Taking root in North Bend, website revamps sprouting soon!
N ote: As the Clear Mountain monks gently land in their new home in North Bend, our schedule is temporarily on hold as monastery hours gradually unfold more fully in November. Please hold tight, and stay tuned for revamped webpages (especially Daily Alms) coming soon. In the meantime, subscribe to our Newsletter or check our Linktree for the latest updates.
The Monastery
Clear Mountain Monastery is a Buddhist forest monastery. In Theravāda Buddhism and within the Early Buddhist Texts, the forest tradition represents a return to the simple way of life taught by the Buddha. Monastics aspire to live as the early disciples did: dwelling in the forest, studying the teachings, and devoting themselves to meditation. Monastics and laity exist in a relationship of mutual generosity, in which they support one another on the Buddha’s path towards complete liberation of the heart—Nibbāna.
From 2021 to 2026, Clear Mountain’s first monastics, Ajahn Nisabho and Ajahn Kovilo, generally lived on the quiet periphery of Seattle, going for alms most mornings at Pike Place Market. On Saturday mornings, those interested gathered at Amistad School next to Saint Mark’s Cathedral for meditation and teaching, and a community based on mutual generosity took root.
In mid-2026, after years of searching, Clear Mountain acquired 90 acres of forested land in North Bend, Washington, only 40 minutes from Seattle. The property, both close enough to remain accessible to those in the city and secluded enough to allow monastic retreat, represents an ideal location for the monastery to grow.
Clear Mountain envisions a flourishing home for up to 20 monastics—a sanctuary rooted in nature, quiet simplicity, and traditional monastic discipline (Vinaya). From this peaceful foundation, the monastery will warmly welcome the lay community to join in a rich variety of shared spiritual activities, including: daily meal offerings; chanting and meditation (pūjas); Sutta and Pāli scriptural study; online and public teachings; observance of the Buddhist holy days; visits from guest monastics; and retreats. Apart from a large temple able to hold several hundred people on celebration days, the monastery vision includes a multi-purpose hall, residence for visiting bhikkhunis, gardens, and forest paths—a refuge of peace for generations.
To learn more about Clear Mountain’s vision and how you can get involved, visit our Land Development page.
The Tradition
The greater forest tradition (araññavāsī) is a long-standing and original movement within Theravāda Buddhism hearkening back to the way in which the Buddha and his original disciples lived as depicted in the discourses of the Pāli Canon and other Early Buddhist Texts. Theravāda translates to “the Way of the Elders,” and is so named for its firm adherence to the essential teachings and monastic discipline expounded by the Buddha.
The forest tradition strongly emphasizes simple living close to nature, meditative practice, and the realization of Enlightenment as the focus of monastic life. Forest monasteries—situated on the outskirts of society—are primarily oriented around practicing the Buddha’s path of contemplative insight, including living a life of discipline, renunciation, and meditation in order to fully realize inner truth and peace. Living a life of considered and voluntary austerity allows forest monastics to simplify and refine the mind. This refinement empowers clarity and direct exploration of the fundamental causes of suffering within the heart and enables inward cultivation of the path leading towards freedom from suffering and to supreme happiness. Living frugally, with few possessions fosters the joy of an unburdened life and assists in subduing greed, pride, and other afflictive emotions and attitudes.
Buddhism has managed to keep intact over the centuries the rich and vital interrelationship between lay and monastic communities set forth by the Buddha. Theravāda monastics, although renunciants, are not permitted to be recluses. To ensure this the Buddha required that they be totally dependent upon the lay community for their physical support. Monks and nuns cannot handle money and they can only eat or drink that which is offered to them. At the same time, the monastic community provides an important function for the lay community by caring for their spiritual needs, and by providing moral and spiritual teachings and examples. The two communities, each essential to a balanced society, support and enrich one another.