English

One morning as he was about to enter the rains retreat at Wat Bote-bon, he reflected on the fact that he had been ordained for eleven long years but still had yet to taste the ultimate Dhamma realized by the Lord Buddha. He determined to put forth all his energy to meditation that day until he attained even a small portion of the Truth. After completing his alms round and finishing his daily duties that morning he proceeded to the main chapel to meditate. He made up his mind to sit unmoved in his meditation until the midday drum sounded.

From that time onwards Candasaro devoted himself entirely to the study of meditation. Leaving the comforts of a fixed abode behind, he became a wandering bhikkhu and undertook 'dhutanga', a practice of austerity and self-purification to develop detachment from material things and to deepen the practice of meditation. Dhutanga was a practice embraced by forest monks who wished to live the holy life. These monks would spend weeks or months, or even years, in the forests or remote provinces, with nothing more than an umbrella doubled as a tent and a few other necessary requisites.

From the time Candasaro was ordained as a Buddhist monk, he never ceased to pursue meditation study and practice. Regardless of how demanding his study routines were he never failed to make time for meditation each day. He followed the techniques taught by his ordination chaplain, Venerable Noeng, when he first began his practice. Later, he would travel to various temples renowned for their meditation masters and practiced with these masters. The following were some of the famous meditation masters he studied with:

During those days, the education of monks and novices began with memorizing the Buddhist texts in their original Pali language and the Pali root forms (mulakaccayana). Only then would the monks be allowed to begin the study of the Scriptures. Candasaro pursued his Scriptural studies in the same way. He memorized the foundation materials and started studying his first scripture, the Dhammapada, a collection of sayings of the Buddha. He went on to study two other texts popular among contemporary monks: the Mangaladipani and Sarasangaha, essential texts about the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Precepts, generosity, dhutanga practice, etc., until he became so well versed that he was able to teach others.

Life at Wat Phra Chetuphon was not easy. Food was scarce. The first day he went for almsround he came back with an empty bowl. The second day was no different.

After that incident the thought of ordaining as a Buddhist monk never left Sodh's mind. He knew he could not shrug off the responsibilities to take care of his mother and the family. He needed to leave them enough savings to support themselves in his absence. So he set out to work with fervor in order to accumulate sufficient wealth for them to live on. After three years he finally made enough money to take care of his family's future.

Famously known as Luangpu Wat Paknam, one of the most venerated Buddhist monks in the history of Thailand, Phramongkolthepmuni was born as Sodh Mikaewnoi on October 10, 1884