Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana - Later Life

Later Life

By the late 1990s, the Patriarch’s health was in serious decline. In early 1999, he stopped attending meetings of the Sangha Council. His attendant and advisors and the other members of the council increasingly managed the day-to-day workings of the Thai Sangha without direct leadership from Somdet Nyanasamvara. By 2003, it was clear that the 90 year old Sangharaja was unable to effectively fill the position to which he had been appointed. The government felt obliged to act, and appointed a committee of senior monks (selected by monastic rank, not age) to act on behalf of the Sangharaja. The move received widespread support; a poll conducted among Thai monks found that more than 70% supported the appointment of a representative for the Supreme Patriarch. Given the challenges facing the Thai Sangha, the appointment of the representative council seemed like an excellent move. Since the committee had the power to act on behalf of the patriarch, they had the opportunity to take up issues that may have been neglected during the absence of the Sangha Council's senior-most member.

However, the appointment of a committee to represent the Supreme Patriarch was not without some controversy. Monks close to Somdet Nyanasamvara's camp protested the move as a violation of Thailand's Sangha Act. Government officials countered that these individuals, fearing a loss of prestige or influence if the aging Patriarch was circumvented, were putting their own interests ahead of those of the Sangha. The controversy was further convoluted by lingering debates over the appointment of a second Sangharaja – one for the Dhammayutt Order, and one for the Mahanikaya Order. Some saw the appointment of the committee as an attempt to surreptitiously pave the way for a second patriarch, suspicions the government was quick to dismiss.

The Supreme Patriarch allowed materials from his temple, such as ash from incense and powder from bricks, to be made into controversial Jatukham Rammathep amulets. The popularity of the amulets, which are believed to have magical powers and cost up to 600,000 baht apiece, was such that in April 2007, a woman was crushed to death when thousands of people rushed into a school in Nakhon Si Thammarat to buy coupons they could exchange for the amulets. A few weeks after the death, the Supreme Patriarch stopped providing materials for the amulets.

In early 2004, Nyanasamvara was admitted to Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok. He has continued to reside at the hospital since then, making only 2 public appearances outside the hospital- the latest in October 2005 to bestow blessings at a ceremony marking his 92nd birthday. By 2005, concerns about the role that the representative council would take were increasingly eclipsed by debate over succession. With the Patriarch’s health continuing to decline, focus increasingly turned to Somdet Kiaw (known formally as Somdet Phutthacharn), abbot of Wat Saket. By the terms of Thailand’s religious law – modified in 1991 to take the choice of the patriarch away from the king – Somdet Kiaw would become the next Sangharaja automatically. This development was vocally opposed by Phra Maha Bua, a popular monk often believed to be an enlightened arhat. Phra Maha Bua’s supporters claimed that Somdet Kiaw earned his high position in the Sangha hierarchy through corruption and abuse of power, and that he deserved to be defrocked rather than promoted. The controversy gained national prominence when Sondhi Limthongkul and his People's Alliance for Democracy used it to criticize the Thaksin Shinawatra government.

The rancorous succession debate has brought to the forefront long-standing complaints against the amended 1962 Sangha Act (sometimes called the Ecclesiastic Bill) that defines the structure and governance of the Thai Sangha. Created during a period of military dictatorship, the 1962 Sangha Act stripped out democratic reforms that had accompanied King Mongkut’s doctrinal and disciplinary reforms. The act lent greater power to the roll of the Sangharaja, and structured the Sangha along according to a strict hierarchy that stifled dissent and provided few significant roles for younger monks. Thus, while Somdet Nyanasamvara’s health has prevented him from taking an active role in reforming the Thai Sangha during the past several years, his death may prompt the biggest reform of all: the creation of a new Sangha Act that will define a more democratic leadership structure for Thailand’s largest religious organization.