Wat Dhammakaya

[gavesako]

Credit union being 'lenient' with temple

THE KLONGCHAN Credit Union Cooperative's decision to withdraw civil and criminal lawsuits against Wat Dhammakaya after receiving an initial payment of Bt684 million is far too lenient, National Reform Council (NRC) member Paiboon Nititawan said yesterday.

He added that the cooperative did not even get the temple to pay the interest lost or losses incurred from not being able to invest the amount that was unlawfully donated to it by former chairman Supachai Supa-aksorn.

Supachai has since been charged with embezzlement.

Paiboon, chief of the now-defunct NRC panel on Buddhism reforms, said the temple's abbot Phra Dhammachayo returned the sum not because he cared about those affected by the donation, but because he did not want further investigations.

The NRC member added that he would ask the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) to find out where the money donated through the Nun Jan Foundation went. He pointed out that the abbot had told the public that he did not know about this money, yet evidence showed that he received the sum and later transferred it to the foundation.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 56374.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[gavesako]

Dhammajayo really has a dark sense of humour: speaking on DMC channel yesterday about the issues that the temple is facing regarding the large sum of money which was fraudulently taken from the Klongchan credit union and donated to him, and which is now going to be returned gradually, he played an animated song (with English subtitles) to tell the creditors what he thinks:

https://youtu.be/jO664hLor9Q?t=5m44s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Anagarika]

I'll add Dhammajayo to this list: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101074555/page/2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bakmoon]

Dhammajayo really has a dark sense of humour: speaking on DMC channel yesterday about the issues that the temple is facing regarding the large sum of money which was fraudulently taken from the Klongchan credit union and donated to him, and which is now going to be returned gradually, he played an animated song (with English subtitles) to tell the creditors what he thinks:

https://youtu.be/jO664hLor9Q?t=5m44s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't even know what to say after seeing that clip. I actually usually find the little cartoons from Dhammakaya to be quite fun and likable but that was just sick. When you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar on such a big issue you don't put out a satirical cartoon about it.

[suriyopama]

Dhammakaya Cult doesn't need a Charlie Hebdo to make mockery of their bizarreness. They make ridiculous of themselves.

[ManEagle]

I have been led to believe that all the negative press about Dhammakaya is simply a misunderstanding. I am told that newspapers like the Bangkok Post & The Nation are biased against Dhammakaya for whatever reason, I don't know.

All I know is virtually everywhere I look, aside from the Dhammakaya website (obviously!), no one seems to have a good word to say about them. Meanwhile, over here in Surrey England, my missus seems to have been totally brainwashed by them and I'm pulling my hair out trying to think of things I can do to get her to see the light! It's a very very sensitive area to discuss as she's so attached to them.....and there's me thinking that one of the Buddhist teachings was something to do with NON-ATTACHMENT! But then I probably don't understand it very well. Perhaps attachment to a religion and its dogma is okay but attachment to 'things' is wrong. maybe someone can enlighten me on that?

[suriyopama]

I have been led to believe that all the negative press about Dhammakaya is simply a misunderstanding. I am told that newspapers like the Bangkok Post & The Nation are biased against Dhammakaya for whatever reason, I don't know.

All I know is virtually everywhere I look, aside from the Dhammakaya website (obviously!), no one seems to have a good word to say about them. Meanwhile, over here in Surrey England, my missus seems to have been totally brainwashed by them and I'm pulling my hair out trying to think of things I can do to get her to see the light! It's a very very sensitive area to discuss as she's so attached to them.....and there's me thinking that one of the Buddhist teachings was something to do with NON-ATTACHMENT! But then I probably don't understand it very well. Perhaps attachment to a religion and its dogma is okay but attachment to 'things' is wrong. maybe someone can enlighten me on that?

Helping a person to leave a cult is a difficult and delicate issue. A Google search can provide many advices, but regarding the particular case of the Dhammakaya I may suggest some tips:

As laypeople, we are responsible of what we offer to the monks. If our offerings are not according to the Dhamma Vinaya (e.g offering money) we are accountable for promoting its destruction. Ajahn Brahm talks about this issue on minute 27:54 of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szm2GsDbJgw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Dhammakaya is obviously promoting practices that are contrary to the Pathimokkha rules.

Kindly introduce the noble teachers of the forest tradition e.g Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Jayasaro, Ajahn Brahm, etc. or the teachers that are currently available at the monasteries of the forest sangha in England http://forestsangha.org/monasteries/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Study and discuss suttas and the basic Buddhist teachings. Kindly contrast them with the Dhammakaya teachings. e.g. the idea that your soul, self or ego transmigrates after death and receives and afterlife recompense based on the money that you have offered to their monastery (Dhammakaya replaces “annata” {not-self} with “atta” {self}).

Bangkok Post and The Nation are not biased against Dhammakaya. Dhammakaya are their own worst enemies; just pick any page of DMC web at random and check their weirdness.

Furthermore, Dhammakaya is generating an increasing social alarm in Thailand. It is calculated that senior monks have accumulated fortunes up to 20 trillion baht, and if Dhammakaya and Dhammachayo are not prosecuted, it will imperil Thai Buddhism.
http://2bangkokforum.com/showthread.php ... ion/page38

[Kim OHara]

I have been led to believe that all the negative press about Dhammakaya is simply a misunderstanding. I am told that newspapers like the Bangkok Post & The Nation are biased against Dhammakaya for whatever reason, I don't know.

All I know is virtually everywhere I look, aside from the Dhammakaya website (obviously!), no one seems to have a good word to say about them. Meanwhile, over here in Surrey England, my missus seems to have been totally brainwashed by them and I'm pulling my hair out trying to think of things I can do to get her to see the light! It's a very very sensitive area to discuss as she's so attached to them.....and there's me thinking that one of the Buddhist teachings was something to do with NON-ATTACHMENT! But then I probably don't understand it very well. Perhaps attachment to a religion and its dogma is okay but attachment to 'things' is wrong. maybe someone can enlighten me on that?

Hi, ManEagle,
I'm not saying that Dhammakaya is a 'cult' but it has some of the characteristics of one, particularly that it encourages a conspiracy-theory mind-set that casts doubt on anything said about the group by anyone outside it. Does that sound familiar?


Kim

[suriyopama]

AFP: Sci-Fi in Bangkok

BANGKOK, March 16, 2015 – The Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple in Thailand is one of a kind, with its flying-saucer shaped stupa made from thousands of golden Buddha statues. It sits at the heart of a religious complex the size of an airport, said to be home to 3,000 monks. Located in Bangkok’s industrial north suburbs, the gigantic complex is among the first things you see when you come in to land in Don Muang, one of the capital’s two airports.

The futuristic temple is also controversial in Thailand, its gargantuan scale often criticised in a country where many still live in poverty. The Buddhist cult that manages the temple, the Dhammakaya Movement, claims some 10 million followers around the world. It has long faced criticism over its fundraising methods and has just been forced to reimburse a donation of around 20 million euros (600 million baht) alleged to have been embezzled by a businessman hoping to secure a favorable reincarnation.

http://blogs.afp.com/correspondent/?pos ... RTAOuF0q5I

[pilgrim]

I have been led to believe that all the negative press about Dhammakaya is simply a misunderstanding. I am told that newspapers like the Bangkok Post & The Nation are biased against Dhammakaya for whatever reason, I don't know.

All I know is virtually everywhere I look, aside from the Dhammakaya website (obviously!), no one seems to have a good word to say about them. Meanwhile, over here in Surrey England, my missus seems to have been totally brainwashed by them and I'm pulling my hair out trying to think of things I can do to get her to see the light! It's a very very sensitive area to discuss as she's so attached to them.....and there's me thinking that one of the Buddhist teachings was something to do with NON-ATTACHMENT! But then I probably don't understand it very well. Perhaps attachment to a religion and its dogma is okay but attachment to 'things' is wrong. maybe someone can enlighten me on that?

Maneagle, perhaps you could encourage your wife to support Buddhism and helping her to see that Dhammakaya is not its only representation.

[gavesako]

WAT DHAMMAKAYA abbot Phra Dhammachayo yesterday sent as his representative a monk in charge of finance to answer questions from the Department of Special Investigation, as he was suffering from chronic illness.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/nationa ... 56816.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ManEagle]

Many thanks for the replies. The problem is that she is so attached to them it will be virtually impossible to get her to see that there is an alternative. I'm not sure if it's the way she and the other disciples are taught (or indoctrinated) by the monks or that she is simply naive. Perhaps a bit of both. Sometimes she comes back from the temple and tells me all sorts of preposterous things which has me looking skywards and thinking what the hell? I don't need Buddhism (or any religion for that matter) to tell me that it's important to keep my house clean or to tell me whats right and whats wrong! Honestly some of the nonsense she comes out with just astounds me!!

The thing is, they (DMC) are very popular in Thailand and indeed around the world it seems too. It's all well and good for some to say that they'll disappear eventually. I can't see how? They seem to have growing support in Thailand. How does anyone expect it'll come to an end? Thai people, in my experience, do seem to generally be quite superstitious, if that's the right word? They don't seem to have that naturally inquiring mind that others have. at least when it comes to these types of things anyway. I'm from Europe of course and we do seem to be a little more discerning when it comes to religion, among other things, again, I have to say, in my experience!

Over in the US where I have read that quite a large percentage of people believe that Jesus Christ is expected to return within the next 50 years and all hell will break loose, it seems many of them maybe equally as naive as those in Thailand. Anyway, that's another story. I'm almost at my wits end with what to do with my wife. I love her dearly and cannot bear the thought of being without her (there's attachment for you ) but equally I cannot go on with the way things are. I have begun to read a book recommended to me sometime ago but I'm not convinced it can help me in my situation. (Freedom of MInd by Steven Hassan). I'm not even sure that Dhammakaya can be described as a 'cult' as it is in many of the negative news reports about them. I have one or two other things which might help - I have a friend now who is in exactly the same situation as me (his wife and mine go to the same temple) and he feels the same as I do so that kind of helps but we're still both not sure what we can do. All the good advice I have had, here and other places, so far hasn't made things any easier. Another thing which may help in time is that my wife has a son in Thailand who I'm 99 percent sure feels the same about DMC as I but I haven't had the opportunity to talk with him about it. I do know that he and his mum have had a 'falling out' over DMC in the past. His English isn't great so communication is difficult anyway.

[gavesako]

There have been many cases of Western husbands with Thai wives who became fanatical Dhammakaya devotees and spent lots of money donating it to their temple, mainly because of the totally overblown claims that the leader Dhammajayo makes, such as being able to go up to the heavens and meet the Buddha who is residing there and thus being the most meritorious receiver of gifts on this planet. Once the Thais start to believe something like this, they will not want to go to other temples except for Dhammakaya, because they think of 'merit' as a kind of spiritual bank account which they can draw upon in the future in order to have a happy life. Unfortunately in the meantime, it might drastically reduce your actual bank account... A certain Thai woman in another country went to far that she ended up with large debts and the court ordered her to repay money to creditors, and yet she does not put the two together and come to the logical conclusion that the assumed meritorious donations have brought problems into her life, not the promised happiness.

[bazzaman]

Please excuse me if this has already been posted: Dr. Mano's "Esoteric Teaching of Wat Phra Dhammakaya": http://bit.ly/1CVy2Ks" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Dr. Mano, the former Ven. Mettanando Bhikkhu, ("How the Buddha Died" http://bit.ly/1CVAikZ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) describes the esoterics (vijja dhammakaya) at the base of the Wat Dhammakaya teachings, and how they contradict what is commonly accepted as Buddha Dhamma.
I have only skimmed the article, but I was disturbed/fascinated to learn the extent of the weirdness involved.

[Dhammanando]

There have been many cases of Western husbands with Thai wives who became fanatical Dhammakaya devotees and spent lots of money donating it to their temple, mainly because of the totally overblown claims that the leader Dhammajayo makes, such as being able to go up to the heavens and meet the Buddha who is residing there and thus being the most meritorious receiver of gifts on this planet.

Bhante,

Would you happen to know what's the commoner outcome in these situations: the destruction of the marriage or the wife coming to her senses and leaving the Dhammakaya outfit? (I'm optimistically assuming that a third scenario —the husband's conversion— never happens).