Ariyavongsagatanana (Amborn Ambaro)

Somdet Phra Ariyavongsagatanana (born Amborn Prasatthapong; 26 June 1927), Dharma name Amborn Ambaro, is a Thai Theravada Buddhist monk (bhikkhu) who is the 20th supreme patriarch of Thailand and superior general of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya. In 2008 he was appointed abbot of Wat Ratchabophit in Bangkok. In 2017, he was appointed Supreme Patriarch by King Vajiralongkorn, succeeding Vajirañāṇasaṃvara who died in 2013.

Early life Amborn Prasatthapong was born on 26 June 1927 at Mueang Ratchaburi, Ratchaburi Province to Nab and Tarn Prasatthapong, the second born of nine siblings. His family was of Thai Chinese descent. He was educated at Thewa Nukhro primary school in Lopburi. In 1937 he was ordained as a Samanera (or novice monk) at Wat Sattanat Pariwat in Ratchaburi. He studied the Pali language and graduated with a fourth level certificate in Pali studies in 1947.

Monkhood Phra Maha Amborn Ambaro following Ajahn Maha Bua for morning alms around Ban Taad, Udon Thani, in 1965. On 9 May 1948, Amborn was ordained as a full bhikkhu, with the Dhamma name of Ambaro, in the Dhammayuttika Nikaya at Wat Ratchabophit in Bangkok, with Vasana Vāsano as his preceptor. Vasana Vāsano later became the 18th Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, reigning from 1973 to 1988. In 1950, Ambaro graduated with a sixth level in Pali studies. He continued his education at the Mahamakut Buddhist University, obtaining a degree in religious studies in 1957. And at the Banaras Hindu University in India, graduating with a master's degree in history and archaeology in 1969.

Ambaro was a student of the highly revered monk Phra Ajahn Fan Ācāro, a Vipassanā master and the former abbot of Wat Pa Udom Somphon in Sakon Nakhon province. Ambaro was practitioner of the Thai Forest Tradition of ascetic monks, which were known for their devotion to meditation and only eating once a day. In 1973, Ambaro joined a group of Dhammaduta , or 'the messenger of the Dharma', on a trip to establish Thai Buddhism in Australia.

Supreme Patriarch On 7 February 2017, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha confirmed the appointment of Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong as the 20th Supreme Patriarch of Thailand in a televised address. He succeeded Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana, the 19th Supreme Patriarch, who died on 24 October 2013 at the age of 100. 2008–present: Abbott of Wat Ratchabophit