THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Dhammakaya Temple says mediation centre legit

Dhammakaya Temple says mediation centre legit

Dhammakaya Temple has insisted that a 400-rai (64-hectare) plot used for the World Peace Valley Meditation Centre in Nakhon Ratchasima was legally acquired and has not encroached on forestland or Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO) land.

The temple’s spokesman, Ong-art Dhammanitta, said that the building of the centre in Pak Chong district was approved by the Tambon Pong Talong Administrative Organisation in September 2013. The land deed was legal, he said. Ong-art said the land could be used for any purpose and not just farming, as some people claimed.
“The meditation centre does not belong to any individual person, but it is a religious property that aims to be as a meditation place for all the people,” he said. Ong-art said officers had been ordered to inspect all Dhammakaya Temple meditation centres, claiming such action could be considered as persecution.
There have been allegations on the Internet the land in question belonged to ALRO and could only be used for farming. But it was later reported the land belonged to Social Development and Welfare Department and could be used for people’s settlement.
 
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