Buddhist Sects นิกายศาส นา

Dhammakaya Sect-started in 1917

Group MeditationThe Dhammakayatemple sometimes has large ordination ceremonies.

People can feel wonderful when they meditate in a very large group.

Do you want to try?

300,000 Buddha images on a Chedi

The DhammakayaChedi is worth over 500 million dollars!

(19,000,000,000 baht)

People donate money so they can go to heaven or nirvana.

Some people don’t like to “buy nirvana”.

The former leader of WatDhammakaya

Luang Pu

The Dhammakaya temple is one hour north of Bangkok

Santi Asoke

Samana Photirak, leader of Santi Asoke

He was a popular entertainer

Farming community

Santi Asoke followers believe people should grow food for themselves

They are also vegetarians

Walking barefoot

Santi Asoke followers always walk around barefoot

No superstition

Santi Asokfollowers don’t believe in magic and superstition

Fasting for 5 days

Colon cleansing

Santi Asokefollowers do a colon cleansing to remove toxins and poisons from their body

vegetarians

Santi Asokefollowers do not eat meat. They believe it is wrong to kill an animal.

4 levels of practice

• Sodaban- keeping the five precepts

• Sakitakhami- eight precepts and reduce 3 kilet

• Anakhami- beating the 3 kilet

• Arahan- full enlightenment

Nirvana

• Santi Asoke followers believe nirvana can be reached in this life

• Nirvana means being calm and peaceful

• Buddhadhasa Bhikkhu believes this too

No Buddha statues

Santi Asoke followers believe that only the dhamma is important, not statues and other things.

No holy waterThey believe it is a waste of money and cannot help someone

recycling

Organic and natural farming

fertilizer

Bodhiraksa has never studied pali

Not easy to become a monk

• In Santi Asoke, a lay person must follow the precepts before becoming a monk

• Other monks decide if he can ordain or not

Bunniyom and bunchaatniyom

Calm and peaceful mind

No jealousy

Technology is not important

Having a lot of money is not important (but having some is necessary to live)

They sell things for very little profit

Pluksek week

• Lay people must live like monks for one week

• They wake up at 3am and hear dhamma talks all day

celibacy