In 1932, Buddhadasa founded his forest hermitage Suan Mokkh ('garden of release'), a center for study and serious practice in the Chaiya district, Surat Thani Province of southern Thailand. His primary teaching mainly focused on the quiet awareness of one's breathing pattern called anapanasati. But his personal practice was very much grounded in advanced research and interpretation of early Pali texts on the one hand, and on his radical private experimentation on the other hand.
In later years, Buddhadasa's teachings attracted many international seekers to his hermitage. He held talks with leading scholars and clergy of various faiths. His aim in these discussions was to probe the similarities at the heart of each of the major world religions. Before his death in 1993, he established an International Dhamma Hermitage Center across the highway from his own retreat to aid in the teaching of Buddhism and other yogic practices to international students.