Chandra Khonnokyoong
Encyclopedia
Chandra Khonnokyoong was a Thai
Theravada Buddhist nun who founded the Wat Phra Dhammakaya
organization. Her full title was Khun Yay Mahā Ratana Upāsikā Chandra Khonnokyoong. She is also known as "Kuhn Yay Acariya," a title meaning "respected lady master of advancing years."
province, of Thailand
. She never had a formal education. She claimed that her original reason for practicing meditation was to reach her late father in his afterlife realm to apologise to him for her childhood wrongs and that she wanted to overcome the curse of deafness put on her by her drunken father. Her father died in 1921, but without the opportunity for Kuhn Yay to ask him to lift the curse.
, seeking for someone who practised meditation at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen
. She discovered the household of Liap Sikanchananand in Saphan Han, Bangkok who invited a nun called Thongsuk Samdaengpan
from Wat Paknam, to teach meditation at their home. Kuhn Yay applied to be a maid in their household, intending to practise meditation with the nun. She practised meditation with Thongsuk Samdaengpan
for about two years, and she claimed to have attain the Dhammakaya and was able to contact her father.
researchers in the temple and was ordained the following morning. She quickly became his most outstanding disciples whom Great Abbot praised as "first amongst his disciples - second to none." Dhammakaya followers firmly believe that by meditation, she and Luang Por Sodh prevented Bangkok from being bombed during World War II..
. Her teaching became so popular that when in 1975 the number of students exceeded the capacity of Wat Paknam she realized the time had come to establish a new meditation centre. When her young disciples graduated from university, Kuhn Yay allowed them to ordain as monks. The first was Phrarajbhavanavisudh
. A 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) plot of paddy-field was donated by a high-ranking lady, landowner for the purpose of building the temple. (It is this land which is now forms the Temple Compound of Wat Phra Dhammakaya
.) Having only 3,200 baht ($80) to their name, the group of "Descendants of Dhamma" headed by Kuhn Yay began establishing the temple after making the following vow:
Day, 20 February 1970, as the meditation centre called "Soon Buddhacakka Patipatdhamma" ("the Dhamma Practise Centre"). Phrarajbhavanavisudh and Kuhn Yay took responsibility for the finances of the establishment, and the lay-supporter who is now the Most Ven. Phrabhavanaviriyakhun
, took responsibility for building on the site. Every canal
in the Temple Compound was dredge
d and excavate
d by the volunteers and the trees in the temple were planted by hand. While working to plant the trees, she became seriously under-nourished and at one time came dangerously close to death. She recovered under the medical attention of a doctor from Chulalongkorn University
and continue to participate in the life of the temple community.
During the period of establishment, Kuhn Yay sought finance to support the centre and set the regulations for life in the centre. With Great Abbot's organizations as an example, she created all the rules for the temple community. Nowadays a monk must receive guests in public rooms rather than in his living quarter. And male and female meditators are segregated on either side of the Dhamma Hall, as a result of Kuhn Yay's directives.
Khun Yay died peacefully on 10 September 2000 at Kasemrat Hospital, Bangkok
. When her funeral was held, on 3 February 2002, 100,000 monks from 30,000 temples throughout Thailand attended to show their final respects.
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
Theravada Buddhist nun who founded the Wat Phra Dhammakaya
Wat Phra Dhammakaya
Wat Phra Dhammakaya is a Buddhist temple in Khlong Luang District, Pathum Thani Province north of Bangkok, Thailand.- Origins :It was established on Magha Puja Day, 20 February 1970, on an eighty-acre plot of land donated by Lady Prayat Phaetayapongsa-visudhathibodi by a group led by the monk...
organization. Her full title was Khun Yay Mahā Ratana Upāsikā Chandra Khonnokyoong. She is also known as "Kuhn Yay Acariya," a title meaning "respected lady master of advancing years."
Early life
On 20 January 1909, Kuhn Yay was born in a farming family in Nakhon PathomNakhon Pathom
Nakhon Pathom is a city in central Thailand, capital of the Nakhon Pathom Province. One of the most important landmarks is the giant Phra Pathom Chedi...
province, of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. She never had a formal education. She claimed that her original reason for practicing meditation was to reach her late father in his afterlife realm to apologise to him for her childhood wrongs and that she wanted to overcome the curse of deafness put on her by her drunken father. Her father died in 1921, but without the opportunity for Kuhn Yay to ask him to lift the curse.
Dharmic Life
In 1927 upon hearing that Phramonkolthepmuni had discovered the Dhammakaya School of Buddhism included knowledge of heaven and hell, she entered domestic service in BangkokBangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, seeking for someone who practised meditation at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen
Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen
Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in Phasi Charoen district, Bangkok is a very large wat with a sizeable population of monks and nuns. Many foreigners have stayed at this temple over the years....
. She discovered the household of Liap Sikanchananand in Saphan Han, Bangkok who invited a nun called Thongsuk Samdaengpan
Thongsuk Samdaengpan
Thongsuk Samdaengpan was an eminent Buddhist nun and one of a rare few female masters of meditation. She is notable together with Chandra Khonnokyoong for linking the lineage of the Dhammakaya Movement from Phramonkolthepmuni down to the third generation and for having been co-originator with...
from Wat Paknam, to teach meditation at their home. Kuhn Yay applied to be a maid in their household, intending to practise meditation with the nun. She practised meditation with Thongsuk Samdaengpan
Thongsuk Samdaengpan
Thongsuk Samdaengpan was an eminent Buddhist nun and one of a rare few female masters of meditation. She is notable together with Chandra Khonnokyoong for linking the lineage of the Dhammakaya Movement from Phramonkolthepmuni down to the third generation and for having been co-originator with...
for about two years, and she claimed to have attain the Dhammakaya and was able to contact her father.
Monastic life
She decided to ordain as a nun and was taken by Upasika Thongsuk to meet Phramonkolthepmuni. He allowed her to join the most experienced group of meditationMeditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
researchers in the temple and was ordained the following morning. She quickly became his most outstanding disciples whom Great Abbot praised as "first amongst his disciples - second to none." Dhammakaya followers firmly believe that by meditation, she and Luang Por Sodh prevented Bangkok from being bombed during World War II..
Teaching the Dhammakaya
After Phramonkolthepmuni died in 1959, Kuhn Yay transmitted the Dhammakaya tradition to a new generation at Wat Paknam BhasicharoenWat Paknam Bhasicharoen
Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in Phasi Charoen district, Bangkok is a very large wat with a sizeable population of monks and nuns. Many foreigners have stayed at this temple over the years....
. Her teaching became so popular that when in 1975 the number of students exceeded the capacity of Wat Paknam she realized the time had come to establish a new meditation centre. When her young disciples graduated from university, Kuhn Yay allowed them to ordain as monks. The first was Phrarajbhavanavisudh
Phrarajbhavanavisudh
Phrarajabhavanavisudh is the abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Thailand and the president of the Dhammakaya Foundation.-Childhood:He was born Chaibul Sutthipol on the 22 April 1944 to Janyong Sutthipol and Juree Sutthipol At Suan Kularb School, Bangkok, Thailand, Chaibul during his adolescence,...
. A 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) plot of paddy-field was donated by a high-ranking lady, landowner for the purpose of building the temple. (It is this land which is now forms the Temple Compound of Wat Phra Dhammakaya
Wat Phra Dhammakaya
Wat Phra Dhammakaya is a Buddhist temple in Khlong Luang District, Pathum Thani Province north of Bangkok, Thailand.- Origins :It was established on Magha Puja Day, 20 February 1970, on an eighty-acre plot of land donated by Lady Prayat Phaetayapongsa-visudhathibodi by a group led by the monk...
.) Having only 3,200 baht ($80) to their name, the group of "Descendants of Dhamma" headed by Kuhn Yay began establishing the temple after making the following vow:
"We will devote all our flesh and blood, body and mind, intelligence and wealth to worship the lord Buddha in order to set up a meditation centre following the Way of Dhammakaya."Although illiterate, she is renowned as an example of non-academic Dhamma training as she attracted students, many of whom were graduates. She is credited as the founder of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Patumthani, Thailand.
Soon Buddhacakka Patipatdhamma
The temple was first established on Magha PujaMagha Puja
Māgha Pūjā or Makha Bucha is an important Buddhist festival celebrated in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos on the full moon day of the third lunar month . The third lunar month is known in the Thai language as Makha ; Bucha is also a Thai word , meaning "to venerate" or "to honor"...
Day, 20 February 1970, as the meditation centre called "Soon Buddhacakka Patipatdhamma" ("the Dhamma Practise Centre"). Phrarajbhavanavisudh and Kuhn Yay took responsibility for the finances of the establishment, and the lay-supporter who is now the Most Ven. Phrabhavanaviriyakhun
Phrabhavanaviriyakhun
Phrabhavanaviriyakhun is a Thai Buddhist monk. Born in 1941 in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, he followed secular education to post-graduate level....
, took responsibility for building on the site. Every canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
in the Temple Compound was dredge
Dredge
Dredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location...
d and excavate
Excavate
The excavates are a major kingdom of unicellular eukaryotes, often known as Excavata. The phylogenetic category Excavata, proposed by Cavalier-Smith in 2002, contains a variety of free-living and symbiotic forms, and also includes some important parasites of humans.-Characteristics:Many excavates...
d by the volunteers and the trees in the temple were planted by hand. While working to plant the trees, she became seriously under-nourished and at one time came dangerously close to death. She recovered under the medical attention of a doctor from Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University is the oldest university in Thailand and is the country's highest ranked university. It now has nineteen faculties and institutes. Regarded as the best and most selective university in Thailand, it consistently attracts top students from around the country...
and continue to participate in the life of the temple community.
During the period of establishment, Kuhn Yay sought finance to support the centre and set the regulations for life in the centre. With Great Abbot's organizations as an example, she created all the rules for the temple community. Nowadays a monk must receive guests in public rooms rather than in his living quarter. And male and female meditators are segregated on either side of the Dhamma Hall, as a result of Kuhn Yay's directives.
Later life
In her old age Kuhn Yay was still very active in all activities of the temple. Given the success of the temple, many people are surprised to discover that a small illiterate nun of advancing years oversaw the running of the temple.Khun Yay died peacefully on 10 September 2000 at Kasemrat Hospital, Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
. When her funeral was held, on 3 February 2002, 100,000 monks from 30,000 temples throughout Thailand attended to show their final respects.
Biographies
- Dhammakaya Foundation (2005) Second to None: The Biography of Khun Yay Maharatana Upasika Chandra Khon-nok-yoong (Dhammakaya Foundation, Bangkok) ISBN 978-9749274668