The Great Master
Phramongkolthepmuni
(Sodh Candasaro)
The Re-discoverer of Dhammakaya meditation
Phramongkolthepmuni was born as Sodh Mikaewnoi on October 10, 2427 B.E.(1884) to the family of a rice merchant in Amphoe Song Phi Nong, Suphanburi, a province 100 km to the west of Bangkok. At the beginning of July 2449 B.E.(1906), aged twenty-two, he was ordained at Wat Song Phi Nong in his hometown and was given the Pāli name Candasaro.
Master Nun Chand Konnokyoong
The founder of the Wat Phra Dhammakaya, which has become the biggest Buddhist temple in the world
On January 20, 2452 B.E.(1909), Khun Yai was born in a farming family in Nakhon Pathom province, of Thailand. She never had a formal education. She claimed that her original reason for practicing meditation was to reach her late father in his afterlife realm to apologise to him for her childhood wrongs and that she wanted to overcome the curse of deafness put on her by her drunken father. Her father died in 2464 B.E.(1921), but without the opportunity for Khun Yai to ask him to lift the curse.
Luang Por Dhammajayo
whose dream has become a big inspiration of millions
He was born Chaiyaboon Suddhipol on the April 22, 2487 B.E.(1944) to Janyong Suddhipol (his father) and Juree Suddhipol (his mother). At Suan Kularb School, Bangkok, Thailand, Chaiyaboon during his adolescence, started to be interested in Buddhism. Having matriculated from Suankularb Wittayalai School (Secondary) in 2506 B.E.(1963), Chaiyaboon was enrolled in the Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University.
After his graduation from Kasetsart University with a BSc degree in Economics, he was ordained at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen on the August 27, 2512 B.E.(1969) and was given a monastic name “Dhammajayo”, which means “Victory through the Dhamma”
Luang Por Dattajeevo
The teacher of knowledge
Luang Por Dattajeevo was born Padet Pongsawat on December 21, 2483 B.E.(1940) to an agricultural household in Pakplaak District of Kanchanaburi province. He graduated in agricultural science from Kasetsart University and studied in Australia at post-graduate level.
Luang Por Dattajeevo’s path on his pursuit of Perfections is filled with lots of extraordinary thoughts and ideas. Since a young age, he has always enjoyed practicing meditation and reading books on all subjects, especially about the practice of meditation found in various ancient scriptures. He sought out numerous well known meditation masters to train him in meditation in order to dispel any doubts about ‘merit, demerit, and the existence of heaven and hell’ that remained in his mind.
Luang Por Dattajeevo ordained in 2514 B.E.(1971) and became known as Luang Por Dattajeevo, which means “He who gives his soul (to Buddhism) and quickly became a well-known teacher and speaker.
