Europe; “The Garden of the Serene Heart”, is a Buddhist monastery of the ancient Theravada tradition. It was founded in 1990 in order to meet the existing interest among Italian Buddhists as well as the Thai, Sri Lankan and Burmese immigrant communities. The Santacittarama Association – the legal body representing the monastery – is a member of the Italian Buddhist Union and was officially recognized by the state as a religious organization in 1995. The monastery is located in the Sabina hills, about 50km. from Rome, in the district of Poggio Nativo, Rieti province.The resident community follows a tradition inspired by the Thai forest monk Venerable Ajahn Chah (1918-1992), an influential teacher under whom many Westerners, attracted by the clarity, simplicity and accessibilty of his teaching and practice, were ordained as monks in Thailand.
