Mae Chee Ahmon
A nun for 51 years, Mae Chee Ahmon, 86, is the guiding force of Wat Kow Tahm Monastery and the overseer of the International Meditation Center.
This is rare in Thailand, especially women of her generation. Hearing of her sparked Steve and Rosemary's interest in visiting the monastery in 1987. At that time Koh Phangan was much less developed and there was no pier for the boats to dock. People had to get out of the express boat onto a long tail boat and finally wade through knee high water to get ashore. Paved roads were uncommon.
What Rosemary and Steve didn't know was that Mae Chee Ahmon had been corresponding with the Abbot of the monastery where they had been staying, prior to coming to Wat Kow Tahm. She had requested him to send her some "experienced" Western meditators, who speak English, to teach travelers who were coming to her center wanting to learn meditation. So when they told the Abbot they wanted to go to Koh Phangan for three weeks of meditation he recommended that they visit Wat Kow Tahm and wrote a letter of recommendation to give to Mae Chee Ahmon.
With that letter of introduction in hand, Rosemary and Steve, hiked up the hill, to be met by a delighted, tiny (she is under 5 feet,) white robed Mae Chee Ahmon, then 65, but looking more like 45.
It wasn't long before she asked Steve and Rosemary to teach retreats and a planned stay of three weeks has extended into 21 years!
Although a tiny women, Mae Chee Ahmon's size is deceptive, hiding an extremely committed and dedicated woman, who ignored all the conventions of her time, to develop a small monastery on a rocky hill with magnificent views of Koh Samui Island and the sea.
Stories abound of the ruggedness of the terrain, the Spartan existence of the early years, both of the Wat and the fledging International Meditation Center, the hardships of less financial support (unlike a Thai nun, a Monk usually has no problem getting Thai support for such a worthwhile venture) and the blame she received in both beginning and continuing to develop something so unconventional.
Despite the challenges, she, together with Rosemary and Steve and a small handful of dedicated nuns and Western volunteers, have created a meditation sanctuary, where more than 7,000 people from over 70 countries have completed retreats and learned about the Buddha's teaching.