Within the Thai Forest Tradition, teachers consistently give primacy to direct meditative experience and strict ethical discipline, while allowing textual study a clearly secondary, supportive role. Liberation is understood to arise from seeing the truth directly in one’s own mind through samādhi and vipassanā, rather than from accumulating conceptual knowledge. Forest masters such as Ajahn Mun and Ajahn Chah are often cited as exemplars of this orientation, stressing practice in seclusion and close attention to the Vinaya as the living context in which the Dhamma is realized. Excessive intellectualism is regarded with suspicion, because attachment to concepts and pride in learning are seen as obstacles to deep concentration and insight.

Texts, however, are not rejected; they are treated as a map rather than the destination. Canonical teachings and the Vinaya are studied to the extent necessary to establish right view, ethical conduct, and a sound meditative method. This study tends to be selective and functional, aimed at clarifying practice and confirming insights rather than at mastering a wide corpus or engaging in elaborate exegesis. In many monasteries associated with this tradition, chanting, basic Pāli terminology, and essential suttas are incorporated into the routine, but the daily schedule and communal ethos still revolve around meditation and mindfulness in all activities.

There is some variation among individual teachers, yet the underlying hierarchy of values remains stable. Certain figures have engaged more actively with texts and interpretation, while others, often with limited formal education, have relied primarily on personal realization and oral instruction. Across this spectrum, the shared conviction is that intellectual knowledge without corresponding realization is incomplete and potentially misleading. Scriptural learning is thus welcomed when it supports practice and gently restrained when it begins to overshadow the work of transforming the mind.

This orientation shapes not only what is taught, but how it is transmitted. Instruction tends to occur through direct guidance, personal interviews, and the example of the teacher’s conduct, rather than through extensive scholastic programs. Students are encouraged to “learn by doing,” allowing the Dhamma to be tested and verified in the crucible of their own experience. In this way, the Thai Forest Tradition positions itself as a meditative movement that honors the texts while steadfastly insisting that their true meaning is disclosed only in lived, contemplative realization.