospitals.

Through his loving kindness he were able to give help to many people who had great difficulty to stay in another environment.

Meanwhile more and more foreign students from all over the world come to his Center to learn about meditation and how to solve their daily problems in Dhamma way.

In Wat Thamkrisanadhammaram there are monthly retreats held for Thais and Foreigners. The course starts every first Saturday of the month and lasts seven days.

Acharn Tippakorn has translators to English, German and Italian language and welcomes foreigners from every nationality and religion.