The Dhammakaya tradition or Dhammakaya movement (sometimes spelled Thammakaai) is a Thai Buddhist tradition founded by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro in the early 20th century. It is associated with several temples descended from Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in Bangkok.

The tradition is distinguished from other Thai Buddhist traditions by its teachings on the Buddhist concept of Dhammakaya and the practice of Dhammakaya meditation (Vijja Dhammakaya), a method which scholars have connected to the Yogavacara tradition, which predates the 19th-century reform of Thai Buddhism. The Dhammakaya tradition is known for its teaching that there is a "true self" connected with Nirvana, which was notably criticized in the 1990s as an alleged contradiction of the Buddhist doctrine of anattā (non-self).

The Dhammakaya tradition is seen by its followers as a form of Buddhist revivalism pioneered by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro. Buddhist Studies scholars have described aspects of its practices as having characteristics of religious apologetics, and Buddhist modernism. Features of the tradition include teaching meditation in a group, teaching meditation simultaneously to monastics and lay people, and an emphasis on lifelong ordination.

Nomenclature Dhammakaya Tradition refers to a modern Buddhist tradition that has emerged in Thailand, but is based on older Yogavacara, c.q. Esoteric Theravada teachings, which have survived the 19th and 20th century modernisation of Thai Buddhism. Dhammakaya means 'Dhamma body', referring to an "inner Buddha nature," which its practitioners aim to realize through meditation.

According to the anthropologist and Asian studies scholar Edwin Zehner, the term Dhammakaya (also spelled Thammakai) has four contextual meanings, though all four are "written and pronounced exactly alike": In the first sense, it refers to the doctrinal concept of "dharma-body" as found in Pali and Sanskrit texts. Second, it means the "inner dharma-body" that is a goal of the Dhammakaya meditation practitioner. Third, it refers to all the meditation centers and teachers who preach a Dhammakaya meditation style in Thailand. Fourth, it refers to Wat Phra Dhammakaya and its associated institutions – the largest temple in the Dhammakaya Tradition.

The term Dhammakaya, states Zehner, has close affinities to the Mahayana Buddhism concept of Dharmakaya (spiritual essence of the Buddha), and the word appears in many early Pali and Sanskrit texts, where its early meaning was "the collection of the dhamma". However, the Dhammakaya Tradition's conception of the "Dhammakaya" doctrine is different from the definition found in the Pali-English dictionary of the Pali Text Society, states Zehner.

Scholars are not in agreement on the name of the Dhammakaya tradition. Some scholars use Dhammakaya Tradition, while others use the term Dhammakaya temples, or Dhammakaya Movement. Newell states the term Dhammakaya Movement has been confusingly used by various scholars. Some scholars use the term Dhammakaya movement interchangeably with Wat Phra Dhammakaya – the tradition's largest temple. She considers this problematic because this terminology has been used "without distinguishing between the various temples practising dhammakaya meditation and Wat Dhammakaya itself... There are considerable differences in style, practice and structure of all the temples". She prefers to use the term Dhammakaya temples.

She is quoted on this by Religious Studies scholar Justin McDaniel, but he nevertheless uses Dhammakaya Movement without distinguishing between the various temples and Wat Phra Dhammakaya. Buddhist Studies scholars Kate Crosby and Phibul Choompolpaisal, on the other hand, speak of a "network" of Dhammakaya temples.

History

Yogavacara origins

Scholars have theorized that the Dhammakaya Tradition has its roots in the Yogavacara tradition (also known as Southern Esoteric Buddhism; not to be confused with the Yogacara School in Mahayana Buddhism), which thrived in pre-modern, pre-colonial times. This ancestry would be related to Wat Ratchasittharam, the former residence of Somdet Suk Kaithuen (early 19th century), "the heir to the teaching of Ayutthaya meditation masters," and the temple where Luang Pu Sodh used to practice before he went on to develop Dhammakaya meditation.

According to theologian Rory Mackenzie, Yogavacara ideas are the most likely influence on Dhammakaya meditation system, though this is not definitely proven. According to Buddhist Studies scholar Catherine Newell, "there is no doubt that Dhammakaya meditation is based upon the broader yogavacara tradition." She presents evidence of the borrowing of Luang Pu Sodh's Dhammakaya system from Somdet Suk's system of meditation. She and Asian studies scholar Phibul Choompolpaisal believe a Yogavacara origin to be most likely. If this would be the case, the tradition's meditation method would be an exoteric (openly taught) version of what initially was an esoteric tradition.

An alternative theory suggests an origin in Tibetan or other forms of Mahayana Buddhism. According to Mackenzie, it is possible but unlikely that someone who knew the Tibetan meditation methods met and shared that knowledge with Luang Pu Sodh in the early 1910s. There are similarities between the two systems, states Mackenzie, as well as with the concepts such as chakra (tantric psycho-physical centers), "crystal sphere" and Vajra. Though these commonalities are widely accepted, no proof has emerged yet of the cross-fertilization of Tibetan Buddhist practices into Dhammakaya system. Yogavacara ideas are the most likely influence on Dhammakaya meditation system, but this too has yet to be proven, states Mackenzie. Newell acknowledges that Crosby doubts the link because of the two systems using different terminology.

It is alternatively possible that Luang Pu Sodh developed his approach based on his own psychic experiences.

Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro The tradition was started by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro in the early twentieth century. In 1916, after three hours of meditating on the mantra sammā araham, a Dhammakaya Foundation publication states "his mind [suddenly] became still and firmly established at the very centre of his body," and he experienced "a bright and shining sphere of Dhamma at the centre of his body, followed by new spheres, each "brighter and clearer." According to Luang Pu Sodh, this was the true Dhamma-body, or Dhammakaya, the "spiritual essence of the Buddha and nibbana [which] exists as a literal reality within the human body," and the true Self (as opposed to the non-self). According to Mackenzie, "Luang Phaw Sot sought to relate his breakthrough to the Satipatthana Sutta. He interpreted a phrase which is normally understood as 'contemplating the body as a body' as contemplating the body in the body." According to Luang Pu Sodh, meditation could reveal "a series of astral and spiritual bodies of progressive fineness" within the physical body of a person.

Convinced that he had attained the core of the Buddha's teaching, Phra Candasaro devoted the rest of his life to teaching, and furthering the depth of knowledge of Dhammakaya meditation, a meditation method which he also called "Vijja Dhammakaya", 'the direct knowledge of the Dhammakaya'. Temples in the tradition of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, together called the Dhammakaya tradition, believe that this method was the method the Buddha originally used to attain Enlightenment, but was lost five hundred years after the Buddha passed away. The rediscovery of Dhammakaya technique is usually described by the Dhammakaya tradition in miraculous terms with cosmic elements. For example, it is mentioned that heavy rains purified the temple before the rediscovery.

The first generation of students After discovering the Dhammakaya meditation approach, Luang Pu Sodh first taught it to others at Wat Bangpla, Bang Len District, Nakhon Pathom. Since Luang Pu Sodh was given his first position as abbot at Wat Paknam, Dhammakaya meditation has been associated with this temple. Other temples, such as Wat Luang Phor Sodh Dhammakayaram, also have their roots in Wat Paknam. It survived despite pressures in the nineteenth and early twentieth century to reform.

Dhammakaya meditation has been taught by Luang Pu Sodh's students at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Wat Luang Por Sodh Dhammakayaram, and at Wat Rajorasarama, as well as at the respective branches of these temples. Apart from these major temples, there are also several other centers that practice in the tradition of Luang Pu Sodh.

Maechi Thongsuk Samdaengpan Maechi Thongsuk (1900–1963) was a nun well-known for her meditation teaching. She was born on 1 August 1900 at Baan Saphan Lueang, Bangrak District, Bangkok. She was the third born to her father Rom and mother Wan. She was separated from her parents at an early age, being adopted by her uncle and aunt instead. She had no formal education and was illiterate. She married a surgeon at Chulalongkorn Hospital. They had two children together before the untimely death of her husband, after which she had to support herself and her children by working as a salesperson.

In 1930, Thongsuk Samdaengpan started to study meditation at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen under the instruction of Luang Pu Sodh. As a laywoman, and later as a maechi, she taught high-profile supporters of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, such as Liap Sikanchananand. It was at Liap's house that Maechi Thongsuk met Chandra Khonnokyoong, who she taught Dhammakaya meditation. After the two stayed for a month at Wat Paknam, they both ordained as maechis. Maechi Thongsuk travelled around Thailand to spread the Dhamma and teach Dhammakaya Meditation according to the policy of Luang Pu Sodh. Maechi Thongsuk was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1960, and died of it on 3 February 1963 at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen. She was aged sixty-three, having been a maechi for twenty-five years.

Maechi Chandra Khonnokyoong

Maechi Chandra (1909–2000) became strongly interested in meditation when she was still a child, after she was cursed by her drunken father. After he died, she wished to reconcile with him through contacting him in the afterlife. In 1935, she went to Bangkok to work and find a way to meet Luang Pu Sodh. After she met Maechi Thongsuk and learnt meditation from her, she ordained at Wat Paknam. She later became a prominent meditation student of Luang Pu Sodh. After Luang Pu Sodh's death, she became instrumental in introducing Dhammakaya meditation to Luang Por Dhammajayo and Luang Por Dattajivo, with whom she later founded Wat Phra Dhammakaya. Luang Por Dhammajayo and Luang Por Dattajivo, the current abbot and vice-abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, were students of maechi (nun) Chandra Khonnokyoong.

Beliefs and practices

Dhammakaya meditation

Meditation is the most important practice of all major temples in the Dhammakaya tradition. The meditation system of the tradition distinguishes it from mainstream Theravada Buddhism. According to Suwanna Satha-Anand, the tradition believes that meditation and the attainment of the Dhammakaya is the only way to Nirvana. Additionally, this technique is claimed in its advanced stages to bring forth abhiñña, or mental powers, and allow the meditator to visit past lives and alternate planes of existence, wherein one can affect the present life's circumstances.

Essential in this process is the "center of the body", which Luang Pu Sodh precisely describes as being at a point two finger widths above the navel of each person: whatever technique someone might use to meditate, the mind can only attain a higher level of insight through this center. This center is also believed to play a fundamental role in the birth and death of an individual. The center of the body has also been described as the "end of the breath", the deepest point in the abdomen where the breath goes back and forth.

Samatha phase