The Thai military government, in a test of political resolve, is in a standoff with monks from an influential Buddhist temple that has placed religious politics at the center of national debate.
The Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple complex, located 50 kilometers north of Bangkok, covers 336 hectares, has a series of buildings and meditation centers reportedly worth an estimated $10 billion.
Authorities are searching for the temple's abbot, who has eluded arrest on charges related to millions of dollars in embezzled funds that were donated to the temple.
Influential and wealthy Buddhist temple
The Dhammakaya temple, one of the most influential in Thailand, attracts tens of thousands of devotees with mass meditations and ordinations of monks, as well as reaching devotees elsewhere in Thailand and overseas.
Analysts say the temple has become a battle for influence over Thai Buddhism, the religion of over 90 percent of Thailand’s 68 million people.
The temple’s considerable influence, including within the Buddhist hierarchy, is seen as challenging Thailand’s more orthodox Buddhist community, say analysts.
In the past, the temple’s monks have called for Buddhism to be recognized as a national religion within the constitution, a move resisted by past governments.
Strong Buddhist abbot leads temple
The charismatic abbot, Luang Por Dhammajayo, 72, and the temple’s considerable wealth have also drawn criticism. Devotees are reported to donate large sums to the temple to gain ‘merit’.
Controversy caught up with the temple after a devotee, a senior member of a credit union, embezzled $344 million, and donated $42 million to the temple. The credit union official is serving 16 years in jail over the theft.
The temple says it has repaid the credit union cooperative a total of $30 million in cash and checks.
Charges link abbot to embezzlement
But Thai authorities say Dhammajayo must face charges linked to the payments as well as other charges. In 2016, the government issued arrest warrants for the abbot who has avoided arrest, refusing to surrender to authorities.
The abbot’s legal team has told local media he was unaware the donations came from the embezzled funds.
The government, applying powers under the interim constitution that grants Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha wide powers, has stepped up efforts to search the complex.
Search efforts have led to standoff
Hundreds of police and officials have been sent to the complex, where they have involved themselves in a stand-off with lines of monks and supporters.
Gotham Areeya, an advisor to Mahidol University’s Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, said the stand-off is part of official efforts to “reform” Buddhism and reduce Wat Dhammakaya’s influence.
“[The Buddhist establishment] think the way Dhammakaya is expanding, creating more and more followers, not only in this country but outside as they are very skillful administrators – they can organize the ordination of 100,000 monks. So it’s a powerful organization behind it with a lot of money,” Gotham said.
A strategy of mass ordinations and ceremonies has attracted tens of thousands of supporters, including powerful politicians, bureaucrats and the business community.
But the temple’s influence has also generated divisions within the Buddhist religious community.
Controversy divides Thailand's Buddhist leaders
The temple, observers say, has sought to extend its influence into the body of monks that oversees Buddhism in Thailand as well as the National Buddhist Office.
In 1999, the then head of the Buddhist clergy, Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Suvaddhang, who passed away in 2013, accused the temple of distorting Buddhist teachings, creating conflicts and moved to have Dhammajayo defrocked. It was also ruled he was required to return all the property and money earned during his time as a monk.
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เขาเขียนได้ตรงไปตรงมาที่สุดแล้ว แม้แต่รัฐบาลอเมริกาเขาก็ยังมองว่าวัดธรรมกายใช้อิทธิพล เจ้าอาวาสธรรมชโยก็หนีคดี อย่าลืมว่ารัฐบาลอเมริกาเขาไม่กลัวมาตรา 44 และไม่จำเป็นต้องเข้าข้าง คสช. ครับ
สื่อต่างชาติ อย่าง Voice of America ของรัฐบาลสหรัฐอเมริกา มองไทย กรณีวัดพระธรรมกาย ยังไงน้าาา ช่วยแปลหน่อยดิครับ
The Thai military government, in a test of political resolve, is in a standoff with monks from an influential Buddhist temple that has placed religious politics at the center of national debate.
The Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple complex, located 50 kilometers north of Bangkok, covers 336 hectares, has a series of buildings and meditation centers reportedly worth an estimated $10 billion.
Authorities are searching for the temple's abbot, who has eluded arrest on charges related to millions of dollars in embezzled funds that were donated to the temple.
Influential and wealthy Buddhist temple
The Dhammakaya temple, one of the most influential in Thailand, attracts tens of thousands of devotees with mass meditations and ordinations of monks, as well as reaching devotees elsewhere in Thailand and overseas.
Analysts say the temple has become a battle for influence over Thai Buddhism, the religion of over 90 percent of Thailand’s 68 million people.
The temple’s considerable influence, including within the Buddhist hierarchy, is seen as challenging Thailand’s more orthodox Buddhist community, say analysts.
In the past, the temple’s monks have called for Buddhism to be recognized as a national religion within the constitution, a move resisted by past governments.
Strong Buddhist abbot leads temple
The charismatic abbot, Luang Por Dhammajayo, 72, and the temple’s considerable wealth have also drawn criticism. Devotees are reported to donate large sums to the temple to gain ‘merit’.
Controversy caught up with the temple after a devotee, a senior member of a credit union, embezzled $344 million, and donated $42 million to the temple. The credit union official is serving 16 years in jail over the theft.
The temple says it has repaid the credit union cooperative a total of $30 million in cash and checks.
Charges link abbot to embezzlement
But Thai authorities say Dhammajayo must face charges linked to the payments as well as other charges. In 2016, the government issued arrest warrants for the abbot who has avoided arrest, refusing to surrender to authorities.
The abbot’s legal team has told local media he was unaware the donations came from the embezzled funds.
The government, applying powers under the interim constitution that grants Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha wide powers, has stepped up efforts to search the complex.
Search efforts have led to standoff
Hundreds of police and officials have been sent to the complex, where they have involved themselves in a stand-off with lines of monks and supporters.
Gotham Areeya, an advisor to Mahidol University’s Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, said the stand-off is part of official efforts to “reform” Buddhism and reduce Wat Dhammakaya’s influence.
“[The Buddhist establishment] think the way Dhammakaya is expanding, creating more and more followers, not only in this country but outside as they are very skillful administrators – they can organize the ordination of 100,000 monks. So it’s a powerful organization behind it with a lot of money,” Gotham said.
A strategy of mass ordinations and ceremonies has attracted tens of thousands of supporters, including powerful politicians, bureaucrats and the business community.
But the temple’s influence has also generated divisions within the Buddhist religious community.
Controversy divides Thailand's Buddhist leaders
The temple, observers say, has sought to extend its influence into the body of monks that oversees Buddhism in Thailand as well as the National Buddhist Office.
In 1999, the then head of the Buddhist clergy, Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Suvaddhang, who passed away in 2013, accused the temple of distorting Buddhist teachings, creating conflicts and moved to have Dhammajayo defrocked. It was also ruled he was required to return all the property and money earned during his time as a monk.
ไปอ่านเต็มๆ ได้ที่ http://www.voanews.com/a/thai-authorities-contine-standoff-at-buddhist-temple/3743269.html
เขาเขียนได้ตรงไปตรงมาที่สุดแล้ว แม้แต่รัฐบาลอเมริกาเขาก็ยังมองว่าวัดธรรมกายใช้อิทธิพล เจ้าอาวาสธรรมชโยก็หนีคดี อย่าลืมว่ารัฐบาลอเมริกาเขาไม่กลัวมาตรา 44 และไม่จำเป็นต้องเข้าข้าง คสช. ครับ