Wat Luang Phor Sodh Dhammakayaram

Wat Luang Phor Sodh Dhammakayaram (วัดหลวงพ่อสดธรรมกายาราม) is a Mahanikaya Buddhist temple (Wat Rat type) located in Phang Phuay Subdistrict, Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi Province, Thailand.^[1] The temple propagates the teachings of the Dhammakaya Meditation tradition founded by Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen,^[2] but it is not affiliated with Wat Phra Dhammakaya.^[3]

Wat Luang Phor Sodh Dhammakayaram origins trace back to Ajahn Sermchai Polpatanarat, a former Research Specialist at the U.S. Information Service (USIS), Bangkok — later ordained as Phra Thepyanmongkol (Sermchai Chaimongkolo). He studied and practiced Satipatthana meditation leading to the realization of the Dhammakaya, the inner body of enlightenment taught by Phra Mongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro).

He became a disciple of Phra Phavanakosol Thera (now Phra Rajphromathera (Veera Khannuttamo)), Deputy Abbot of Wat Paknam and the direct successor of the Dhammakaya knowledge.

Ajahn Sermchai initiated and managed several Buddhist education and meditation projects, including:

• The “Dharma Practice for the Public” project, Wat Paknam, Bangkok (1975)
• The “Dhammakaya Buddhist Meditation” project, Wat Saket Ratchavaramahavihara, Bangkok (1981)
• The “Dhammakaya Buddhist Meditation Foundation”, Wat Saket, Bangkok (1981)
• The “Dhammakaya Buddhist Meditation Institute”, Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi (1981)

All four institutions promoted meditation practice based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and the realization of the Dhammakaya for over 25 years.

In 1986, Ajahn Sermchai, then 57, resigned from USIS to fully ordain as a monk under the name Phra Chaimongkolo at Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen. He was ordained by:

• Somdet Phra Phutthakosajarn (Fuen Chutintharo), Wat Sam Phraya — Preceptor
• Somdet Phra Phutthachan (Brahmagunabhorn), Wat Saket — Instructor
• Somdet Phra Maharatchamongkhalacharn, Wat Paknam — Witnessing Teacher

He studied and practiced both theory and meditation for five years while continuing to oversee Dhammakaya projects and foundations nationwide.

In late 1986, the Dhammakaya Foundation, led by Professor Banyat Suchiwa (former President of the Supreme Court), requested permission from the Ministry of Education to construct a temple on 72.5 rai of land in Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi. Permission was granted on May 25, 1987, and the foundation stone ceremony for the ordination hall was performed on December 2 of the same year.

The temple was officially recognized as “Wat Luang Phor Sodh Dhammakayaram” on May 21, 1991, as a memorial to Luang Pu Sodh for reviving the Dhammakaya meditation method. On November 26, 1991, the temple was granted royal recognition as a Buddhist monastery.

Phra Maha Sermchai Chaimongkolo (later Phra Rajyanavisit) was appointed abbot on July 9, 1991, continuing the mission of spreading Dhammakaya teachings.

Over 25 years, the temple and its abbot, Phra Rajyanavisit, have received numerous honors:

1. Royal “Sema Dhammachak Award” for outstanding Dharma propagation (1992)
2. Thai Architecture Preservation Award for the main ordination hall (1996)
3. First prize, National Permanent Reforestation Project for Religious Institutions (1996)
4. Golden Insignia of the Reforestation Project from Queen Sirikit (1998)
5. Named Outstanding Provincial Meditation Center Head (2009)
6. Religious Service Award of Honor (2009)
7. Certificate for Ethical and Social Contributions, Ministry of Culture (2010)
8. Honorary Doctorate in Buddhist Management, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (2007)
9. Honorary Doctorate in Buddhist Studies, Mahamakut Buddhist University (2009)

• Official page on Dhammakaya.org