Dhammakaya meditation
The most important aspect of the meditation method is the focus on the center of the body, which leads to the attainment of the Dhammakāya, the Dhamma-body, found within every human being.
Scholars have proposed several possibilities for the origin of the method, with the Yogavacara tradition as the likely source, as well as acknowledging that Luang Pu Sodh may have independently developed it through his own psychic experiences.
Mahayana and Tantric practices were considered "devotional and degenerate", while the orthodox Theravada tradition as the more legitimate one with closed canonical scriptures.
[9] The royal family of Thailand sought to reform Thai Buddhism with its ritualized and mystical practices, encouraging instead the direct study and adherence to the Pali canonical and commentarial texts.
[12] According to biographies published by Dhammakaya-related temples, the principles of Dhammakaya meditation were rediscovered by Luang Pu Sodh at Wat Botbon, in Nonthaburi Province sometime between 1915–1917.
[23][note 4] Luang Pu Sodh's approach may have roots in the Yogavacara tradition (also known as tantric Theravāda or borān kammaṭṭhāna); not to be confused with the Yogacāra School in Mahāyāna Buddhism).
[17] According to Buddhist Studies scholar Catherine Newell, "there is no doubt that Dhammakaya meditation is based upon the broader Yogavacara tradition."
[37][38][39][38] According to Mackenzie, it is possible but unlikely that someone who knew the Tibetan meditation methods met and shared that knowledge with Luang Pu Sodh in the early 1910s.
[25] After discovering the method of Dhammakaya meditation, Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro first taught it to others at Wat Bangpla, in Nakhon Pathom Province.
[37][53][54] Essential in Dhammakaya meditation is the "center of the body," which Luang Pu Sodh describes as being at a point two finger widths above the navel of each person.
"[64]Practitioners typically repeat the samma araham mantra,[65][66] then visualize a mental image of the bright crystal or light, and then move the mental image inwards through seven bases of the mind, that is:[66] In this context, the center of the body is often called the "seventh or final base",[67][68] and is called the mind's final resting place.
According to Jayamaṅggalo, the former abbot of Wat Luang Phor Sodh Dhammakayaram, this is the first stage of absorption, from which insight meditation can be started.
Finally, the "sphere of knowledge and vision of liberation" (vimutti-ñanadassana) arises – a term normally used for Arahatship, according to the Dhammakaya meditation teachings.
[74] When the practitioner concentrates further on the vimutti-ñanadassana, a series of eight inner bodies arise from this sphere, which are successively more subtle, and come in pairs, starting with "a crude human form" (panita-manussakaya).
[75][83][note 7] According to Newell, quoting Jayamaṅggalo, this state is the ninth inner body and is characterized by "the lap width, height and sphere diameter [of] 9 meters.
[94][95] The Dhammakaya tradition rejects this claim, stating that Luang Pu Sodh only learned Wat Mahathat's method as a gesture of goodwill and never made such a confession.
[101] According to Newell, as the meditator attains the higher-levels of Dhammakaya inner bodies, he reaches the final state of dhammakaya-arahatta where he may be enlightened or unenlightened.
[80] According to Scott, the samatha stage of Dhammakaya includes "the fruits of supranormal powers (iddhi) and knowledge (abhiñña)", a feature that is common in other modernist interpretations of Buddhism.
[64] According to Scott, "more often than not, it is the understanding of Nirvana as supreme happiness that is underscored in dhammakāya practice, rather than its traditional rendering as the cessation of greed, hatred and delusion", though at times these two descriptions are combined.
[100][104] The "Nirvana sphere" is believed by Dhammakaya practitioners to appear as a subtle physical realm where "enlightened beings eternally exist as individuals with self-awareness", states Harvey, and is accessible by arahants from within their own bodies.
[113] Luang Pu Sodh's experience is also understood in the biographies as a deeper meaning to the Middle Way, a teaching described in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, an early Buddhist discourse.
[124] Discussion within the Thai monastic community led to an inspection at Wat Paknam, but no fault could be found in Luang Pu Sodh's method.
[126] The interpretations of the true self by the Dhammakaya tradition have been criticized by some Thai Buddhist scholars such as Phra Payutto, and have led to considerable debate in Thailand.
It appears also that the term's usage in the sense of teaching is a later schema rather than being the early Buddhist common notions as generally understood.
Cholvijarn points to Dhammakaya meditation as influencing several notable teachers in Thailand such as Luang Pho Ruesi Lingdam, bhikkhuni Voramai Kabilsingh, as well as possibly Phra Ariyakhunathan.
[143] Phra Ariyakhunathan, a well known meditation master from the Thai Forest Tradition who was responsible for the first biography of lineage founder Ajahn Mun, also may have been influenced by Luang Pu Sodh.
After the meeting, Phra Ariyakhunathan returned with a positive report and then published a book describing the concept of dhammakaya in the same way as Luang Pu Sodh.
[43] Examples include stories known in Thailand of Luang Pu Sodh performing "miraculous healings" and developing various supernatural powers "such as the ability to read minds and to levitate".
[155][157] According to Dhammakaya publications, Luang Pu Sodh realized that the Allies were planning to drop an atom bomb on Bangkok during World War II due to the Japanese occupation of Thailand.
[162] The links to the supernatural world, and the tradition's leadership skills to navigate it, are also the basis for the ritual offering of food to the Buddha in nirvana, on the first Sunday of every month.
