Ajahn Vajiro has been a monk for nearly 40 years. In 1979, he met Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho when they made a visit to Hampstead Vihara in Oakenholt, England. He received higher ordination in Thailand in 1980 at Wat Pah Pong. After helping with the opening of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in the UK, he participated in the running of both Harnham Buddhist Monastery and Chithurst Forest Monastery. In 1993 he moved to New Zealand to lead the Bodhinyanarama community in Wellington for five years. Following this he entered a three-year retreat in Australia before returning to Amaravati in 2001. In 2012 he moved to Portugal where he had been closely involved in the establishment of Sumedharama Buddhist Monastery near Lisbon, which is where he is now based.