Dhammakaya Movement
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The Dhammakāya Movement is a Buddhist movement founded in Thailand in the 1970s.
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[edit] Origins
It was founded by the Thai meditation master Phramongkolthepmuni, and is primarily represented today by its non-profit foundation, the Dhammakaya Foundation, and the Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple in Pathum Thani Province, Thailand. The movement is characterized by a literal interpretation of many Buddhist teachings, the teaching and practice of meditation, and by attempts to reform monastic discipline among ordained monks.
[edit] Works
The Dhammakāya Movement has been known through its work of propagating Buddhism among Thai intellectuals, but behind the modern adaptations of the Dhammakāya school of practice lies an oral tradition motivated by the intricate teaching of founder Phramonkolthepmuni(1885-1959): a celebrated meditation master and the late abbot of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, Thonburi.
This meditation school, even though it has many doctrinal elements to distinguish it from conventional Theravāda Buddhism and in some respects resembles schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism, has not been taken as heterodox by most Buddhists in the country. The Dhammakāya school of meditation is marked by its literal interpretation of Buddhist technical terms, (including the term dhammakāya) in their physical meaning, as described by Phramongkolthepmuni. Many sermons of Phramongkolthepmuni himself can be traced back to some schools of meditation in Southeast Asia preserved only in ancient meditation manuals.
The word dhammakāya (or dharmakāya in Sanskrit) means the 'body of dharma' or the 'dharma body', and is most commonly encountered as part of the trikaya in Mahāyāna Buddhist thought. The teachings of the Dhammakāya movement interpret the Dhammakāya as the essence of the being free of defilements above the level of the mundane, and thus the body of enlightenment, in the form of a crystal-clear, living Buddha sitting in meditation at the centre of the body. This Dhammakāya, as source of wisdom and true happiness, exists in all human beings and can be attained through the process of self-refinement and purification. The enlightenment of the historical Buddha is explained, in this tradition, as his mind becoming perfectly refined and purified to the same level of the refinement and purity of the Dhammakāya, and thus attaining the body of enlightenment. The Dhammakāya is therefore seen as central to the Teaching of the Buddha.
[edit] Personalities
One factor which catalyzes this Foundation is the personality of Phramongkolthepmuni himself. The account of his attaining dhammakāya in 1916 through his willingness to lay down his life in order to attain the Dhamma that the Lord Buddha knew, evoked the image of 'self-sacrifice' in the minds of his disciples. He thus inspired his disciples to overcome every obstacle blocking the progress of their spiritual life.
Under the leadership of president Phrarajbhavanavisudh (Luang Phaw Dhammajayo, b.1944), the image of the Dhammakāya Foundation has made a strong recovery, and in 2004-5 had received further recognition for its contribution to world peace from organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Thai Senate, and several peoples' associations in the South of Thailand.
[edit] Dhammakaya Foundation
The Dhammakāya Foundation is presently one of the most important organizations representing the Dhammakaya movement[citation needed]. It was founded in 1916 in Thailand by Phra Monkolthepmuni, the abbot of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen. Following the death of Phra Monkolthepmuni, the Foundation's work was continued by his disciple, Khun Yay Mahā Ratana Upāsikā Chandra Khonnokyoong, a Buddhist mae chi. The Dhammakāya Foundation is particularly interested in encouraging the study of meditation, which was not widely practiced by Theravada monks in the early Twentieth Century, and was virtually unknown to most lay Buddhists. In 1970, a temple, called Wat Phra Dhammakaya, was constructed as a home for the movement. Located in Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani Province, the temple was intended to become an international center for the study of meditation.
[edit] Wat Phra Dhammakaya
Wat Phra Dhammakaya is a Buddhist temple (wat) in Khlong Luang District, Pathum Thani Province north of Bangkok, Thailand. It was established on Magha Puja Day, 20 February 1970, on an eighty-acre (320,000 m²) plot of land donated by Lady Prayat Phaetayapongsa-visudhathibodi. The site, sixteen kilometres north of Bangkok International Airport, was originally called 'Soon Buddacakk-patipatthamm'. From acidic paddy fields, a woodland was created: a parkland for meditators. The foundation stone for the main chapel laid by H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on behalf of H.M. the King in December 1977 marked the official foundation of the centre as a temple -- Wat Phra Dhammakaya.
[edit] Controversies
The Dhammakāya Foundation has been a subject of considerable controversy, as there have been reports of many devotees donating their entire savings to the organization, despite pleas of their family not to do so. Such donations have been used to expand buildings (the design of which is not that of a traditional Wat, but more akin to that of a sport stadium) and to purchase more land, which was already the area of a small airport, complete with its own transportation systems, visitor centers, and broadcasting and audio system to accommodate the meditators.
The head figures of the Dhammakāya movement have also been accused of fraud, fund embezzlement, profiteering, and corruption.
| “ | The abbot's unabashed calls for millions of baht in donations, even during the depth of the economic crisis, have not won him many friends among traditionalists. A few families virtually bankrupted themselves after a husband or wife handed over life savings. The temple's fund-raising techniques are sophisticated. Stands in the hangar-like prayer hall sell amulets, mini-crystal balls, books and tapes. Devotees are encouraged to buy small statues of the Buddha for placement in the temple's chedi (stupa) for $540. Monks preach that the generous will get their money back ten-fold -- 10,000 baht could beget 100,000 baht.
Ven. Dhammachayo says the money does not go into his pockets but is spent on the temple. The facility stands in stark contrast to others not only in size but also in amenities. The buildings and grounds are neat and clean. No ragged dogs run around. Worshippers are served a free lunch. When the 316-hectare Dhammakaya complex is completed in February, it will be the world's largest Buddhist temple. The abbot envisions mass meditation sessions that would harness the spiritual concentration of 1 million people to fight Mara, the ruler of the evil universe. [1] |
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Apologies to the Dhammakāya Foundation were published in full after the Thai newspapers and DMC.TV channels concerned were successfully sued for slander in the period 2003-4.
[edit] External links
- "I Will Never Be Disrobed", A Thai abbot of Dhammakaya Temple, Asia Week, September 17, 1999
- "Between Faith and Fund-Raising", Asia Week, September 17, 1999
- "Phra Dhammakaya Temple Controversy" cited from Bangkok Post, December 21, 1998
- "Thai monk defies arrest" BBC News, August 24, 1999
- "Trouble in Nirvana" by David Liebhold, Time Asia, June 28, 1999
- "Most Serene of Sects Creates Uproar in Buddhism" by Seth Mydans, Pathum Thani Journal, August 13, 1999
- Article on the Dismissal of the case against Dhammakaya
- Another Article on the Dismissal of the case against Dhammakaya
