Thai Theravada monk Ajahn Marut donated his ancestral family land in Surat Thani province to the Sugar Land, Texas, organization, 25 years after its founder completed her awakening in Thailand
Awakened Zen Master Thich Dieu Thien (Awakened One) has returned from the opening in Thailand and is available for media interviews, podcasts and personal appearances.
Fast Facts
- Organization: Universal Door Meditation Center, a Buddhist meditation organization registered in the United States
- Founded: 2003, on Charles Lane in Sugar Land, Texas
- Headquarters: 15202 Dora Lane, Sugar Land, Texas 77498; the nine-acre Dora Lane property opened in October 2017
- Founder: Awakened Zen Master Thich Dieu Thien (Awakened One), who completed her awakening in Thailand in 2001
- Centers: Universal Door Meditation Center, Sugar Land, Texas; Suoi Tu Meditation Center, Dallas; Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center, Surat Thani province, Thailand
- New center address: 52 Nachaom Village 3, Tha Kradan, Khiri Rat Nikhom, Surat Thani 84180, Thailand
- Thailand Land donor: Ajahn Marut, Thai Theravada monk, from his ancestral family land
- Awakened Zen Master Thich Dieu Thien (Awakened One) is available for media interviews, podcasts and personal appearances
- Websites: universaldoormeditationcenter.org and thaiphomonawakenedcenter.org
At the Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center opening last month, from left: Ajahn Marut; Awakened Zen Master Thich Dieu Thien and Awakened Zen Master Thich Thong Hoi, seated at center; and Ajahn Sakchai. They are joined by members of the Thai Pho Mon Sangha.
SUGAR LAND, Texas, Sept. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Universal Door Meditation Center, a Buddhist organization founded in 2003 in Sugar Land, Texas, is establishing the Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center in Surat Thani province, Thailand, on ancestral family land donated by Thai Theravada monk Ajahn Marut. The Thailand center is the organization's third location and its first outside of the United States.
The new center sits at 52 Nachaom Village 3, Tha Kradan, Khiri Rat Nikhom, Surat Thani 84180, roughly 400 miles south of Bangkok. Ajahn Marut offered the land to Awakened Zen Master Thich Dieu Thien and Awakened Zen Master Thich Thong Hoi, the organization's two teachers, and described the donation as fulfilling a wish he first formed 50 years earlier when he ordained. Ajahn Poh, abbot of Suan Mokkh, publicly supported the project.
Thailand holds specific significance for Thich Dieu Thien. She fully awakened in 2001 at Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage, the forest monastery associated with the late Ajahn Buddhadasa, then returned to Houston and began teaching a small group of students. Universal Door Meditation Center opened two years later.
Thailand's mainstream ecclesiastical system imposes legal and institutional limits on the ordination of bhikkhunis, the fully ordained order of Buddhist nuns. Thich Dieu Thien teaches in Thailand as the spiritual leader of a U.S.-registered organization that conducts international Dharma work, and Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center operates as a private international meditation center rather than as a temple within the Thai monastic structure.
"People are often trapped in outward appearances. They only see that she is a Vietnamese nun, young, wearing yellow robes," said Ajahn Marut, a Thai Theravada monk who donated the land for Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center. "But with the wisdom-eye of a true practitioner, I do not see that. I see her as the complete Awakened Mind, returned to the Awakened Source."
The relationship between the Thai monastics and the two teachers dates to 2018, when Ajahn Marut and Thich Dieu Thien met during a Dharma encounter. Ajahn Marut traveled to Universal Door Meditation Center in Houston and Suoi Tu Meditation Center in Dallas in 2025 to attend a wisdom-opening session. In July 2026, Thich Dieu Thien and Thich Thong Hoi led a wisdom-opening session for Thai practitioners at the Surat Thani site alongside Ajahn Marut, Ajahn Sakchai and the Thai Pho Mon Sangha.
"This land is where I attained enlightenment in 2001. Now Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center opens here so that all beings — without regard to body, gender, nationality or tradition — realize and live with their True Nature," said Awakened Zen Master Thich Dieu Thien. "Awakening belongs to the Awakened Mind, not to outward form. This center is an open door for every form that is ready to return to the Awakened Source."
Awakened Zen Master Thich Dieu Thien, viewer's left, and Awakened Zen Master Thich Thong Hoi, viewer's right, lead a wisdom session for Thai attendees at Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center in July.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center?
Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center is at 52 Nachaom Village 3, Tha Kradan, Khiri Rat Nikhom, Surat Thani 84180, Thailand, in Surat Thani province in southern Thailand.
Who donated the land for Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center?
Ajahn Marut, a Thai Theravada monk, donated his ancestral family land to Awakened Zen Master Thich Dieu Thien and Awakened Zen Master Thich Thong Hoi of Universal Door Meditation Center. He has said the donation fulfilled a wish he formed 50 years earlier when he was ordained.
Who is Awakened Zen Master Thich Dieu Thien?
Thich Dieu Thien is a Vietnamese Buddhist nun who founded Universal Door Meditation Center in Sugar Land, Texas, in 2003. She completed her awakening in 2001 at Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage in Thailand, the Buddhist monastery associated with the late Ajahn Buddhadasa.
How can a Vietnamese nun teach the Dharma in Thailand?
Thich Dieu Thien teaches in Thailand as the spiritual leader of Universal Door Meditation Center, a Buddhist organization registered in the United States, and her work there is dedicated to expanding awakening and Dharma teaching. Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center operates as a private international meditation center on privately donated land, outside the Thai ecclesiastical structure that governs temple ordination.
Can women be fully ordained as bhikkhunis in Thailand?
Thailand's mainstream ecclesiastical system places legal and institutional limits on bhikkhuni ordination, the full ordination of Buddhist nuns. Women who renounce household life face restrictions inside that system. Those limits apply to ordination within the Thai Sangha and do not govern a private international meditation center.
What is the relationship between Universal Door Meditation Center and Suan Mokkh?
Thich Dieu Thien completed her awakening at Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage in 2001. Ajahn Poh, abbot of Suan Mokkh, publicly supported the establishment of Thai Pho Mon Awakened Center.
How many centers does Universal Door Meditation Center operate?
About Universal Door Meditation Center
Universal Door Meditation Center (Thien Vien Pho Mon in Vietnamese) is a Buddhist meditation organization founded in 2003 in Sugar Land, Texas, by Awakened Zen Master Thich Dieu Thien. “Pho Mon” means “universal door” in Vietnamese. The organization runs weekly meditation sessions, one-day and multi-day retreats, youth and teen programs, and online sessions in English and Vietnamese, and it welcomes participants regardless of nationality, culture, religion, age, or background. Its stated mission is to awaken people to realize their true nature, return to the Awakened Source and liberate the source of suffering to live with wisdom, compassion, and freedom. Universal Door Meditation Center operates centers in Sugar Land, Texas; Dallas; and Surat Thani province, Thailand. Learn more at universaldoormeditationcenter.org.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
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