Chandra Khonnokyoong

Chandra Khonnokyoong (; , 20 January 1909 – 10 September 2000) was a Thai Maechi (nun) who founded Wat Phra Dhammakaya. Religious studies scholar Rachelle Scott has described her as "the most influential female meditation teacher in Thailand". Her own students call her Khun Yay Achan Mahā-ratana Upasika Chandra Khonnokyoong (Khun Yay Achan, for short), an honorific name meaning "grandmother-master-great-gem devotee". Although illiterate, she was widely respected for her experience in meditation, which is rare for a maechi. She managed to attract many well-educated students, despite her rural background and illiteracy. Some scholars have raised the example of Maechi Chandra to indicate that the position of women in Thai Buddhism may be more complex than was previously thought.

Early life

Chandra was born on 20 January 1909 into a middle class farming family in Nakhon Pathom province, of Thailand. Her father was called Ploy, and her mother was called Phan, and she had eight siblings.

In 1927, Chandra heard that a meditation master in Thonburi was able to use meditation to communicate with beings in the afterlife. This was Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro. To accomplish her wish to reconcile with her father, Chandra left her family eight years later and travelled to Bangkok to find her way to Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, where Luang Pu Sodh was located at that time.

Life at Wat Paknam

In 1938, with the permission of the mistress of the house, Chandra was taken by Achan Thongsuk to meet Luang Pu Sodh for the first time. She was going to spend a month at Wat Paknam. When she met Luang Pu Sodh, he addressed her with the words: "You are too late!" as though they had known each other previously. He allowed her to join an experienced group of meditation practitioners in Wat Paknam without having to pass any probation or tests. This was highly unusual. The house in which Maechi Chandra lived quickly became too small to accommodate all her students, and funds were raised to build a new house, called the "Dhammaprasit House" . Despite the initial difficulties, in the 1980s and 1990s the temple grew to be the largest in Thailand. Spokespeople of the temple describe the role of Maechi Chandra in the early period of the temple as a 'chief commander' (Thai: jomthap), whereas Luang Por Dhammajayo is depicted as a 'chief of staff' (Thai: senathikan) developing proper plans, and Luang Por Dattajivo is described as the practical manager. During the years to follow, Maechi Chandra's role would gradually become less, as she grew older and withdrew more to the background of the temple's organization. Her cremation was postponed for over a year in order to give time to everyone to pay their respects to her and make merit on her behalf. Maechi Chandra's remains were burnt in a grand ceremony, using glass to ignite the fire by sun light. Her ashes were kept in a small stupa.

In 2003, Wat Phra Dhammakaya built a monument in honor of Maechi Chandra, called the "Mahavihara Khun Yai Achan Mahā-ratana Upāsika Chandra Khonnokyoong". This is a hexagonal building with a meditation hall and a life-size golden image of Maechi Chandra in it, The temple has also named two other buildings after her. Also, the temple still organizes regular commemorations of Maechi Chandra, and the day of her cremation is commemorated in a "Day of the Honorable Teachers" (Thai: Wan Maha Puchaniyachan).

Bibliography and works Dhammakaya Foundation (2005). Second to None: The Biography of Khun Yay Maharatana Upasika Chandra Khon-nok-yoong, Bangkok: Dhammakaya Foundation. Surin Chaturapit, transl. (2012). Khun Yai's Teachings: Wisdom From an Enlightened Mind, Bangkok: Dhammakaya Foundation