Bangkok Temple Honors Late Supreme Patriarch with Merit-Making Rite
On September 30, 2069, Wat Ratchasitharam in Bangkok held a merit‑making ceremony to honor the late Supreme Patriarch Ariyavongsaghannana (Sok Ñanasangvorn). Senior monks from major Bangkok temples presided, while foreign monks, the Bhutanese ambassador, and many devotees joined the rites. The event highlighted the patriarch’s historic ties to Wat Saket’s meditation practice.
On the same day, Phra Sittivacharabandit, assistant abbot of Wat Ratchasitharam and vice president for international affairs at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, led the merit‑making ceremony (taksinanupathan) together with lay devotees. He requested and received permission to invite members of the Supreme Sangha Council, including senior monks such as Phra Phutthacariyan (Snid Chuvanpanno) of Wat Trimitaram, Phra Mahathirajarn (Pasrut Kemangkaro) of Wat Pho, Phra Maharatmongkhonmuni (Thongchai Thammachot) of Wat Trimitaram, Phra Vajiraratnamoli (Suchat Thammartono) of Wat Paknam Pasicharoen, and Phra Vajirasittacariyan (Thongchai Sukhajano) of Wat Saket, who agreed to preside. The ceremony also welcomed junior sangha members, foreign monks – notably the Chinese monk Shi Ming Yi, abbot of Fu Hai Chan Monastery in Singapore – and His Excellency Kinzang Dorji, Bhutan’s ambassador to Thailand, who joined the rites. Additionally, Suraphol Suayaphrom, vice president for general affairs at the university, many students, and numerous lay followers of Wat Ratchasitharam participated, while monks from Wat Saket received invitations to attend, reflecting the historic link between the late Supreme Patriarch and that temple’s meditation tradition.
