Hartanto Gunawan
The teacher of "research meditation" technique, the Lead coordinator and Principal of Community Learning Center (CLC) for Development of Humanity since 2006.
Photo and Content Source: Melanie Swan and Sasamon Rattanalangkarn for The National
From CEO to ex-monk and teacher
In 1998, Arjarn Hartanto quitted his job as a successful chief executive of a multi-industry holding company in Jakarta, to move to Thailand in order to fulfil his mother’s request that one of her five sons becomes a monk. At 33, he left his highly stressful life as a businessman behind and spent four years as a Buddhist monk in remote area of northern Thailand.
He realized his calling was to take the teachings and use them for the good of the world, especially for the problem of human trafficking among the poor hill tribes in the northern part of Thailand. That’s how he came to establish the Wat Arun's Community Learning Center (CLC), which began with a few members of the community learning philosophy and English language under a tree in the temple grounds.
