DHAMMAKAYA
DEFECTOR SEES STANDOFF CONTINUING YEARS
Pravit Rojanaphruk
June 24,
2016 Khaosod
English
BANGKOK — If military government
takes no action – or the wrong action
– against the controversial abbot of the powerful Dhammakaya
Buddhist sect, it could become a threat to the junta, said a
prominent defector who spent nearly 20 years in the
order.
Speaking at a discussion on
Buddhism and politics nearly shut down by the authorities, Mano
Mettanando Laohavanich said the organization in which he once
served as a senior monk poses an existential threat to the junta
known as the National Council for Peace and Order, or
NCPO.
“If the NCPO doesn’t do
anything, this will become a threat to the military junta,” Mano, a
lecturer at Thammasat University’s Chulabhorn International College
of Medicine, told the audience Wednesday evening at the Foreign
Correspondents’ Club of Thailand.
Wanted by the Department of
Special Investigation on charges of accepting embezzled funds,
Abbot Dhammachayo became a fugitive from justice when he failed to
appear in response to a warrant issued for his arrest. An attempt
by police to take him into custody last week ended quickly when his
disciples blocked officers. The temple has said Dhammachayo is
ill.
Mano, who was a Dhammakaya
monk for 19 years before leaving in 1999, warned that a covert
operation to capture the abbot of “the largest [Buddhist]
organization Thailand has ever seen not associated with the
government” could turn bloody.
“If the government uses
excessive force, the government will be victimized and this could
lead to the end of the NCPO,” Mano said.
The possibility of violence
posed by sending commandos in at night is likely giving pause to
junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, he said.
“I think Mr. Prayuth is
thinking hard whether he will invade the community compound. There
will be bloodshed at night time. I think that is a dream and too
risky for a fragile military.”
Mano, who consulted with
the DSI on its raid of the sprawling temple complex north of the
capital, said any further raids should be conducted during the
day and accompanied by journalists.
Mano, who accused the abbot
of proclaiming himself to be primordial Buddha, or even God,
criticized the sect for being obsessed with attracting maximum
donations from followers as well as storing weapons. At one point
Mano even compared the sect’s organizational structures to Hitler’s
Third Reich and more.
“It’s like Star Wars
together with The Matrix. When you have the two, you have
Dhammakaya. Light and darkness. It must be true. And we live in the
matrix.”
Mano said he had been
willing to sacrifice his life for the sect until he saw orders for
weapons procurement and confronted the abbot about it.
“He was trying to convince
me he was primordial Buddha. He was God. I can work for a man but
not God,” Mano said. “He wanted to conquer the world by creating
the Vatican of Buddhism, Mecca of Buddhism.”
On Thursday, a temple
spokesman wrote in response to a reporter’s inquiry that the
discussion was one-sided opinion without basis in fact.
“What was discussed … last
night was criticism without any evidence or proof,” wrote Phra
Pasura Dantamano, who said his views were his own and not those of
the temple.
“Why do we have to respond
to all these false claims made without evidence? If that is so,
anyone can just say anything. [Sulak] is someone who has personal
bias against every institution, including Dhammakaya,” he wrote.
“The moderator asked the audience to make a defense because they
did not invite any speakers from Dhammakaya. This is obvious proof
that this was a one-sided panel.
He went on to further
criticize the club.
“I question the moral
ethics and transparency of the FCCT for holding this panel. We
would like to hear the response from the FCCT on these
issues.”
Event organizers said
including a temple representative was just not possible as it would
have guaranteed it being shut down by police. As it stands, the
club had to change the scope and title of the event after
authorities said it
should be canceled last week.
Regardless, speakers were
told they could be held accountable if they were deemed to have
broken any laws, according to club President Nirmal
Ghosh.
Speaking Wednesday, Mano,
who studied theology at Oxford, said the standoff could continue
for months if not years. He added that he doesn’t think Dhammakhaya
could survive post-Dhammachayo, who is 72, as it’s a “a cult of one
person.”
Another speaker, Buddhist
scholar Sulak Sivaraksa, described Dhammachayo as “evil,” and
tainted by links to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra,
who supported
the temple.
“The man is evil,” said
Sulak.
He also lashed out at junta
leader Prayuth for not taking decisive action.
“They’re just like
puppies,” Sulak said. He then turned to the plainclothes officers
monitoring the talk and instructed them to tell their
commander, “Your boss is bloody no good.”
Vichak Panich, a meditation
instructor and panelist however discounted fears of the Dhammkaya
as emblematic of the fears harbored by the cultural
establishment.
“If you think differently
from the status quo, they will say you were hired by Thaksin,”
Vichak said.