The Chithurst Story: George Sharp's Commitment to Cittaviveka | Ajahn Dhammasiha
On occasion of Ajahn Karuniko's visit, Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the foundation of Cittaviveka Monastery in 1979. Cittaviveka, in Sussex, England, is the first monastery of the tradition of Ajahn Chah in a Western country. Ajahn Dhammasiha relates crucial events of its establishment, as described in the book "The Chithurst Story" by George Sharp. It required great courage and dedication from George Sharp as secretary of the 'English Sangha Trust', and very hard work and sacrifice by the sangha and countless volunteers, to turn a derelict English country manor into beautiful Chithurst monastery with a thriving community of monks, nuns and lay guests. You can read the details in the free PDF version of book here: https://amaravati.org/dhamma-books/the-chithurst-story-before-beyond/ There's also a BBC documentary on youtube, filmed in the early days of Cittaviveka and containing footage of Ajahn Chah during his visit there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K_AFgRgRu4 (this version contains Thai and Chinese subtitles, and is much better visual quality (720p) than the other versions available on youtube.) There's another BBC Documentary, "The Mindful Way" from 1979, about life at Ajahn Chah's monastery Wat Nong Pah Pong (unfortunately only in 240p): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GOQp0fTIo4Info about Dhammagiri here:www.dhammagiri.net