English

The Dhammakaya meditation method was initiated in Thailand almost 100 years ago by the Great Master Phramongkolthepmuni, famously known as Luangpor Wat Paknam. It is one of the most popular meditation techniques practiced by Buddhists and non-Buddhists around the world. The method is simple, easy, and effective. Everyone can learn how to do it and can achieve inner peace and happiness that you may never know existed.

On January 2, 2012, Wat Phra Dhammakaya under the leadership of its abbot, Phrathepyan mahamuni (Luangpor Dhammajayo), along with twenty-five government and non-government organizations collaborated to organize 'Dhammachai Dhutanga Pilgrimage' to celebrate the 2,600th anniversary of the Lord Buddha's enlightenment and to revitalize the Buddhist culture in Thailand. The event was meant to uplift the spirit of the people who suffered from recent natural disasters and help the nation regain hope for the auspicious future.

Luangpu Wat Paknam, the Great Master Phramongkolthepmuni, is one of Thailand's most revered Buddhist monks in history. His teachings have changed the lives of millions.

As if in response to Luangpu's prophecy, a new generation of students interested in meditation started to come to Wat Paknam to learn meditation from Luangpu's top disciple, Chand Khonnokyoong, at her humble kuti. By then Chand's reputation as a highly accom plished meditator was known throughout the community

For the entire forty-one years since Luangpu became the Abbot of Wat Paknam in 1918 he had worked so hard and rested so little that his health began to take its toll. Luangpu knew five years in advance of his impending death. He forewarned his disciples of this fact and urged them to carry on his missions after he passed away.

The following are some of Luangpu's teachings addressed to laypeople:

Luangpu usually gave the same teachings to monks, novices, nuns and lay residents at the temple. He emphasized the importance of generosity, morality, mental cultivation, and the purity of body, speech and mind. There are some topics, however, that he directed especially to monks, novices, and nuns, such as the following:

"Who am I? Why was I born? What is the purpose of my life?" These were the questions Luangpu wanted everyone to ask of themselves. He said: "This earth is not our permanent abode. It is only a temporary place that we stop by to accumulate merits and perfect our virtues."

During World War II, Bangkok was occupied by soldiers of the Axis-more than a million in all. The Allies bombed Bangkok ceaselessly. In spite of the city being under attack, Luangpu did not evacuate the temple. On the contrary, he intensified his activities owing it to the in creased number of people who came to take refuge at the temple.

Luangpu was famous for his meditative power and the miracles associated with the Dhammakaya Knowledge. Anybody who has had the chance to study the nature of miracles will realize that they are just an ordinary byproduct of high-level meditation practice. Luang pu never intended that his disciples give much importance to miracles. His aim was to use the Dhammakaya Knowledge to reach an end of all defilements and to bring all beings to the sanctuary of Nibbana. He did, however, allow his disciples to apply their Dhammakaya Knowledge to help relieve human suffering.

Although Luangpu had never undergone any training in management, his management skills were second to none. He used the Dhamma of the Buddha as his guide in managing people. And he practiced what he preached.

Under the leadership of Luangpu, Wat Paknam grew from a desolate, disheveled, disorderly temple to becoming one of the most well-organized, well-disciplined, well-respected temples in Thailand. The number of monks and novices in the temple grew from the original thirteen to one thousand-then the largest number in Thailand. It also produced the greatest number of Buddhist scholars and meditation masters in the country.

Luangpu faced many obstacles during his early tenure as Abbot of Wat Paknam. The resident monks and laypeople there were so accustomed to their unruly ways that they resisted all attempts to establish order. Monks and novice monks did not live by the monastic rules of discipline. Many of them had developed undesirable behaviors. The new rules and changes that Luangpu put in effect not only upset the monks and novices under his charge but also the locals who were long used to illicit dealings through the temple. They turned against him and spread mud-slinging gossip to discredit him. Some even tried to harm him physically.

In 1937, a highly accomplished female meditator named Chand Khonnokyoong1 was introduced to Luangpu by his adept disciple, Tongsuk Samdangpun. Luangpu recognized in Chand an innate aptitude for meditation and greeted her with these words, "What kept you so long?", as if he had been waiting for her all this time. Without having to pass the usual examinations of prowess in meditation practice, Luangpu sent her straight into the meditation workshop. Once she had familiarized herself with the unfamiliar language and protocol inside the workshop, Luangpu elected her as head of the night shift.

To perfect the skill and experience of his most accomplished meditators Luangpu felt the need to create a special environment and training ground for these meditators. This led to the creation of the so-called 'meditation workshop' in 1935.

On Sundays, quarter-moon days and Thursday afternoons Luangpu would teach meditation at the main hall at Wat Paknam. His students consisted of monks, novices, nuns, temple residents, and the public at large. A cumulative total of forty-thousand people have come to study meditation with him over the course of the first fifteen years. Only during the Second World War did he shift the venue for meditation teaching to the house of a student, close to the temple. But teaching returned to the main hall at Wat Paknam again after the War.

In the Dhammakaya meditation tradition the mantra 'samma arahang is used to help meditators calm their mind and bring it to a stand-still state. This is one form of mindfulness meditation known as 'Buddhanussati-contemplation on the virtues of the Buddha.

The goal of Dhammakaya Meditation is to eradicate the roots of all evil and achieve spiritual attainment leading to Nibbana.

The Dhammakaya Knowledge (Vijja1 Dhammakaya) is a profound knowledge that deals with the 'Five Aspects of Natural Law', the Law that governs all things (Five Niyamas2). They include Biological Law (Bija Niyama), which governs all living things; Chemical and Physical Law (Utu Niyama), which governs all chemical and physical matters; Psychic Law (CittaNiyama), which governs the functions of the mind; Karmic Law (Kamma Niyama), which governs the law of action; and Nature of Existence Law (Dhamma Niyama), which governs the manifestation of existence or reality. Knowing how the Five Aspects of Natural Law came into existence reveals the knowledge of how to abolish samsara, the cycle of rebirth. This knowledge leads us to the right practice and eventually helps us overcome defilements and attain Nibbana, thus freeing ourselves from the cycle of rebirth.

Not long after the Buddha passed away the number of enlightened beings gradually decreased. Those who were able to reach the Dhammakaya level of attainment also dwin-dled. Eventually, the Dhammakaya Knowledge disappeared from the world altogether. Any remnants of information related to Dhammakaya that remained in the Buddhist scriptures were too scant to shed enough light to people of future generations. This led to the general misconception that "Dhammakaya" was nothing more than another name to call the Buddha.

Classified as a royal temple of the third tier, Wat Paknam is an older temple commissioned for construction by the monarch during the middle Ayutthaya period (1488-1629). Historic chronicles and artifacts found at the temple, especially the architectural style and arts like the Tipitaka Hall and the pavilion-shaped cabinet housing the Tipitaka, are works of royal craftsmen from the era of King Narai; even the main chapel is representative of the style from that period.