![Mongkut in the Sangha](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Mongkut_in_the_Sangha.jpeg)
Dhammayuttika Nikāya (
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
; th, ธรรมยุติกนิกาย; ; km, ធម្មយុត្តិកនិកាយ, ), or Dhammayut Order ( th, คณะธรรมยุต) is an
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
of
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
Buddhist ''
bhikkhu
A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...
s'' (monks) in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, and
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, with significant branches in the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. . Its name is derived from Pali ''
dhamma
Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ''d ...
'' ("teachings of the Buddha") + ''yutti'' (in accordance with) + ''ka'' (group). The order began in Thailand as a reform movement led by a prince who would later become
King Mongkut of Siam, before also spreading to Cambodia and Burma. The movement became formally recognized as its own monastic order by the Thai government in 1902, with any Thai Theravada ''bhikkhus'' not within the order being referred to as part of the
Maha Nikaya
The Mahā Nikāya (literal translation: "great order") is one of the two principal monastic orders, or fraternities, of modern Thai and Cambodian Buddhism. The term is used to refer to any Theravada monks not within the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, the o ...
order. The Dhammayuttika Nikaya plays a significant political role in Thailand. The order has historically been favored by the Thai government and monarchy, with the order holding the majority of all royal monastic titles in Thailand and most of the
Supreme Patriarchs (the head of the Thai monastic community) since its founding having come from the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, despite the order making up less than ten percent of all ''bhikkhus'' in Thailand.
History
Dhammayuttika Nikaya (Thai: ''Thammayut'') began in 1833 as a reform movement led by
Mongkut
Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibod ...
(later King Rama IV), son of King
Rama II of Siam
Phra Phutthaloetla Naphalai ( th, พระพุทธเลิศหล้านภาลัย, 24 February 1767 – 21 July 1824), personal name Chim ( th, ฉิม), also styled as Rama II, was the second monarch of Siam under the Chakri ...
. It remained a reform movement until passage of the Sangha Act of 1902, which formally recognized it as the lesser of Thailand's two Theravada denominations, the other being
Maha Nikaya
The Mahā Nikāya (literal translation: "great order") is one of the two principal monastic orders, or fraternities, of modern Thai and Cambodian Buddhism. The term is used to refer to any Theravada monks not within the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, the o ...
.
Prince Mongkut was a ''
bhikkhu
A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...
'' (
religious name
A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts.
Christianity
Catholic Church Baptismal name
In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should ...
: Vajirañāṇo) for 27 years (1824–1851) before becoming King of Thailand (1851–1868). The then 20 year-old prince entered monastic life in 1824. Over the course of his early meditation training, Mongkut was frustrated that his teachers could not relate the meditation techniques they were teaching to the original teachings of the Buddha. Also, he described what he saw as serious discrepancies between the
vinaya
The Vinaya (Pali & Sanskrit: विनय) is the division of the Buddhist canon ('' Tripitaka'') containing the rules and procedures that govern the Buddhist Sangha (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). Three parallel Vinaya traditions remai ...
(monastic rules) and the actual practices of Thai ''bhikkhus''. Mongkut, concerned that the ordination lines in Thailand were broken by a lack of adherence to this monastic code, sought out a different lineage of ''bhikkhus'' with practice that is more in line with the ''vinaya''.
There are several rules in the Theravada monastic code by which a ''bhikkhu'' is "defeated" - he is no longer a ''bhikkhu'' even if he continues to wear robes and is treated as one. Every ordination ceremony in Theravada Buddhism is performed by ten ''bhikkhus'' to guard against the possibility of the ordination being rendered invalid by having a "defeated ''bhikkhu''
" as preceptor. Despite this, Mongkut was concerned that the area's lineages of regional traditions were broken. He made every effort to commission a phalanx of ''bhikkhus'' in Thailand with the highest probability of an unbroken lineage traceable back to the Buddha.
Mongkut eventually found a lineage among the
Mon people
The Mon ( mnw, ဂကူမည်; my, မွန်လူမျိုး, ; th, มอญ, ) are an ethnic group who inhabit Lower Myanmar's Mon State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Tanintharyi Region, Bago Region, the Irrawaddy Delta, and s ...
in Thailand who had a stronger practice. He reordained in this group and began a reform movement that would become the Thammayut order. In founding the Thammayut order, Mongkut made an effort to remove all non-Buddhist, folk religious, and superstitious elements which over the years had become part of Thai Buddhism. Additionally, Thammayut ''bhikkhus'' are expected to eat only one meal a day (not two) and the meal was to be gathered during a traditional alms round.
Since his brother
Rama III
Nangklao ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระนั่งเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว, ; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), birth name Thap ( th, ทับ), also styled Rama III, was the third king of Siam ...
complained about his involvement with an ethnic minority (the Mon), a monastery was built for Prince Mongkut on the edge of the city of Bangkok.
In 1836, Mongkut became the first abbot of the new
Wat Bowonniwet Vihara
Wat Pavaranivesh Vihara Ratchawarawihan ( th, วัดบวรนิเวศวิหารราชวรวิหาร; , ) is a major Buddhist temple (''wat'') in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. Being the residence of Nyanasamvar ...
, and it would become the administrative center of the Thammayut order to the present day.
Soon after, Mongkut had other ''bhikkhus'' who were close to him reordain in this lineage of Mon ''bhikkhus''. Among these were Mongkut's son
Vajirañāṇavarorasa and Somdet Phra Wannarat "Thap", a grade nine Pali scholar.
According to anthropologist Jim Taylor, Vajirañāṇavarorasa's autobiography tells how "Thap had differences with the somewhat more "worldly" ''bhikkhus'' at Wat Bowornniwet, which led to dissension and the movement's eventual division into four primary competing factions (monastic lines or "stems")." In the mid-19th century these branches became so estranged that each one developed its own style of chanting, interpretation, and translation of Pali texts, and differed on issues related to the monastic code.
It wasn't until Vajirañāṇavarorasa took control of a new phase of sangha reforms in 1892 that the administrative Thammayut hierarchy would begin to form a cohesive vision. Officially Pusso Saa was the
sangharaja
Sangharaja (Pāli: ''sangha'' religious community + ''raja'' ruler, king, or prince) is the title given in many Theravada Buddhist countries to a senior monk who is the titular head either of a monastic fraternity ( nikaya), or of the ''Sangha'' t ...
; however, he was only a figurehead. Thanissaro, a
Thai-ordained forest ''bhikkhu'', notes though that in the early-20th century, Ajahn Mun's
kammaṭṭhāna
In Buddhism, ' is a Pali word (Sanskrit: ''karmasthana'') which literally means ''place of work''. Its original meaning was someone's occupation (farming, trading, cattle-tending, etc.) but this meaning has developed into several distinct but r ...
lineage formed a distinct camp within the Thammayut order which was at odds with Vajirañāṇavarorasa's reforms.
Political role in Thailand
While the Dhammayuttika Nikaya originally started as a Buddhist
reform movement in Thailand, later leading to the development of the
Thai forest tradition
The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from pi, kammaṭṭhāna meaning Kammaṭṭhāna, "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a Parampara, lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism.
The ...
, the order has played a significant political role in Thailand as well.
Since its origins, the Dhammayuttika Nikaya has historically been the preferred choice of the Thai government and the monarchy.
Having been started by a Thai prince, the order has always had close ties to the monarchy and has historically played a key role in ensuring public support for the palace. Journalist Paul Handley writes that:
Although the doctrinal differences between the schools had become less significant, putting Thammayut on top ensured that the sangha remained closely allied with the palace.
This favoritism by Thai elites for the Dhammayuttika order is most apparent in the proportion of monastic titles given to senior ''bhikkhus''. While taking up only about six percent of the ''bhikkhus'' in Thailand, over half of Thailand's monastic titles and privileges have gone to Dhammayuttika ''bhikkhus'', and nine of the past thirteen
Supreme Patriarchs of Thailand
Supreme may refer to:
Entertainment
* Supreme (character), a comic book superhero
* ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film
* Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer
* "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams
* The Supremes, Motown-e ...
have belonged to the Dhammayuttika order.
The preference by the Thai government and palace for Dhammayuttika has even led to the persecution of some high ranking
Maha Nikaya
The Mahā Nikāya (literal translation: "great order") is one of the two principal monastic orders, or fraternities, of modern Thai and Cambodian Buddhism. The term is used to refer to any Theravada monks not within the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, the o ...
''bhikkhus'' who were seen as a threat to the Dhammayuttika hierarchy or the Thai government. The most famous case was the case of Phra Phimontham, a high ranking Maha Nikaya ''bhikkhu'' known for his pro-democracy views and opposition to Dhammayuttika elitism, who was likely to become the next Supreme Patriarch of Thailand at the time.
In 1962, Phra Phimontham was imprisoned and defrocked by Thailand's then
military junta
A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...
and widely defamed in the
Thai media over several criminal charges. The scandal allowed the military junta to pass a Sangha reform act that further centralized the Thai Sangha's administration under Dhammayuttika control. Following a change in government, the various criminal charges against Phra Phimontham were later determined to have been false all along. In reality, the military junta persecuted Phra Phimontham for his political views and disseminated the false charges in the media in order to arrest him and limit his influence, and to consolidate its power over the Sangha.
More recently, news analysts have described the actions of the
2014 military junta against
Wat Phra Dhammakaya
Wat Phra Dhammakaya ( th, วัดพระธรรมกาย, , ) is a Buddhist temple ('' wat'') in Khlong Luang district, in the Pathum Thani province north of Bangkok, Thailand. It was founded in 1970 by the ''maechi'' (nun) Chandra ...
and
Wat Paknam Bhasichareon as also being about the politics of these two Nikayas.
From 2013-2017 the ''bhikkhu'' who was next in line for Supreme Patriarch was the Maha Nikaya ''bhikkhu''
Somdet Chuang Varapuñño
Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen ( th, วัดปากน้ำภาษีเจริญ, ) is a royal ''wat'' ('temple') located in Phasi Charoen district, Bangkok, at the Chao Phraya River. It is part of the Maha Nikaya fraternity and is the origi ...
of Wat Paknam Bhasicheroen.
However, lawsuits involving Somdet Chuang and the affiliated Wat Phra Dhammakaya caused his appointment to be postponed and eventually withdrawn, with another candidate from the Dhammayuttika fraternity appointed instead. The lawsuits against Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Somdet Chuang were, in fact, eventually used as reasons by the junta to withdraw his nomination.
Wat Paknam was later cleared of all charges two days after Somdet Chuang's nomination was officially withdrawn.
On 7 February 2017, Prime Minister
Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prayut Chan-o-cha (sometimes spelled Prayuth Chan-ocha; th, ประยุทธ์ จันทร์โอชา, ; born 21 March 1954) is a Thai politician and retired Royal Thai Army, army officer who has served as the Prime Minister of T ...
confirmed the appointment of
Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong as the 20th Supreme Patriarch of Thailand in a televised address. He was the abbott of
Wat Ratchabophit
Wat Ratchabophit () or formally Wat Ratchabophit Sathitmahasimaram Ratchaworawihan ( th, วัดราชบพิธสถิตมหาสีมารามราชวรวิหาร), is a Buddhist temple on Atsadang Road, Bangkok, alon ...
and a leading member of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya order.
The prime minister stated: "I submitted the names of five qualified monks for His Majesty to consider. On Monday night, I was informed His Majesty chose Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong."
During the
2017–18 Thai temple fraud investigations, Anthropologist Jim Taylor described the arrests made during the investigations as the
"ruling palace regime" trying to consolidate traditional, central royalist power by eliminating several high-ranking Maha Nikaya ''bhikkhus'' and members of the
Sangha Supreme Council
The Sangha Supreme Council of Thailand ( th, มหาเถรสมาคม; pi, Mahāthera Samāgama; abbreviated SSC) is the governing body of the Buddhist order (Sangha) of Thailand, and is the ultimate authority for all ecclesiastical mat ...
. Taylor argues that this was done in order to ensure that the next supreme patriarch is also from the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, pointing to the junta's
previous interference with the position in 2017 and that the suspects were all high-ranking non-royalist ''bhikkhus''. In fact, in July 2018, the junta passed a law giving the Thai King the ability to select members of the
Sangha Supreme Council
The Sangha Supreme Council of Thailand ( th, มหาเถรสมาคม; pi, Mahāthera Samāgama; abbreviated SSC) is the governing body of the Buddhist order (Sangha) of Thailand, and is the ultimate authority for all ecclesiastical mat ...
instead of the monks. The alleged corruption within the Sangha from these investigations were cited as the reason for the change.
Dhammayuttika Nikaya in Cambodia
![Bour kry](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Bour_kry.jpg)
In 1855, King
Norodom of Cambodia
Norodom ( km, នរោត្តម, ; born Ang Voddey ( km, អង្គវតី, ); 3 February 1834 – 24 April 1904) was King of Cambodia from 19 October 1860 to his death on 24 April 1904. He was the eldest son of King Ang Duong and was ...
invited Preah Saukonn Pan, also referred to as Maha Pan, a
Khmer bhikkhu educated in the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, to establish a branch of the Dhammayuttika order in Cambodia. Maha Pan became the first
Sangharaja
Sangharaja (Pāli: ''sangha'' religious community + ''raja'' ruler, king, or prince) is the title given in many Theravada Buddhist countries to a senior monk who is the titular head either of a monastic fraternity ( nikaya), or of the ''Sangha'' t ...
of the Dhammayuttika lineage, residing at
Wat Botum
Wat Botum ( km, វត្តបទុម, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; lit. 'Temple of the Lotus Blossoms'), the official name is Wat Botum Watey Reacheveraram ( km, វត្តបទុមវតីរាជវរារាម, link=no) literally means ...
, a new temple erected by the king specifically for Dhammayuttika ''bhikkhus''. The Cambodian order benefited from royal patronage but was also sometimes regarded with suspicion due to its ties to the Thai monarchy.
The Dhammayuttika order in Cambodia suffered greatly under the
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
, being particularly targeted because of its perceived ties to monarchy and a foreign nation, in addition to the Khmer Rouge's general repression of the Buddhist hierarchy in Cambodia. Between 1981 and 1991, the Dhammayuttika Nikaya was combined with the Cambodian Mohanikay in a unified sangha system established under
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
ese domination. In 1991, King
Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, Norodom Sihanouk filmography, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in vari ...
returned from exile and appointed the first new Dhammayuttika Sangharaja in ten years, effectively ending the policy of official unification. The Dhammayuttika continues to exist in Cambodia, though its ''bhikkhus'' constitute a very small minority. On issues such as the role of bhikkhu in
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
treatment and education, the current Sangharaja,
Bour Kry
Samdech Preah Sangkhareach Bour Kry ( km, សម្ដេចព្រះសង្ឃរាជ បួរ គ្រី; born 11 January 1945) is the seventh and current Supreme Patriarch of the Thammayut order of Cambodia.
Early life
Bour Kry was ...
has adopted a more liberal position than the Mohanikay head
Tep Vong
Samdech Preah Agga Maha Sangharajadhipati Tep Vong ( km, សម្ដេចព្រះអគ្គមហាសង្ឃរាជាធិបតី ទេព វង្ស; born 12 January 1932) is a Cambodian Buddhist monk, currently the Great S ...
, but is less radical than that of certain
Engaged Buddhist elements of the Mohanikay order.
Dhammayutti Mahayin Gaing in Burma
The Dhammayutti Mahayin
Gaing ( my, ဓမ္မယုတ္တိနိကာယမဟာရင်ဂိုဏ်း; from pi, gaṇa "group, association") has its origins as "a late nineteenth-century Mon reform tradition
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
traces its lineage to the Thai Thammayut (
sic
The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...
) order." It is one of 9 legally sanctioned monastic orders (nikaya) in Myanmar (Burma), under the 1990 Law Concerning Sangha Organizations.
Statistics
According to 2016 statistics published by the
State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee
The State Saṅgha Mahā Nāyaka Committee ( my, နိုင်ငံတော် သံဃာ့မဟာနာယကအဖွဲ့, abbreviated Mahana or in Burmese, SSMNC in English) is a government-appointed body of high-ranking Buddhis ...
, 823 monks belonged to this monastic order, representing 0.15% of all monks in the country, making it the second smallest legally-sanctioned monastic order.
With respect to geographic representation, the majority of Mahayin monks are based in
Mon State
Mon State ( my, မွန်ပြည်နယ်, ; mnw, တွဵုရးဍုင်မန်, italics=no) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It lies between Kayin State to the east, the Andaman Sea to the west, Bago Region to the ...
(76.91%), followed by neighboring
Kayin State
Kayin State ( my, ကရင်ပြည်နယ်, ; kjp, ဖၠုံခါန်ႋကၞင့်, italics=no; ksw, ကညီကီၢ်စဲၣ်, ), also known by the endonyms Kawthoolei and Karen State, is a state of Myanmar. The ...
(13.61%).
Notes
See also
*
Nikāya
''Nikāya'' () is a Pāli word meaning "volume". It is often used like the Sanskrit word '' āgama'' () to mean "collection", "assemblage", "class" or "group" in both Pāḷi and Sanskrit. It is most commonly used in reference to the Pali Buddhist ...
*
Maha Nikaya
The Mahā Nikāya (literal translation: "great order") is one of the two principal monastic orders, or fraternities, of modern Thai and Cambodian Buddhism. The term is used to refer to any Theravada monks not within the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, the o ...
*
Sangharaja
Sangharaja (Pāli: ''sangha'' religious community + ''raja'' ruler, king, or prince) is the title given in many Theravada Buddhist countries to a senior monk who is the titular head either of a monastic fraternity ( nikaya), or of the ''Sangha'' t ...
*
Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia
The Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia ( km, សម្ដេចព្រះសង្ឃរាជ; pi, Sangharāja) is the ''de facto'' leader of Buddhism in Cambodia.
Titles
The titles for the Cambodian Supreme Patriarchs are derived from Pali. The ...
*
Supreme Patriarch of Thailand __NOTOC__
The Supreme Patriarch of Thailand or Sangharaja ( th, สังฆราช; ) is the head of the order of Buddhist monks in Thailand. His full title is ''Somdet Phra Saṅgharāja Sakalamahāsaṅghapariṇāyaka'' ( th, สมเด ...
References
Bibliography
*
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External links
Thai Forest TraditionForest SanghaKammatthana
{{Authority control
Theravada Buddhist orders
Schools of Buddhism founded in Thailand
Buddhism in Cambodia
Religious organizations established in 1833
1833 establishments in Siam
Religious organisations based in Cambodia