Phramongkolthepmuni
Encyclopedia
Phra Mongkhonthepmuni , the late abbot of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen
, was the founder of the Thai Dhammakaya meditation
school in 1914.
, Suphanburi
, a province 100 km to the west of Bangkok
. At the beginning of July 1906, aged twenty-two, he was ordained at Wat Songpinong in his hometown and was given the Pāli
name Candasaro.
tradition as well as experts in scriptural analysis. He started to study meditation on the day following his ordination, and after his first rainy season, travelled far and wide in Thailand
in order to study with all the renowned masters of the time.
, during the rainy season. There, he began to practice meditation by himself using the Visuddhimagga
.
He reflected to himself that he had been practising meditation for eleven long years and had still not understood the core of knowledge which the Lord Buddha had taught. Thus, on the full-moon day of September 1918, he sat himself down in the main shrine hall of Wat Bangkuvieng, resolving not to waver in his practice of sitting meditation, whatever might seek to disturb his single-mindedness. It is claimed that while meditating far into the night, he allowed his mind to go deeper and deeper through the pathway at centre of the sphere, until he discovered the dhammakāya
(dharmakaya
), the most refined of the inner bodies, which is eternal and free from defilement.
' (i.e., meditation for attaining the dhammakāya). In 1916, Phramongkolthepmuni was appointed abbot of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, and there he devoted his time to researching the insights of Dhammakāya meditation and refined the technique, to make it more systematic, through experimenting with the ways the meditation could best be applied for the common good. During an exceptionally long ministry of over half-a-century, Phramongkolthepmuni was unflagging in teaching all comers the way to attain dhammakaya, with activities nearly every day of the week. He recognised the need to open up and redevelop the oral tradition of meditation teaching, which was becoming disorganised and rare in Thai Buddhism.
He provided the opportunity, with the technique, for meditators to verify for themselves, in their firsthand experience, the success of the technique. Indeed, Phramongkolthepmuni would challenge others to meditate in order that they might verify for themselves the claims which he made about the technique. It was the response to this need which led to the innovative building at Wat Paknam of the 'meditation workshop'. Phramongkolthepmuni declared that this workshop should be kept in use by meditators for twenty-four hours a day, day and night, and selected from amongst his followers the most gifted of the meditators. Their 'brief' was to devote their lives to meditation research for the common good of society.
Phra Mongkhonthepmuni was also the first Thai preceptor to ordain a westerner as a Buddhist monk. He ordained the Englishman William Purfurst (a.k.a Richard Randall) with the monastic name 'Kapilavaddho Bhikkhu' at Wat Paknam in 1954 and Kapilavaddho returned to Britain to found the English Sangha Trust in 1956.
and Thongsuk Samdaengpan
. It was these nuns who were heirs to the oral tradition of Dhammakāya when Phramongkolthepmuni passed away in 1959, aged seventy-five.
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....
, was the founder of the Thai Dhammakaya meditation
Dhammakaya meditation
Dhammakaya meditation is an approach to Buddhist meditation revived in the early 1900s and practiced by several million people all over the world...
school in 1914.
Birth to ordination
Phra Mongkhonthepmuni was born as Sodh Mikaewnoi on 10 October 1884 to the family of a rice merchant in Amphoe Song Phi NongAmphoe Song Phi Nong
Song Phi Nong is the southernmost district of Suphanburi Province, central Thailand.-History:The district was established in 1896. In the past the area of the district included U Thong district...
, Suphanburi
Suphanburi
Suphan Buri is a town in central Thailand, capital of the Suphan Buri Province. It covers the whole tambon Tha Philiang and parts of the tambon Rua Yai and Tha Rahat, all within the Mueang Suphan Buri district...
, a province 100 km to the west of 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...
. At the beginning of July 1906, aged twenty-two, he was ordained at Wat Songpinong in his hometown and was given the Pāli
Páli
- External links :* *...
name Candasaro.
Dhamma studies
As a student, Phra Mongkhonthepmuni was a disciple of two traditions, unlike most of his contemporaries, and studied under masters of the oral 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....
tradition as well as experts in scriptural analysis. He started to study meditation on the day following his ordination, and after his first rainy season, travelled far and wide in 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...
in order to study with all the renowned masters of the time.
Dhamma practice
He later moved to Bangkok to study the Scriptures. He practiced in each school but was not satisfied. In the eleventh year of his ordination, he stayed at Wat Bangkuvieng, Nonthaburi ProvinceNonthaburi Province
Nonthaburi is one of the central provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Bangkok and Nakhon Pathom....
, during the rainy season. There, he began to practice meditation by himself using the Visuddhimagga
Visuddhimagga
The Visuddhimagga , is the 'great treatise' on Theravada Buddhist doctrine written by Buddhaghosa approximately in 430 CE in Sri Lanka. A comprehensive manual condensing the theoretical and practical teaching of the Buddha, it is considered the most important Theravada text outside of the Tipitaka...
.
He reflected to himself that he had been practising meditation for eleven long years and had still not understood the core of knowledge which the Lord Buddha had taught. Thus, on the full-moon day of September 1918, he sat himself down in the main shrine hall of Wat Bangkuvieng, resolving not to waver in his practice of sitting meditation, whatever might seek to disturb his single-mindedness. It is claimed that while meditating far into the night, he allowed his mind to go deeper and deeper through the pathway at centre of the sphere, until he discovered the dhammakāya
Dhammakaya
Dhammakāya is a Pāli word meaning "body of dharma" or the body of enlightenment. It can refer to:*Wat Phra Dhammakaya, a Thai Buddhist temple;*The Dhammakaya Movement and the Dhammakaya Foundation, which originated at that temple;...
(dharmakaya
Dharmakaya
The Dharmakāya is a central idea in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was possibly first expounded in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñā-pāramitā , composed in the 1st century BCE...
), the most refined of the inner bodies, which is eternal and free from defilement.
Teaching
Phra Mongkhonthepmuni devoted the rest of his life to teaching and furthering the depth of knowledge of this meditation technique. It is this technique which has come to be known as 'Dhammakaya meditationDhammakaya meditation
Dhammakaya meditation is an approach to Buddhist meditation revived in the early 1900s and practiced by several million people all over the world...
' (i.e., meditation for attaining the dhammakāya). In 1916, Phramongkolthepmuni was appointed abbot of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, and there he devoted his time to researching the insights of Dhammakāya meditation and refined the technique, to make it more systematic, through experimenting with the ways the meditation could best be applied for the common good. During an exceptionally long ministry of over half-a-century, Phramongkolthepmuni was unflagging in teaching all comers the way to attain dhammakaya, with activities nearly every day of the week. He recognised the need to open up and redevelop the oral tradition of meditation teaching, which was becoming disorganised and rare in Thai Buddhism.
He provided the opportunity, with the technique, for meditators to verify for themselves, in their firsthand experience, the success of the technique. Indeed, Phramongkolthepmuni would challenge others to meditate in order that they might verify for themselves the claims which he made about the technique. It was the response to this need which led to the innovative building at Wat Paknam of the 'meditation workshop'. Phramongkolthepmuni declared that this workshop should be kept in use by meditators for twenty-four hours a day, day and night, and selected from amongst his followers the most gifted of the meditators. Their 'brief' was to devote their lives to meditation research for the common good of society.
Phra Mongkhonthepmuni was also the first Thai preceptor to ordain a westerner as a Buddhist monk. He ordained the Englishman William Purfurst (a.k.a Richard Randall) with the monastic name 'Kapilavaddho Bhikkhu' at Wat Paknam in 1954 and Kapilavaddho returned to Britain to found the English Sangha Trust in 1956.
Death
Phra Mongkhonthepmuni was taken ill in 1956. He brought the work of the meditation workshop to an end by dismissing all of the meditators except four or five of the most devoted nuns including Chandra KhonnokyoongChandra Khonnokyoong
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...
and 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...
. It was these nuns who were heirs to the oral tradition of Dhammakāya when Phramongkolthepmuni passed away in 1959, aged seventy-five.
Publications
- Phramonkolthepmuni (2006) Visudhivaca: Translation of Morradok Dhamma of Luang Phaw Wat Paknam (Bangkok,60th Dhammachai Education Foundation) ISBN 978-9749423035
Biographies
- Dhammakaya Foundation (1998) The Life & Times of Luang Phaw Wat Paknam (Dhammakaya Foundation, Bangkok) ISBN 978-9748940942