No peace within Thai Buddhism amid leadership crisis

With whispers of corruption and cronyism wafting through temple alleyways and exploding onto the front pages, Thai Buddhist monks have been unexpectedly caught in the public spotlight as they try to choose their next leader.

 The position at the top of the sangha has been vacant since the death of the previous supreme patriarch in October 2013. But the appointment of a new leader for the country’s mostly Buddhist population is, for the first time in living memory, on hold.

Traditionally, the post would be given to the most senior monk to receive the Somdet title, a position similar to a Catholic archbishop. Currently this is 90-year-old Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn, known as Somdet Chuang.

However, many monks are apprehensive about Somdej Chuang’s promotion because of his historical ties to a monk who is arguably the country’s most controversial religious figure – Dhammachayo. 

Somdej Chuang once taught the young Dhammachayo, who is now the leader of the Dhammakaya Temple, a 348-hectare complex located in Phatum Thani just north of Bangkok and centred on a massive flying saucer-like structure.

“Many monks are sceptical of the Dhammakaya temple because they have so drastically altered the Buddha’s teachings,” explains Phra Thanomsingsukotalo, a prominent Buddhist monk and commentator in Chiang Mai.

“They place very heavy emphasis on materialism ... They tell you that if you donate a certain amount to the temple, you will receive certain material goods in heaven and may even be rewarded on Earth if the amount is large enough,” he adds.

Dhammachayo made global headlines in 2012 when he said he had met Steve Jobs in the afterlife during his meditations.

The Dhammakaya temple also hosts extravagant ceremonies during Buddhist holidays, led by their charismatic abbot, who according to temple doctrine is not just a simple monk but a saint destined to save mankind from doomsday.

According to Mano Laohavanich, a former senior monk at the temple and one of the few to speak out about conditions there, the ceremonies are modelled after Nazi rallies.

“Dhammachayo successfully built his empire by copying a 

military structure with rigid ranks and discipline,” Mano says.

Aside from his beliefs and leadership style, concerns about Dhammachayo centre on several investigations over money laundering.

The Department of Special Investigations has recommended that Dhammachayo be charged after allegedly taking more than Bt900 million in donations from a fraudulent financial scam similar to a Ponzi scheme.

He failed to heed several summonses by police, saying he was too sick to attend the hearings.

While Dhammachayo faces official investigation, there is little or no evidence against his former mentor.

“Somdej Chuang was Dhammachayo’s teacher when he was a novice monk,” says Phra Thanomsingsukotalo. 

“That is why many monks are wary that Somdet Chuang will protect Dhammachayo should he become supreme patriarch.”

Sakapan Eamegdool, a former monk and observer of the Thai Buddhist community, believes doubts about Somdej Chuang are nothing more than “guilt by association”.

People should not “attack a widely respected and venerated senior monk due to his association [with the Dhammakaya temple]”, Sakapan says.

Not all feel that way. Among those wary of the relationship between the teacher and former pupil is activist monk Buddha Issara. He said publicly earlier this month that Dhammachayo was ordered defrocked by the previous supreme patriarch, but escaped punishment thanks to the intervention of Somdej Chuang. He provided no written proof of the claim.

Buddha Issara has launched a petition, so far signed by over 300,000 monks and believers, asking the military-backed government to delay the voting process further.

Somdej Chuang himself has received unwelcome attention as the controversy swirls around him.

Authorities this week launched an investigation into how his temple came to possess several vintage luxury cars. He has denied any wrongdoing. 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has stated that he would not forward any supreme patriarch nominee for royal endorsement until the clergy reaches a consensus.

In the past, a new supreme patriarch has been elected shortly after a mourning period of one year for the previous incumbent. But more than two years later, there’s no sign of an end to what is an unprecendented situation for the monkhood.

The Dhammakaya temple has so far refused to weigh in on the issue. Luang Phee Sanitwongse, a monk responsible for the temple’s public relations, has declared “no statement would be forthcoming over the succession of the supreme patriarch”.

“Dhammachayo’s presence does no good to the situation,” says Sakapan Eamegdool. “I wish he would do the right thing and leave the monkhood. This noise will only give Buddhism a bloody nose and create animosity.”