Luang Por Dattajivo

Phra Phrarajbhavanajahn (Phadet Dattajivo)
Religion	Buddhism
School	Theravada, Maha Nikaya
Dharma names	Dattajivo
Personal
Nationality	Thai
Born	(1941-12-21) 21 December 1941 Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Senior posting
Based in	Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Thailand
Title	Most Venerable, Luang Por
Religious career
Teacher	Chandra Khonnokyoong

Luang Por Dattajivo (Thai: หลวงพ่อทตฺตชีโว), also known by his honorific name Phrarajbhavanajahn, is a Thai Buddhist monk. He is the vice-abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and the vice-president of the Dhammakaya Foundation. He was born in 1940 in Kanchanaburi to Vietnamese-Thai parents who were street traders. He followed secular education to post-graduate level. Mae chi (nun) Chandra Khonnokyoong and Luang Por Dhammajayo have been his teachers throughout his life.^[1]:41[2][3]

Phadet became involved in black magic (Thai: ไสยศาสตร์) since he was seventeen years old. In his student years at Kasetsart University, he would often hold organized public demonstrations of black magic to his fellow students. In Wat Phra Dhammakaya's biographies it is told, however, that every time a fellow student Chaiyabun joined to watch one of Phadet's demonstrations, the magic would not work. Phadet therefore become curious about Chaiyabun's mental powers, and decided to test Chaiyabun by bringing him to his black magic teacher. But even the teacher could not use his powers in Chaiyabun's presence. Phadet therefore became curious, and learnt about Dhammakaya meditation from Chaiyabun. He felt inspired by Chaiyabun's sincerity in meditation and his adherence to the Buddhist five precepts.^[1]:83[4] This was a turning point in his life, and from that moment on he has always been Chaiyabun's student and assistant,^[5]:33 and through him he met Mae chi Chandra.^[3][6] In 1971, he ordained and became known as Luang Por Dattajivo, which means "He who offers his life to Buddhism".^[6] By that time, Chaiyabun had already ordained as Luang Por Dhammajayo.^[7]

When Wat Phra Dhammakaya was built up in 1970s and 1980s, he was not only in charge of the construction work but also for developing the friendly relationships with the people living in the neighbourhood of the temple. Within a few years after his ordination, he had become a well-known Dhamma lecturer. A set of cassettes called the Thirty-Eight Blessings, based on the Mangala Sutta, was his first widely known work. These lectures became very popular in Thailand. Luang por Dattajivo has spoken regularly before international audiences. As a panelist at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session "World Summit for Social Development" in 2000 in Geneva, he highlighted the importance of spirituality in addressing social development and overcoming poverty.^[8][9] An prolific author, he has written many Dhamma books published in Thai language, many of which have been translated into other languages than Thai. His books are often about contemporary problems.^[10]

In Wat Phra Dhammakaya, he is the second most important person of the temple, and complements Luang Por Dhammajayo in many ways.^[5]:34[10] He is responsible for the day-to-day management of many of the temple's affairs^[5]:34 and he is known for his informal character.^[11]

He was made vice-president of the Dhamma Missionary Outreach Sector 8 and is the president of the Dhammakaya International Society of California. He was also acting abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya from 2000 to 2006.^[12] His work in Buddhist teaching was recognized by the Royal Palace of Thailand when he received the honorific name "Phrabhavanaviriyakhun" in 1992 and later in 2013 "Phrarajbhavanajahn". He has also received the Dhammacakra Sema-Pillar award from Princess Sirindhorn in 1993. Apart from that, Luang Por Dattjivo received an honorary degree from the Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University in 1994.^{[5]:123–4[13]} In the 2010s, a stupa was built by Luang Por Dhammajayo in honor of Luang Por Dattajivo, called the Phra Maha Cetiya Dattajivo.^[6]

Publications

English Language

• Buddhist Ways to Overcome Obstacles (1992) Dhammakaya Foundation: Bangkok, [credited 'Ven. Dattajeevo Bhikkhu'] ISBN 978-616-7200-00-2
• Blueprint for a Global Being (Buddhism in Plain English Series 1)(2000), Dhammakaya Foundation: Bangkok ISBN 978-974-87618-2-4
• The Buddha's First Teaching (Buddhism in Plain English Series 3) (2002), Dhammakaya Foundation: Bangkok ISBN 978-974-90587-3-2
• Reforming Society means Reforming Human Nature (Buddhism in Plain English Series 1)(2003) Dhammakaya Foundation: Bangkok ISBN 978-974-90996-1-2
• The Fruits of True Monkhood (Buddhism in Plain English Series 4) (2003) Dhammakaya Foundation: Bangkok ISBN 978-974-90587-1-8
• Vanijja Sutta: Cause of Over-target Benefit (2003) Writers & Thinkers for World Peace: Bangkok ISBN 978-974-90952-1-8
• The Ordination (2004) Writers & Thinkers for World Peace: Bangkok ISBN 978-974-92293-3-0
• Man's Personal Transformation (2005) Dhammakaya Foundation: Bangkok ISBN 978-974-8277-70-7
• How to Raise the Children to Be Good People for the Nation: Ethical Guide for Children and Teenagers (2005) Writers & Thinkers for World Peace: Bangkok ISBN 978-974-93607-8-1
• Pages to Happiness (2007) Writers & Thinkers for World Peace: Bangkok ISBN 978-974-09-3800-2
• The Warm Hearted Family: A Handbook on How to Care for the Heart of the Family (2007) Writers & Thinkers for World Peace: Bangkok ISBN 978-974-09-7376-8
• Family Day By Day: The Guide to a Successful Family Life (2008) Dhammakaya Foundation: Bangkok ISBN 978-974-519-310-9
• Buddhist Economics (Buddhism in Plain English Series 2) (2010) Dhammakaya Foundation: Patumthani ISBN 978-616-7200-11-8

See also

• Buddhist economics

Notes