The ideological inspirer of the center for the study of consciousness is the Buddhist teacher Ajahn Nyanadasano, who is a monk for more than 20 years. Having grown up in Soviet Latvia and studied for a long time in Buddhist monasteries in Europe and Asia, Ajahn has a good understanding of the peculiarities of the mentality of people living in the post-Soviet space, and a confident knowledge of Buddhist theory and practice. The founders of the center included Russian practitioners and followers of various Buddhist traditions who have been actively engaged in the spread of Buddhism over the past decade: they organized training programs, were involved in the process of translating and publishing important literature, held regular sessions of meditation practice.

The project of the Dhammavichaya Center arose thanks to the Thai Forest Tradition, which is followed by Ajahn Nyanadassano, it has inspired and continues to inspire thousands of people around the world. The founder of this tradition was Ajahn Chah, a famous teacher who made a huge contribution to the spread of Buddhist teachings. His direct disciple Ajahn Sumedho is a teacher, as well as the founder of the English monastery of Amaravati. Followers of the Thai Forest tradition are known for their commitment to practice and strict moral discipline, and they supplement their book and conceptual knowledge with the experience gained through meditation. It is this view of practice that we want to maintain and develop at the Dhammavichaya Center.

Luang Por Sumedho was born as Robert Jackman on the 27 July 1934 in Seattle, Washington state.

During the Korean war, at the age of 18 he joined the US Navy and for four years was serving on a supply ship. Several times he crossed the Pacific ocean, going from California to Japan and back. He became a keen reader and took interest in Asian thinking and culture. Upon leaving the Navy Robert completed the BA in Far Eastern studies and MA in South Asian studies at the University of California in Berkley. He volunteered for the Red Cross as a social worker and then served with the Peace Corps in Borneo as an English teacher. Having finished his contract, he moved to Thailand and was living in Bangkok in 1966, teaching English and studying meditation at Wat Mahathat. Not long after his arrival Robert left the capital and became a novice monk in Nong Khai, a remote town on the border with Laos. He spent a year in solitude, applying himself to meditation and contemplating teachings of the Buddha, as they are recorded in the Pali Canon.

That year has transformed him profoundly, but also revealed the need to commit oneself to the guidance of more detailed structure of monastic discipline and of an experienced teacher.

In May 1967 he arrived to Wat Pah Pong and remained under the guidance of Ajahn Chah for the next ten years. Although he was the only foreigner and didn't speak much Thai, there was no special treatment for him. Venerable Sumedho gave himself full-heartedly to the life of a forest monk and soon became much loved and respected member of the community. He was helping the ever increasing stream of Westerners, who were coming to Wat Pah Pong drawn by Luang Por Chah's reputation.

In summer of 1975, at the invitation from the villagers of Bahn Bung Wai and with the blessing of Luang Por Chah, he established Wat Pah Nanachat, becoming the abbot of the first monastery for Westerners in Thailand. In 1977 Ajahn Sumedho and a group of monks, headed by Luang Por Chah, travelled to England. He was left in London in charge of the newly established monastic community and in 1979 Chithurst Buddhist Monastery in West Sussex became established.

Ajahn Sumedho was given the authority to ordain monks and initiated the foundation of the Order of Siladhara, thus supporting the training of women, wishing to live a Buddhist mendicant life. Over the years he became an Uppajjaya, or a Preceptor, for about 200 monks and nuns, and the Teacher and guide for countless others. Until his retirement in 2010, Ajahn Sumedho was the abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England, which he established in 1984. Amaravati is part of the network of monasteries and Buddhist centres in the lineage of Ajahn Chah, which now extends across the world, from Thailand, New Zealand and Australia, to Europe, Canada, and the United States. Ajahn Sumedho played an instrumental role in building this international monastic community.

On his return to Thailand in 2010 he lived in Wat Ratanavan, offering teachings to monks and lay people both in Thai and English languages, frequenting Wat Pah Pong and Wat Pah Nanachat, travelling globally to teach meditation retreats and to support the monasteries he helped to establish.

Luang Por Sumedho returned to Amaravati in England in 2021, where he is a treasured member of the community and still offers regular teachings.

Ajahn Nyanadassano (Alexandr Kirillov) is a son of a Russian soldier, who completed his obligatory military service in Czechoslovakia. He then married a Czech woman, and on the 6 July 1971 Alexandr was born. A few years later his farther had to return to the Soviet Union and from the age of 3 Alexandr lived with his father in Riga. He has finished his schooling there, worked in different jobs and then returned to the Czech Republic in 1993, at the age of 22.

In search of spiritual life, in the summer of 1999, Alexandr arrived to Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, where Ajahn Sumedho was the Abbot. In the first days of the year 2000 he became an Anagarika there, a postulant with 8 precepts. A year later, in January 2001, he was ordained as a novice and in July 2002 was accepted into the Sangha as a Bhikkhu.

Ajahn Nyanadassano has lived and practised in many Buddhist monasteries in Europe, Asia and even in New Zealand, where he started sharing his knowledge of Dhamma for the first time. He teaches in English and Russian languages and led his first 7 day meditation retreat in the spring of 2011 near Moscow.

In 2015, after spending about 5 years in Thailand, Ajahn Nyanadassano returned to England, to Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. Occasionally he travels to other monasteries in Europe and Asia, giving retreats, supporting monastic communities, or simply taking time to be in solitude.