Supreme
Patriarch appointment: Dhammakaya or not?
Bangkok Post
6/01/2016 Sanitsuda
Ekachai
Through modern-marketing
techniques the Dhammakaya sect has grown so powerful that it may
select the next Supreme Patriarch & gain total control of
Buddhism in Thailand.
...The current infighting in monastic circles over
the appointment of
the new supreme patriarch actually mirrors
Thailand's fierce colour-coded
politics: red, yellow, etc....
On one side are the supporters of
the wealthy Dhammakaya temple, known to be close to the
Shinawatras.
On the other side is not only the anti-Shinawatra camp but also
those who see Dhammakaya as a cult that
has distorted the
Buddha's teachings to increase itswealth.
Its systematic infiltration into
the Sangha Council
since its conception is
viewed as a calculated move to
increase its power...
DHAMMAKAYA
BELIEFS
Dhammakaya, meanwhile, teaches that the
amount of merit points
you get in life depends on the amount of money
you donate to
Dhammakaya. Nirvana is
also regarded as a heavenly place. The level
of luxury and comfort you
will get depends on your donations. In short, you get
what you pay for.
Purists may not like it, but it is not much different than
folk-Thai Buddhism, is it? With modern marketing and
an incentive system,
however, Dhammakaya is much more effective in raising
funds, which makes its the richest temple in
the country.
The more followers you recruit and
the more donations you
raise, the better your chances of sitting in rows closer to
the abbot at
its grandiose ceremonies.
According to Dhammakaya cosmology told
by insiders and defectors,
Dhammakaya's abbot, Phra Dhammachayo, is
not just a monk; he is a saint and a saviour who
will rescue the world when
Doomsday comes.
While traditional temples
are often dirty and noisy, Dhammakaya focuses on
orderliness, cleanliness,
and grandeur.
This strikes a chord
with the middle
class and the new rich who
believe in supernatural powers
but want a temple with a modern look and style
to suit their
worldly status. The fund-raising groups
also give followers a
sense of community in
a big city, not to
mention the business
connections that
come with it. In short, Dhammakaya answers the needs which the
irrelevant clergy fails
to do.
POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF
DHAMMAKAYA
The temple's close connections with
the elders explain
why the Sangha Council
did not follow through with the late supreme patriarch's ruling
against Phra Dhammachayo, on claims of divisive teaching
and theft, which could have led to hisdefrockment.
Its close connections with
political and business elites also
explain why so many lawsuits against
Dhammachaya on public fraud never
stick. It is no secret that the key candidate,
Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn,
the abbot of
Wat Paknam, is close to Dhammakaya. But so are several other
members of the Sangha Council.
The wealthy Dhammakaya has no
problem pampering the elders who
also view Dhammakaya's expansion overseas
as a global expansion of
Thai Theravada Buddhism without the Sangha having
to lift a finger. Dhammakaya scholarships to
monks over the years have also expanded the movement's support
base nationwide.
If the next supreme patriarch is a Dhammakaya supporter, it is feared the
controversial sect will take over the
whole Sangha. Distorted Buddhist
teaching will be institutionalised and
the allocation of
the much sought-after clerical ranks will be also decided by
Dhammakaya, giving it total control over
the clergy.
DECENTRALIZE SANGHA TO SOLVE
PROBLEM
...there would actually be no need to fear Dhammakaya if the
clerical structure was decentralised; if the system to award monks
with feudal ranks and power were no more; and if temple finances
were transparent. Better still, temples should no longer receive
state subsidies, which would force them to shape up to win back
public trust.
If we want clerical reform, we need to tackle this centralised,
autocratic structure. If not, the conflicts over the supreme
patriarch's nomination are mere power games between political rival
camps.