AjahnPasanno is the most senior Western disciple of Ven. AjahnChah in the United States, and most senior in the world after AjahnSumedho and AjahnKhemadhammo for many years he was the abbot of WatPahNanachat International Forest Monastery in Northeast Thailand.
In the late 1990s,AjahnPasanno moved to California to head the new Abhayagiri Monastery. With more than 40 years as a bhikkhu AjahnPasanno has been instrumental in training many monks in Thailand and the United States and has been supportive of training for women.