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Thapakorn - Theravada Buddhist monk

Thapakorn Klubtown

Buddhist Monk

           All lives are moving in different ways to try to get what they want and need for survival, for gaining something and try to free themselves from suffering. I am the one who came into the world to help people.

           I was born in Ban-Kho-Bok, Nayong District in Trang province. I was the fourth child in the family - a small handsome guy who was beloved by everybody. My mother told me that I was a naughty child, but I was a clever son. A week after I was born, my mother went to the Buddhist temple to talk with the head monk about giving me a name and the abbot at the temple named me ‘Thapakorn’: It means one who does successful actions. That is my real Thai name. But my parents and cousins usually call me ‘Korn’. It became my nick name.

           When I was seven years old, I started to attend elementary school in Thailand in 1981 at Wat Dhammarama School close to my home town. My parents drove me to school, but I cried. I did not want to go to school because I did not know anybody. Soon after, my parents left me at school and went back home to work. The teachers at the school took care of me. I tried to talk with my new friends in my class. I attended elementary school for 6 years from grades 1-6 until I graduated in 1988.

           After I graduated elementary school, I could not afford to go to high school for a year because my family was poor. Once day in April my mother came back from the temple and she told me: “Would you like to be a novice”? The temple had a Novice project in the summer and I responded: “It is a very good idea for me to become a novice so that I can learn meditation and the teachings of the Buddha’. When I accepted to be a novice, my parents took me to the temple to be a temple boy for a week before I became a novice. I helped the monks to complete so many chores and in return they trained me and other children to recite ordination words and the ways of being a novice and a novice’s life. On April 14th, 1989 I was ordained as a novice at Wat Rattanapimook for fifteen days. I loved the lifestyle of a monk. When I became a novice, my friends and I had to follow the protocol of the Novice Program: We chanted in the morning at 5.30 a.m. and then practiced meditation. After that, we went to get alms foods from Buddhist houses and came back to eat breakfast together at the temple. At 9:30 p.m. we learned moralities in Buddhism and had lunch at 11:30 a.m. After lunch, we relaxed for two hours. In the afternoon, at 2:00 p.m. we studied the Buddha’s history until the evening. At 6:00 p.m. we started evening chanting and practiced meditation again on a daily basis. Then we went back to sleep in the tent in the forest until the end of this training.

           After the end of the Novice training in the summer, my teacher offered to send any interested novices to continue novice school at the Junior High School at the temple that his friend owned. At that moment when I heard my teacher ask, I raised my hand. I would love to go to learn in Junior High School at Wat Nikornrangsarit. In 1990 my teacher sent my friends and I to Wat Nikornrangsarit which is located in the Yantakao district, Trang province. That was my great opportunity to excel in continuing my Buddhist education. I was so happy to be there, and I took my studies very seriously. When I lived there, I learned both Dhammas and Junior high school classes. I graduated in Dhamma studies level 1 in 1991 and Dhamma studies level 2 in 1992 which included classes in Buddha’s history, Dhammas, Disciplines, Dhammas Essay. Then I graduated from Junior High School at Wat Nikornrangsarit in 1992. I studied there for three years which was great because I learned many teachings and knowledge about Buddhism and the other subjects. My favorite subject was science through which I could obtain results from our experiments and test them to understand the truths.

           Many questions came to my mind when I finished Junior High School because I had to make decisions by myself without my parents’ support. There were no parents to talk or consult with me, but fortunately I could speak with my best friend and schoolmate in 1992.

           I went to study at the Senior High School with my friends at Wat Prasithichai, Bang Rak, Mueang Trang District. My routine consisted of waking up at 5:30 a.m. to go for alms foods at people’s house close to the temple. The other monks and novices went downtown at Trang market to get food and some of them had to cook at the temple to feed 100 novices and 15 monks at that time. We had breakfast together at 7:00 a.m. and practiced meditation and chanted at 8:00 a.m. We started learning the Pali language from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and then we had lunch together. At 1 p.m., we learned at Sitthidham Senior High School until 6:00 p.m. We took a break for an hour and half and then at 7:30 p.m. we started learning Dhammas Studies level 1, 2, and 3 until 9:00 p.m. I also studied Dhamma scholar advanced level. At 10:30 p.m., all monks and novices had to go to bed. If someone was still talking or playing with others, they were punished by the monks, according to the teachers’ rules. I studied hard day and night and I earned a scholarship from the school. I was proud of my academic accomplishments.

           I graduated as a Dhamma scholar at the advanced level in 1992. I became a Dhamma teacher and taught students Dhamma level 1 and Buddha’s history and his teaching in 1993 and the Dhamma scholar advanced level from 1994-1995. Furthermore, I gave talks at different schools and temples that people invited me to. I love teaching, speaking, and helping people to be free from suffering and problems that they have.

           One day, my friends and I talked about civilization of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand where there were so many opportunities for all of us to gain new experiences. I like to see new things and the ways I can help people. Before the end of the year in 1995, I decided to go to Bangkok with my friends for the first time in my life. We went to stay with our teacher who was working on a master’s degree at Wat Mahatatu, Bangkok for a month. We went to see Mahachulakongkorn Buddhist University; which is operated by monks and was established by King Rama V. We also visited the Grand palace and the Bang Pa-In Royal Palace.

           At the end of this trip, we decided that we would like to live in Bangkok, but it was really hard to live at Bangkok’s temple because there were so many monks staying there. On December 1995, my teacher at Wat Mahatatu talked with his guillaume laymen after my friend and I went to talk with my abbots. They told them that we would like to learn the Pali language and other subjects, but they said that there were no more rooms available. After a few weeks, my teacher and I and his guillaume laymen went to the Bangkruay district, Nontabui province and talked with the abbot at Wat Pikunthong nearby his home. He explained my plans for living there to the abbot and he accepted me. After talking to the abbot for over an hour, he came out and told us that “Hey Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations, the abbot allowed you to stay with him and you can learn here”! I was so excited to hear that.

           I lived at Wat Pikunthong in 1995 and learned the Pali language. In 1996, out of a class of eight novices and two monks, only my friend and I passed. Unfortunately, my friend had to return to his own temple in the Chaiyapum province to continue learning the Pali language there. I learned the Pali language level 3 one on one with my teacher every day in the morning after I came back from getting alms foods from people’s house by boat. I studied really hard by myself in the evening until midnight every day and then I passed the class in 1997. I went to get my certificate at Wat Sam Phraya from Somdet Phramaha Ratchamongkalacharn or Somdet Chuang; he is a supreme monk in Thailand.

In March, I decided to become a monk and then I called my parents to ask them for permission to enter the monk ordination program for dedication merit to Somdet Phra Srinagarindra Boromarajajonani, who passed away. She was the mother of King Rama’ IX of Thailand. My mother asked me how old I was. I responded: “I am twenty year old now” which is the minimum age requirement with parental permission for admittance into the monk ordination program according to the Buddha’s teachings. My mother and father allowed me to be ordained in the project for dedication merit to the mother of King Bhumibhala. My friend also joined this program and stayed at the temple with me.

           My parents and cousins came to Wat Pikunthong, the temple that I stayed at in the Bangkruay district, Nontaburi province to celebrate my ordination on March 4th, 1996 and dedicated merit for the King’s mother. My preceptor gave me a Buddhist’s monk name in the day that I ordained ‘Ghosadhammo Bhikkhu’, it means the voice of the Dhammas go to people’s heart. When I became a monk, people called me ‘Phramaha’ in front of my name ‘Thapakorn’; it became my title that I earned upon graduation from the Pali language level 3 class. The translation means “great monk”.

           Lacking a Dhamma teacher at Wat Nikornrangsarit in 1999, my teacher invited me to go back to Trang province to teach novices, monks, and students at Nikornrangsarit school where I taught for a year until the temple and school were able to find regular teachers. Then I went back to teach at Pichaipattana school in Bangkok at from 2000-2004.

           One day in the evening I heard my phone ring for a very long time. I thought that maybe someone needed something while I was sweeping outside of my room. When I went back to check my phone, but there was no message. I thought it was a solicitation phone call but then a few minutes later, the phone rang again, and I picked up a phone really fast after it rang two times. I was surprised that was Tan-Ajahn Vorasak, my teacher calling from the United States. He invited me to go to Wat Buddha-Dhamma, Illinois, United States. I was so excited because I liked to watch American boxing and sports. I accepted his invitation and decided to attend the Overseas Going Buddhist Missionary Class 10 which was offered by the Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University in 2004.

           This program trained a group of Buddhist monks for three months which consisted of three sections: Build Kuti, meditation training, and academic learning.

           There were 80 monks who attended this program. We had to go to the Camp-Son in the Petchabun province – the location of the Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University in the forest. In the first section, they taught us ‘How to build Kuti’ which we built Kuti No.10 together and finished in 20 days. The purpose of this class is to help monks change their behavior and get to know each other better.

           The second section consisted of a month-long intensive Meditation training for which we had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. to chant and practice meditation, at 7:00 a.m. to eat breakfast in a bowl and took a rest for an hour. At 9:00 a.m. I started practicing meditation again until 11:00 a.m. After eating lunch out of a bowl, we rested for an hour and then started practicing meditation from 1 to 5 p.m. Then we took a break, and at 6:30 p.m. started evening chanting and practicing meditation until 9:00 p.m. Finally, we went to bed in the tent in forest. We had to practice this routine for a month and our teachers tested our minds and practice every day. It was challenging for all of monks during that month. Some monks passed this section with 100% without yellow and red cards and some monks got yellow cards after the test and evaluations. There were a few monks got red cards and therefore could not advance to the next section.

           The third section consisted of monks who passed the intensive meditation at Camp-son. They went to study academic skills for a month at Phutthamonthon, which is a Buddhist park in the Phutthamonthon District, Nakhon Pathom Province of Thailand. We learned the history of each country that monks must travel to, Basic English language and conversation, Dhammas and other subjects. One day, the head of the program invited some important people of our country to talk and give advice to the monks in order to understand the world of today and the way to spread the teachings of the Buddha to people who have suffering and need to know the Buddhist practice techniques. They assisted by providing support for the ideas and skills of the monks who must travel in order to help people all over the world.

           When I completed this project and received my certificate, my friends and I went to get our official passports at the Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A few days later, we went to the United States Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand to apply for our visas and then a US consular made an appointment for the visa interviews. There were so many people who came for interviews that there was long line, but they let us go first. A consular officer asked me a few questions: “Why would you like to go to the United States?” I responded by saying that I would like to help my teacher teach meditation and Dhammas for people who come to the temple and want to learn and practice meditation. Then he said that I could go for finger printing and I knew right away that I had passed the interview and I received my US visa and two of my friends got it, too. When my teacher knew that my friends and I got our visas on July 19th, 2004, he sent us money to buy airline tickets.

           On August 6th, 2004, it was time to fly to the United States - my friend and I were so excited. We had never traveled to the US before. We went to Don Mueang International Airport and flew to the United States with United Airlines. The plane stopped at Narita Airport for two hours and flew to the United States, but I could not sleep on the plane and practiced meditation until the plane arrived at O’Hare International Airport. Tan-ajahn Varasak and his friend came to pick us up at the airport in the afternoon around 2:30 p.m. and drove us to eat ice-cream. That was the first thing I ate when I came here, and she drove us back to the Wat Buddha-Dhamma Meditation Center in Illinois. My teacher said that you should not sleep during the day time and then we cut a fallen tree. We cut and sawed it until evening - that made us feel tired, then we took a shower and went to bed. I slept well until morning, but I still had jet lag for a week.

           On Sunday, August 8th, 2004 the congregations of Wat Buddha-Dhamma welcomed all new monks who came from Thailand to help the missions of the temple and people here. After I lived here for a week, a member of the temple drove me to apply for my social security number, which I received a few weeks later by mail. When I came here, my English language skills were not good enough and then my teacher took care of me and let me go to Moraine Valley Community College. I took an English language test that placed me in an English as a Second Language (ESL) level 2 course. I studied until I graduated level 6. Furthermore, I taught myself the teachings of the Buddha and my teacher taught me the Dhammas.

           My teacher was the president of the temple. He appointed me to be a temple board member from 2004-2006 to lead the mission of the temple. Since then, I have taught meditation and given Dhamma talks to various people and groups of students from universities and colleges who study World religious courses.

           In 2006, my temple was a host of the 30th Annual Meeting of The Council of Thai Bhikkhu in the United States for which I managed the temple’s documents and the temple itself. After finishing this meeting, I went to help Wat Thai in Minnesota because the abbot’s visa had expired. Therefore, he had to go back to Thailand. I took care of this temple until 2008 until other monks from Thailand came to replace me. I returned to my temple on May 2009 to help my teacher at Wat Buddha-Dhamma again and became the secretary and director of the board of the temple, too.

           Before the end of the year in 2009, my friend from Vancouver, Canada invited me to help him at this temple Wat Buddhapanyanantarama, because he needed to go back to Thailand. I managed his temple for six months and taught Dhammas and meditation to Canadians, Thai, Lao, and Sri Lankan people to help them understand the teachings of the Buddha and how to practice and use meditation in their daily lives.

           In 2010 before Buddhist Lent started, I came back from Vancouver to Wat Buddha-Dhamma to carry out my duties here. Unfortunately, on March 6th, 2015 my teacher resigned from his position as the abbot and vice-president of the temple. On April 13th, 2015 we got a new abbot who came from Wat Buddhapanya, Pomona, California; he had come to help my temple before. He worked here for two years and resigned from his position because he wanted return to his own temple in California. I was appointed as the acting abbot on April 18th, 2017 until the present.

           My duties at the temple here include being a member of the Board of Directors and secretary of the temple for which I have to conduct meetings once a month concerning planning our missions. I teach meditation every week for Americans and anyone who is interested in practicing meditation. I teach Anapanasati which is “mindfulness of breathing” which requires practitioners to concentrate on their breath while they are breathing in and out and then they will achieve peace of mind. Walking meditation is the other technique that I teach students and people to want to have mindfulness and awareness; it is really easy for people to concentrate on it and their minds feel peaceful right away.

           I give Dhamma Talks every week and I teach The Four Noble Truths; Suffering, the causes of suffering, the cessation of suffering and the path leading to the cessation of suffering, for people to understand suffering and the way to be free from suffering, The Noble Eight-Fold Path; Right understanding (Samma ditthi), Right thought (Samma sankappa), Right speech (Samma vaca), Right action (Samma kammanta), Right livelihood (Samma ajiva), Right effort (Samma vayama), Right mindfulness (Samma sati), Right concentration (Samma samadhi), to understand the middle way of life, if people practice and follow the Noble Eightfold Path and then suffering will subside in them, Three kinds of Action; Spiritual action, Verbal action and Physical action for which people have to take carry out their daily actions in the right way, and the other teachings of the Buddha that are appropriate for people to learn and that they can use in their daily life.

           Every Sunday, we have Sunday services when I teach meditation and give a Dhamma talk for people who would like to practice meditation. We start morning chanting in Pali and the Thai language and then I give a Dhamma Talk in Thai, food offering in the alms bowl, and blessing for people. For improving myself, I always go to the local library and learn whatever I want to know.

           So, the way of life depends on the lifestyle of every person to create it in the way that they want. I am a Buddhist monk: My life is dedicated to helping people in a Buddhist’s way in to help people become free from suffering and understand the truths so that they can move on their lives in the right way.

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”- The Buddha