Living at Wat Nong Pah Pong (Ajahn Chah’s monastery) under Ajahn Chah’s direct guidance, Ajahn Liem soon became one of his closest disciples. In 1982 when Ajahn Chah became too ill to carry on with his duties, he entrusted Ajahn Liem with full authority and responsibility to run the monastery. Shortly thereafter, as Ajahn Chah’s illness progressed and he was no longer able to speak, the Sangha of Wat Nong Pah Pong appointed Ajahn Liem to take over the abbotship. He continues to fulfill that duty up to the present day and has maintained the heritage of Ajahn Chah’s Dhamma and characteristic way of monastic training for bhikkhus, nuns and lay disciples.

For the Sangha at Wat Pah Nanachat (Ajahn Chah’s International Forest Monastery for training monks using English as the language of instruction), Ajahn Liem is a dearly respected teacher and guide in the monastic life. He has conducted every monastic ordination ceremony at Wat Nanachat for over a decade and serves there as the ordination preceptor or upajjhaya to all of the newly ordained monks at Nanachat. His Majesty the King of Thailand has twice bestowed honorary monastic titles on Ajahn Liem.