Supreme showdown
As two feuding camps clash over the nomination of the new supreme patriarch, the government has been caught in the crossfire. An ugly scuffle broke out last month between monks and soldiers at Phutthamonthon Buddhist park when about 1,200 monks and their supporters, led by Phra Methee Dhammacharn in his capacity as secretary-general of the Buddhism Protection Centre of Thailand, gathered to demand the government expedite the appointment. Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn, or Somdet Chuang, the abbot of Wat Pak Nam Phasi Charoen, is the most senior of the eight candidates for supreme patriarch, chief of the governing body of the country’s 300,000 Buddhist monks. The 90 year old is also currently acting supreme patriarch and chairman of the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC). However, some groups have cast doubt on Somdet Chuang’s suitability, accusing him of having a close relationship with the controversial abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Phra Dhammachayo, whom he mentored when Phra Dhammachayo was ordained in 1969. He is also seen as having close close ties to the Thaksin Shinawatra political network. In the opposition camp is Phra Buddha Isara, the abbot of Wat O Noi, who was an activist monk leading protesters to oust the Yingluck Shinawatra administration before the coup. He submitted a list to the prime minister of 300,000 people who oppose the nomination of Somdet Chuang and urged a probe into Wat Pak Nam’s vintage car collection. Spectrum spoke to Phra Buddha Isara and Phra Methee about politics, resolving the conflict over the new supreme patriarch, and Somdet Chuang’s close connections with Wat Dhammakaya.