Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen

Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen
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Basic information
Geographic coordinates 13.721956,100.470483
Affiliation Buddhism
Country Thailand

Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen (also written Pak Nam Phasi Charoen Thai: วัดปากน้ำภาษีเจริญ) is a royal wat ('temple') located in Phasi Charoen district, Bangkok, at the Chao Phraya River.[1] It is part of the Maha Nikaya fraternity. It is a very large temple with 200–400 monks, 80–90 novices, 200–300 mae chis ('nuns')—one of the largest communities of mae chis in Thailand.[2][3] The temple is quite popular and is well-supported by a prosperous community.[2] Many foreigners have stayed at this temple over the years. The temple is best known for its meditation lessons,[4] and the monastics at the temple spend much time on meditation. There are English-language meditation teachers.[2]

Statue of Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen

History

Wat Paknam was established in the early 18th century, in the Ayutthaya period.[2] The temple underwent a major change during the period that Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro (1884–1959) became the temple's abbot, from a temple with only thirteen monks that was abandoned, to a prosperous center of education and meditation practice with hundreds of monks and maechis. During the Second World War the temple became even more well-known when it was rumored that no bombs would fall on the temple, because of the spiritual prowess of its practitioners.[5] Luang Pu Sodh has had a lasting impact on the temple, and his teachings and guided meditations are still sold at the temple today. One of the mae chis that was a highly skilled meditation practitioner, Mae chi Chandra Konnokyoong, went on to start a new temple, called Wat Phra Dhammakaya.[2]:114 Although Luang Pu Sodh has already passed away, his remains have been kept in a casket and people come to pay their respects often.[2]

Somdet Chuang Varapuñño

When Luang Pu Sodh passed away, no successors were appointed, which led to discussion.[3][6] For the time being, Somdet Pun Punnasiri, who was a nephew and former attendant of Luang Pu Sodh, became the temporary abbot.[6] Currently, the temple's abbot is Somdet Chuang Varapuñño, since 2013 the acting Sangharaja (acting head of the Thai monastic community).[7]:207 He is known to rarely give interviews or answer questions of journalists. However, he has shown strong engagement with Thai society. In 2014, he asked the Thai government to do more to support the monks in the South, who suffer because of the insurgency there. He has also strongly promoted ethics in Thai society, requesting television stations to remind viewers of the five Buddhist precepts during their broadcasts, and reminding viewers himself in a broadcast on Thai television of the Magha Puja festival in 2016.[8] He is also active in propagating Buddhism outside of Thailand, following the vision of Luang Pu Sodh.[2]

Somdet Chuang Varapuñño.

Before becoming acting Sangharaja, Somdet Chuang already presided over meetings of the Supreme Sangha Council since the mid-2000s.[9]

Appointment as Sangharaja

After the passing away of Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara in 2013, Somdet Chuang has become the acting Sangharaja.[10] As of April 2016, however, he had not received the full position of Sangharaja, as the appointment still needs to be processed by the Thai junta.[11][12] After the 2014 coup d'état, several initiatives were started to bring change to Thai society, among which a National Reform Council (NRC) to change the monastic establishment. This council was led by Paiboon Nititawan, a former senator who had played a crucial role in the coup. Backed by the bureaucracy, military and Royal Palace, Paiboon sought to deal with any shortcomings in the leading Thai Sangha thorough judicial means. He was joined by Phra Buddha Issara, a monk and former infantryman who had assumed a main role in the coup as well.[13][14]

Paiboon and Phra Buddha Issara requested the Department of Special Investigation (DSI),  sometimes considered the Thai equivalent of the FBI,[15] to start an investigation in the assets of the Sangha Council's members, including Somdet Chuang. In 2016, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) formally summoned Somdet Chuang, because of a vintage car no longer in use, kept in a museum at Wat Paknam. The car would not have been properly registered, which DSI believed was to evade taxes.[16][17] The alleged tax evasion was cited by the junta as a reason for postponing Somdet Chuang's installment.[18] However, news analysts have pointed out that if Somdet Chuang would become Sangharaja, it would mean a leader from the Maha Nikaya fraternity, rather than the Dhammayuttika fraternity, which historically has always been the preferred choice by the Thai government and monarchy.[19]:638 Also, an important reason for the stalling is that Somdet Chuang is the preceptor of Luang Por Dhammajayo, abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, which is associated with the Red Shirt pressure group, opposing the current junta.[7]:207–8[20] One month earlier, in February 2016, a protest was held by over a thousand of Thai monks in the Phutthamonthon Park, as a response to the postponing of the appointment.[19]:635[21] The protesters demanded that the Thai junta not interfere with the Sangha's affairs, in particular the appointment of the next Sangharaja. The junta responded by sending soldiers to control the site, and it came to a few scuffles. At 9 pm, the protest was ended when the monks announced they would repeat their protests again if their demands were not met.[22] However, the junta only saw the protests as another reason to stall the appointment. When it became clear that the junta did not make any progress in the matter, Chao Khun Prasarn, the leader of the Phutthamonthon protests, came out to give the junta an ultimatum of seven days, after which he would "consult with his team what to do next".[23] The junta responded by prohibiting any further gatherings of the protesters,[24] and by sending Chao Khun Prasarn to an "attitude adjustment" camp, a camp designed to re-educate people opposing the junta.[25] As of March 2016, no steps had been undertaken to select a Sangharaja, despite requests from the National Office of Buddhism to start the process.[26]

Propagation

The temple has a reputation for having made Dhammakaya meditation widely known in Thailand, through monks and lay teachers.[3] The temple, under the leadership of Somdet Chuang, has promoted the five precepts through a nationwide program The Five-precept-village (Thai: หมู่บ้านศีล ๕). [27] The temple has a well-known Pali institute, which is used by the Thai Sangha to print documents used for the Naktham monastic examinations.[2]

The temple has ordained people from other nationalities than Thai, but as of 2008, no westerner has been ordained as a mae chi. Wat Paknam has several branch centers, both in Thailand and outside of Thailand, in the United States, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and in New Zealand and Japan as well.[2][28] Somdet Chuang has also set up cooperative initiatives with Sri Lankan temples,[29] and has traveled to offer charity to the affected areas of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.[30]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Swearer, Donald K (2004). "Thailand". In Buswell, Robert E Jr. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. 2. Farmington Hills: Thomson – Gale. p. 831. ISBN 0-02-865720-9.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Newell, Catherine Sarah (2008-04-01). Monks, meditation and missing links: continuity, "orthodoxy" and the vijja dhammakaya in Thai Buddhism. London: PhD diss.; Department of the Study of Religions School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
  3. 1 2 3 Falk, Monica Lindberg (2007). Making fields of merit : Buddhist female ascetics and gendered orders in Thailand ([1. oplag] ed.). Copenhagen: NIAS Press. ISBN 978-87-7694-019-5.
  4. ↑ Ratanakul, Pinit (2007). "The Dynamics of Tradition and Change in Theravada Buddhism". The Journal of Religion and Culture. 1 (1): 244.
  5. ↑ "พระมงคลเทพมุนี (สด จนฺทสโร) | วัดหลวงพ่อสดธรรมกายาราม". วัดหลวงพ่อสดธรรมกายาราม | สำนักปฏิบัติธรรมและโรงเรียนพระปริยัติธรรมแผนกบาลี ประจำจังหวัดราชบุรี. สำนักปฏิบัติธรรมและโรงเรียนพระปริยัติธรรมแผนกบาลี ประจำจังหวัดราชบุรี ฯลฯ. 1999. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
  6. 1 2 Fuengfusakul, Apinya (1998). ศาสนาทัศน์ของชุมชนเมืองสมัยใหม่: ศึกษากรณีวัดพระธรรมกาย [Religious Propensity of Urban Communities: A Case Study of Phra Dhammakaya Temple] (published Ph.D.). Buddhist Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University.
  7. 1 2 Scott, Rachelle M. (2016). "Contemporary Thai Buddhism". In Jerryson, Michael. The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-936238-7.
  8. ↑ Tan Hui yee (1 March 2016). "Most senior Thai monk draws controversy"Free access subject to limited trial, subscription normally required. The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Asia News Network. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  9. ↑ Dubus, Arnaud (18 January 2016). "La Thaïlande se déchire à propos de la nomination du chef des bouddhistes" [Thailand is torn about the appointment of a Buddhist leader]. Églises d'Asie (in French). Information Agency for Foreign Missions of Paris.
  10. ↑ PCL., Post Publishing (29 Oct 2013). "Caretaker patriarch named"Paid subscription required. Bangkok Post. The Post Publishing PLC. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  11. ↑ Tanakasempipat, Patpicha; Kittisilpa, Juarawee; Thepgumpanat, Panarat (2016-04-22). Lefevre, Amy Sawitta, ed. "Devotees at Thai temple give alms to tens of thousands of Buddhist monks – Reuters". Reuters. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "Men-at-alms – The Economist". The Economist. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  13. ↑ Dubus, Arnaud (22 June 2016). "Controverse autour du temple bouddhique Dhammakaya: un bras de fer religieux et politique" [Controversy regarding the Dhammakaya Buddhist temple: A religious and political standoff]. Églises d'Asie. Information Agency for Foreign Missions of Paris.
  14. ↑ Tan Hui Yee (25 February 2016). "Tense times for Thai junta, Buddhist clergy"Free access subject to limited trial, subscription normally required. The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "Law enforcement agency tries to shake off shackles". Bangkok Post. 10 May 2009.
  16. ↑ Cochrane, Liam (2016-03-29). "Thailand's head monk to be summoned by police over luxury Mercedes-Benz". ABC. Sydney. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "DSI bares illegal import of Somdet Chuang's Mercedes"Paid subscription required. Bangkok Post. Post Publishing. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  18. ↑ Deechuay, Anapat; Samerp, Sakda (12 July 2016). "Prayut refuses to submit nomination of Somdet Chuang as Supreme Patriarch-The Nation"Paid subscription required. The Nation. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  19. 1 2 McCargo, Duncan (2012). The Changing Politics of Thailand's Buddhist Order. Critical Asian Studies. 44. Routledge. doi:10.1080/14672715.2012.738544. ISSN 1467-2715.
  20. ↑ Dubus, Arnaud (18 January 2016). "La Thaïlande se déchire à propos de la nomination du chef des bouddhistes" [Thailand is torn about the appointment of a Buddhist leader]. Églises d'Asie (in French). Information Agency for Foreign Missions of Paris.
  21. ↑ Constant, Max (2016-02-27). "Controversial Thai temple denies involvement in politics". Anadolu Agency. Bangkok. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  22. ↑ Wongcha-um, Panu (5 February 2016). "Thai monks protest against state interference in Buddhist governance". Channel News Asia. Mediacorp Pte Ltd. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
  23. ↑ นายกฯท้าม็อบพระออกมาเคลื่อนไหวโดนจับแน่ - Springnews [Prime Minister: If you mobilize a mob, you'll be arrested!]. Spring News (in Thai). Spring News Television Ltd. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  24. ↑ เจ้าคุณประสานถูกเตือนอาจโดนคดี ถึงขั้นสิ้นความเป็นพระ [Chao Khun Prasarn is warned that he might be sued and defrocked]. Voice TV (in Thai). 14 March 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  25. ↑ Head, Jonathan (18 April 2016). "How Thailand's military uses 'attitude adjustment' for dissenters". BBC. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  26. ↑ คณะสงฆ์ล่ารายชื่อถอดผู้ตรวจการ เหตุชงประยุทธ์ตั้งสังฆราช [The Sangha petitions to withdraw the Ombudsman, because of proposing Prayuth as person appointing Sangharaja]. Voice TV (in Thai). 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  27. ↑ รักษาศีล 5 โดยสมเด็จวัดปากน้ำ [Keeping the Five Precepts, by Somdet Wat Paknam]. TV 3 Family (in Thai). Bangkok Entertainment Co.,Ltd. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  28. ↑ Cadge, Wendy (2005). Heartwood : the first generation of Theravada Buddhism in America ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-08900-2.
  29. ↑ Somananda Maha Thera, Amugoda (29 June 2005). "The arrival of Phra Raja Mangalachariya (Somdet) Deputy Sangha Raja". Daily News (Sri Lanka). Lake House. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  30. ↑ เปิดกุฏิสมเด็จพระมหารัชมังคลาจารย์ที่เนปาล [[A story] revealed about Phra Rachamangalacharn's kuti]. Thai News Network (in Thai). 3 June 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2016.

Further reading

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Coordinates: 13°43′18″N 100°28′14″E / 13.72167°N 100.47056°E / 13.72167; 100.47056


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