Wat Phra Dhammakaya () is a Buddhist temple in Thailand. It was founded in 1970 by the maechi (nun) Chandra Khonnokyoong and Luang Por Dhammajayo. The temple's founding has roots in the Dhammakaya tradition founded by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in the early 20th century. Wat Phra Dhammakaya is known for its modern dissemination methods and use of technology.

The temple was initially founded as a meditation center, after Maechi Chandra and the just ordained monk Luang Por Dhammajayo could no longer accommodate the rising number of participants in their activities at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, becoming an official temple in 1977. The temple experienced rapid growth during the 1980s, when the temple's programs became widely known among the urban middle class. Wat Phra Dhammakaya expanded its area quickly during this period and started building its iconic stupa (pagoda).

During the period of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, however, the temple was subject to widespread criticism for its fundraising methods and teachings, Luang Por Dhammajayo was eventually charged with embezzlement and removed from his office as abbot. In 2006, the charges were withdrawn and he was restored as abbot. The temple grew further in the following years and became known for its many projects in education, promotion of ethics, and scholarship in Thai society. The temple's tradition developed an international scope, as of 2007, the temple's following was estimated at one million practitioners worldwide and thirty to fifty international centers outside of Thailand.

Under the 2014 military junta, the abbot and the temple were put under scrutiny again and Luang Por Dhammajayo was accused of receiving stolen money of a supporter and money-laundering. This incident led to several standoffs between the temple and the junta, eventually leading to 23 day lock down of the temple in 2017 by the junta that made headlines worldwide. In the aftermath of the lock down the junta stated they will look for Luang Por Dhammajayo elsewhere but continued its scrutiny of the temple, giving the vice abbot, Luang Por Dattajivo several charges as well.

Founding years (1963–1978)

First encounters

Wat Phra Dhammakaya started with the maechi (nun) Chandra Khonnokyoong. She was a notable student of Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro, when he was still alive. Although illiterate, she was widely respected for her experience in meditation, which is rare for a maechi. She managed to attract many well-educated students, despite her rural background and illiteracy. After Luang Pu Sodh died in 1959, Maechi Chandra transmitted the Dhammakaya tradition to a new generation at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen. She taught meditation; one of her pupils was a university student called Chaiyabun Sutthiphon. His parents were Lao Song and Thai-Chinese, and separated when he was young. Chaiyabun was raised by his father, who was an engineer working for a government agency. Chaiyabun developed a strong interest in reading, especially in books on Buddhist practice and biographies of leading people in the world, both religious and political, and read about Maechi Chandra in a magazine. In 1963, while enrolled in Kasetsart University, he started visiting Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen. It was here that he first met Maechi Chandra and started to learn meditation with her.

Chaiyabun encouraged his fellow university students to join the activities at Wat Paknam, and the community grew. One of these students was Phadet Phongsawat. In Wat Phra Dhammakaya's biographies, it is told that Phadet often held public demonstrations of black magic () to his fellow students in his years at Kasetsart University. However, every time Chaiyabun joined to watch one of Phadet's demonstrations, the magic would not work. Phadet therefore became curious, and learnt about Dhammakaya meditation from Chaiyabun. He felt inspired by Chaiyabun's sincerity in meditation and his adherence to the Buddhist five precepts.

From Wat Paknam to Wat Phra Dhammakaya

In the beginning, the meditations and teachings were carried out in a small house called "Ban Dhammaprasit" in the compound of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen. Chaiyabun had set up a group called "Dhammaprasit" and this group had financed the house together in which to organize meditations. Once Chaiyabun was ordained as a monk in 1969 and received the name Phra Dhammajayo, he started teaching Dhammakaya meditation together with Maechi Chandra. Because of the popularity of both teachers, the house soon became overcrowded with interested students and they considered it more appropriate to start a new meditation center by themselves. Although initially they intended to a plot of land in Pathum Thani, the landowner Khunying Prayat Suntharawet gave a plot four times the requested size to practice generosity at the occasion of her birthday. On 20 February 1970, Maechi Chandra, Phra Dhammajayo, Phra Dattajivo and their students moved to the 196-rai () plot of land to found a meditation center. Phra Dhammajayo later became abbot of the temple and was called Luang Por Dhammajayo from then on, and Pongsawat was ordained with the name Luang Por Dattajivo and became deputy abbot.

The site, north of Don Mueang International Airport, was originally called "Sun Phutthachak-patipattham" (). At the time Pathum Thani was well outside Bangkok's northern suburbs. From acidic paddy fields, a woodland was created to be a park for meditation practitioners. The initial budget for construction was very low (3,200 Baht), but despite these economical constraints, the construction of the buildings on the land was able to continue. A book about the initiative was compiled, to inspire people to join in and help. In the accounts of the temple, it is told that the construction happened with great attention for detail. For example, the outside of the wall of the Ubosot was made of gravel that was selected manually. Because the land at first was very acidic, only wattle could be planted. Later on, the soil improved. Though originally the intention was simply to build a center—as a satellite meditation center of Wat Paknam—eventually, this was changed to building a full-fledged temple, under pressure from the authorities who wanted the place to be properly registered. The foundation stone for the Ubosot was laid by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on behalf of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in December 1977. The following year it was officially recognized as a temple by the Thai government, as "Wat Voranee Dhammakayaram", named after the daughter of Khunying Prayat, Voranee. However, there was disagreement as to who should become the abbot of the temple, and how the temple should develop further: Voranee then stopped supporting the temple. In 1982, the temple therefore left out the daughter's name and renamed itself "Wat Phra Dhammakaya". The main concept of the temple from the start was to be "a school for teaching ethics to society at large", which the founders believed a temple should be.

Start of Dhammadayada program

In 1972, Wat Phra Dhammakaya started a program called Dhammadayada ('heirs of the Dhamma'), a meditation training program focused on university students. Wat Phra Dhammakaya emphasized youth and young adults in its orientation from its outset. The Buddhist societies of many of Thai universities and colleges were led by supporters of the temple, many coming from the Dhammadayada program, though in the mid-1990s this influence grew weaker. In 1981, the temple also started organizing a contest called 'Path of Progress' (). In this program, schools all over Thailand competed in their knowledge of Buddhist ethics, which was designed to complement the national education system, which the temple believed had become too secularized. Due to the large number of students joining the temple's activities, who in the 1970s tended to be leftist, for a brief period Wat Phra Dhammakaya was accused of supporting the Communist insurgency in Thailand and the student uprisings in the 1970s.

Spokespeople of the temple describe the role of Maechi Chandra in the early period of the temple as a 'chief commander' (Thai: jomthap), whereas Luang Por Dhammajayo is depicted as a 'chief of staff' (Thai: senathikan) developing proper plans, whereas Luang Por Dattajīvo is described as the practical manager. During the years to follow, Maechi Chandra's role would gradually become less, as she grow older and withdrew more to the background of the temple's organization.

Exponential growth (1979–1996)

Further development of the Dhammadayada program

After 1979, the Dhammadayada program began to include a temporary ordination. In Thailand, it had been a tradition for men to ordain for the monastic rains retreat (vassa) as a rite of passage before becoming adult. These ordinations were becoming shorter, and the temple was trying to reverse this trend. During such a training program at the temple, participants typically started off with rigorous physical training to prepare themselves for the program. When the training started, they kept the eight precepts, slept under mosquito nets in the open air, and meditated for four to eight hours per day. After this preparatory training, they ordained for the remaining period of at least one month. Ordination ceremonies were held at Wat Benchamabophit. The program initially focused on university students, starting with the network of friends of Luang Por Dhammajayo and Luang Por Dattajivo. During the period of the temple's construction, the Dhammadayada ordination plan gave training to hundreds of students, who swelled the number of residents in the temple community. For monks who stayed on for longer, ordaining for life was emphasized more than in other temples, though considerable screening took place before someone could do so. For women, a parallel training program was held from 1986 onward, in which the eight precepts were kept, but the women did not receive full ordination in the manner of bhikkhunis.

Appeal

The temple gained great popularity during the 1980s (during the Asian economic boom), especially among the growing well-educated and entrepreneurial middle class, mostly small-business owners and technocrats of Sino-Thai origin. Royalty and high-standing civil servants also started to visit the temple, including the generals Arthit Kamlang-ek and Chaovalit Yongchaiyuth. During this period the temple experienced tremendous growth in terms of monks, lay workers and temple visitors. The temple therefore established a screening procedure for newcomer employees. Maechi Chandra set rules and regulations for the community, including a prohibition on political lobbying and selling things in the temple. Wat Phra Dhammakaya emphasized values of prosperity, modernity and personal development, which made it attractive for the middle class, especially during times of quick cultural and social changes. By the mid-1980s, the temple was attracting up to fifty thousand people for major ceremonies. The Dhammadaya ordination program started out with sixty participants in 1979; by 1986, over a thousand participants joined. In 1990, the temple had 260 monks, 214 samaneras (novices that are minors) and 441 full-time employees. In 1995, Wat Phra Dhammakaya caught the nation's attention when a Magha Puja celebration was broadcast live on television, with the then Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn as chairman of the ceremony.

Other activities