Biography
of
PHRA DHARMAKOSAJARN
(Luang Por Paññananda)
Luang Por
Paññananda is one of the most prominent senior monks in the
Thai Sangha (monastic order) today. Further, he is one of its
most popular Dharma exponents and one of the most important
spiritual leaders in Thailand. The words "Luang Por"
means "Great Father," an informal honorific used for
senior monks, and " Paññananda" means "One who
Delights in Wisdom," a befitting Pali name he received at
Higher Ordination and which has become so well-known that it
overshadows all the formal titles he has since received.
Luang Por was born Pun Sanaycharoen on May 11, 1911 (B.E 2454), in Pattalung, a province in sounthern Thailand. He entered the monastic life as a novice at the age of 18 at Wat Upanandaram in Ranong Province. In the first year of his novitiate, he passed the first level of Dharma examination, winning the first place of all Phuket province. He continued with the traditional monastic training until the completion of the three levels of basic Dhamma studies and Pali Grade 4. At 20, he was given Higher Ordination.
While he was still a novice, he spent one Rains Retreat with Buddhadasa Bhikkhu at the original Suan Mokkh. Along with Phra Khemabhirat, the third companion that year, they became life long brothers in the Dhamma. Luang Por looked to Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, his elder Dhamma brother, for guidance throughout his life, although they never lived together again.
Between 1932 and 1933, he undertook a long journey along with many other monks, walking all the way from Bangkok to Rangoon (in Burma) as a means to strengthen his spiritual practice and heighten public awareness of the Dhamma. He also made trips, by boat, to India. Later, he was the first Thai monk to be invited to participate in various religious conferences and seminars in Europe and America. He has participated in numerous international religious gatherings since, including the 1993 Parliament of the World Religions in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1949, Luang Por was invited to Chiang Mai, a province in northern Thailand, to head a new Buddhist organization modelled on the lines of Suan Mokkh and to oversee a number of Dhamma projects in the region. At his initiative, a Buddhist periodical was started and for many years Luang Por served as its editor and regular contributor. This period was a significant landmark in his life for his talks and writings made him so popular in this part of the country that his name became a household word.
In 1960 , the Royal
Irrigation Department built a new monastery in Nonthaburi, a
short distance north of Bangkok, and Luang Por was invited from
Chiangmai to assume the abbotship there. Since then Wat
Cholpratan Rangsarit has served more or less as his permanent
base of operation. Under his inspiration and guidance, and with
help from monks trained at Suan Mokkh, it became renowned as one
of the most prominent centers for Dhamma training and Dhamma
dissemination activities. In recognition of his exceptional
contribution to the religion and society, His Majesty the King
offered him the ecclesiastical rank of "Chao Khun,"
taking Ajarn Buddhadasa's old title when he was given a
"higher rank." In 1987, he was promoted to the title of
Phra Thepvisuddhimedhi (Devine Grace of Excellent Purity).
Finally, in 1994 (B.E. 2537), he inherited the former
ecclesiastical title of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, "Phra
Dhammakosajarn" (Teacher with a Mighty Storehouse of
Dhamma).
It is only possible to list some of Luang Por's numerous awards and achievements here. In his younger days, his talks averaged 700 a year; he was in such popular demand that there were times when he was invited to give three or four talks a day, each lasting no less than an hour, sometimes with hundreds of miles distance between venues. For the last three decades, he has had a regular Dharma program, the first Sunday of every month, on Thailand's national television and radio networks, with a faithful audience estimated at several millions throughout the country.
Since Luang Por became the abbot of Wat Cholpratan Rangsarit in 1960, he has been giving Dharma talks to thousands of devotees who flock to the temple to listen to him, sometimes including prime ministers and other cabinet members. Every week, some 5,000 audio-cassette tapes of his talks are distributed at Wat Cholpratan Rangsarit. These are then transcribed, and 50,000 copies of each talk are printed and distributed through bookstores around the country. In addition, more than 250,000 copies of his talks are printed for free distribution each year. From time to time, booklets on various topics of interest by Luang Por are put together to make a larger volume in response to public demand. For instance, between 1975 and 1990, over a million copies of such bound volumes were distributed. Each year some 400,000 copies of his special New Years' teaching and blessing season are given by devotees to their friends. This is a program initiated by Luang Por, following the example of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, in his effort to encourage New Year well-wishers to send Dhamma publications, clearly something of superior value, to friends and relatives instead of ordinary greeting cards. It is, therefore, no exaggeration to say that Luang Por is indeed the country's all-time best-selling author.
In 1977, Luang Por Paññananda received the National Conch Award for his outstanding work in Dhamma propagation activities. He also received a Distinguished Public Speaker Award for his exceptional roles in promoting public moral awareness in the country. In 1981, two national universities conferred on him honorary doctorate degrees in recognition of his invaluable contributions in the areas of education and social service; in the following year, he was proclaimed the most distinguished contributor to the cause of the Buddhist religion. Despite his age, 84, Luang Por continues to work untiringly for the moral and spiritual well being of society.
He is chief patron of Amaravati Buddhist Centre and Chithurst Monastery in England, and their affilianted centers around the world which follow the teaching and practice of the late Venerable Ajarn Chah. For the last 11 years, he traveled regularly around the world in his effort to extend support to Thai and other Buddhist communities, especially those in the western hemisphere. In 1992, he accepted an invitation to become the abbot of the Buddhadharma Meditation Center in Hinsdale, Illinois, USA (although he does not reside there).
Luang Por is also the Vice Govenor of Thailand's 18th ecclesiastical administrative region and the head of Buddhist missionary activities of the 9th region. He is the chairman of three foundations which he has created, namely, Buddhadasa Foundation, Dharma Land Golden Land Foundation, and Bhikkhu Panyananda Foundation. And his advice is sought by people from many walks of life. He recently undertook the construction of a hospital building -- just across the street from his temple -- for which he raised 250 million baht ($10 million). He is now overseeing the construction of a training center for Dhamma preachers at Wat Paññananda, just north of Bangkok.
Although he is now 85 years old and not as strong as before, he is still an active speaker and moral guide for Thai society.
For books by Luang Por (available in Thai only), please call
The Center for the Long Life of Buddhism
02-584-1855