Luang Por Dhammajayo

Luang Por Dhammajayo (ธมฺมชโย,, Luang Por being a deferential title), also known by the lay name Chaiyabun Suddhipol, is a Thai Buddhist monk.

Luang Por Dhammajayo was born in Sing Buri Province with the lay name Chaiyabun Sutthiphon on 22 April 1944, to Janyong Sutthiphon (his father) and Juri Sutthiphon (his mother).

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.

Due to a sensitivity for sunlight, Chaiyabun had to wear sunglasses from a young age.

In Wat Phra Dhammakaya's publications, Chaiyabun is described as a courageous child, who would often play dangerous games with his friends.

Whilst studying at Suankularb Wittayalai, the owner of the school would bring Chaiyabun to meet with monks regularly.

This sparked his interest in Buddhism from a young age.

He set up a Buddhist Youth Society together with his fellow students.

Chaiyabun developed a strong interest in reading at a young age, especially on Buddhist practice and biographies of leading people in the world, both religious and political.

This included a book with teachings from Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro, the founder of the Dhammakaya Tradition, and a magazine about the maechi (nun) Chandra Khonnokyoong.

In 1963, while studying economics at Kasetsart University, he started visiting the temple Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen.

It was here that he first met Maechi Chandra, a student of abbot Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro, who had by then died.

Maechi Chandra was able to answer Chaiyabun's questions, which made him curious to learn more about Buddhism, through the practice of meditation.

Under Maechi Chandra's supervision, Chaiyabun attained a deeper understanding of Buddhism.

Chaiyabun got to know many fellow students both in Kasetsart University and in other universities who were interested in practicing meditation, and encouraged them to join him in learning meditation with Maechi Chandra.

One of these early acquaintances later became a Buddhist monk and Luang Por Dhammajayo's assistant: Phadet Phongsawat, now known as Luang Por Dattajivo, who would become the deputy abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya.

When Chaiyabun met Phadet, Phadet was involved in occult practices (ไสยศาสตร์), and would often hold public demonstrations of such practices for his fellow students.

In Wat Phra Dhammakaya's biographies it is told that every time Chaiyabun joined to watch one of Phadet's demonstrations, Phadet was incapable of doing his performance.

Phadet therefore become curious about Chaiyabun, suspecting that Chaiyabun was affecting his occult demonstrations.

Later on, when Phadet tried to persuade Chaiyabun to drink alcohol at a college party, Chaiyabun refused, citing his adherence to the five Buddhist precepts.

To test Chaiyabun, Phadet then decided to bring him to his occult black magic teacher.

However, even the teacher could not use his powers in Chaiyabun's presence, which convinced Phadet to learn more about Dhammakaya meditation from Chaiyabun.

Luang Por Dhammajayo started teaching together with Maechi Chandra, and in 1970, they started their own temple in Pathum Thani province, later called Wat Phra Dhammakaya.

The temple became extremely popular in the 1980s.

However, from the 1997 Asian financial crisis onward, the temple and Luang Por Dhammajayo came under heavy criticism for unorthodox fundraising methods, culminating in several charges against him.

He was the abbot of the Buddhist temple Wat Phra Dhammakaya, the post he held until 1999 and again from 2006 to December 2011.

The charges were withdrawn in 2006, and Luang Por Dhammajayo revived the temple.

He organized several notable activities in this period, including a campaign against smoking and drinking for which he was rewarded by the World Health Organization.

After the 2014 coup d'état, Luang Por Dhammajayo again was charged by the Thai government, by then a military junta, for conspiring in money-laundering and receiving stolen goods.

In December 2016, he was given the post of honorary abbot of the temple.

He is a student of the nun (maechi) Chandra Khonnokyoong, and is the most well-known teacher of Dhammakaya meditation.

He has been subject to criticism and government response.

However, he continues to be a spiritual leader that has significant influence in Thai society.

Luang Por Dhammajayo's approach to Buddhism seeks to combine the ascetic and meditative life with modern personal ethics and social prosperity.

Luang Por Dhammajayo met Maechi Chandra in his student years, and learnt about Buddhism from her.

During his student years, he met his fellow student who later became known as Luang Por Dattajivo.

These charges have been widely described as politically motivated, but did lead to an arrest warrant and highly publicized standoff in 2017.

The junta was, however, unable to find Luang Por Dhammajayo.

As of December 2017, the whereabouts of Luang Por Dhammajayo was still unknown, with Phrakhru Sangharak Rangsarit being assigned as official abbot instead.