Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery (‘Birken’) is a Canadian Theravada Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah. Also known by its Pali name, ‘Sītavana‘ (translated as ‘cool forest grove’), the monastery provides a peaceful forest refuge for monastics and lay people who are seeking to deepen their understanding and practice of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path. Venerable Ajahn Sona serves as the monastery’s Abbot and senior monastic teacher. Born in Canada, with training in both the Sri Lankan and Thai forest traditions, Ajahn Sona’s teaching style weaves together ancient eastern wisdom with modern western sensibilities. Operating entirely off-grid, the monastery employs leading-edge clean technologies and is a model of green
