Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana - Early Life

Early Life

Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, the 19th monk since the reign of Rama I to hold the title of Supreme Buddhist Patriarch (Sangharaja) of Thailand, was born on October 3, 1913 in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand (at about 4 a.m. (in the modern calendar, October 4)). Even as a child he was very interested in religion and monastic life; it is said that, as a child, he liked dressing up like a monk, and giving 'sermons' to his friends and family. He completed the equivalent of the 5th grade at a temple school near his home, and was then ordained as a Buddhist novice (samanera) at the age of 14. Instruction in Pali and other fundamentals of Buddhist education were not readily available in his home province (a common problem in Thailand during the early 20th century), so Somdet Nyanasamvara traveled to a temple at Nakhon Pathom, 70 km away, where he spent two years studying Pali and Buddhist philosophy. He then moved to Wat Bovoranives in Bangkok, an important temple in the emergent Dhammayutt Order (Thai: Thammayuttika) reform movement, where he completed his basic studies and completed the highest level of Pali studies then available. In 1933, Somdet Nyanasamvara returned to his old temple in Kanchanaburi to be ordained as a full-fledged monk (bhikkhu). After passing the better part of a year there, he again traveled to Wat Bovoranives, where he was re-ordained into the Dhammayutt Order, under the supervision of the 13th Thai Supreme Patriarch. During this period in Thailand, it was not uncommon for monks to seek re-ordination under the Dhammayutt Order if their initial ordination had been through a Mahanikaya lineage; the Dhammayutt Order was considered by many to be more careful in its observance of disciplinary rules, and enjoyed great support from the Thai monarchy.