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.
it is good