Buddhist Institute Forms Bodhikhaya Fellowship as 'Dhamma Army'
A Buddhist institute founded by ordained monks at Bodhgaya in India has formally established the Bodhikhaya Fellowship as a "Dhamma Army" to promote and protect Buddhism internationally through coordinated action by its network of members.
The Bodhikhaya Witchayalai 980 Institute is advancing its "Bodhi People Mobilization" initiative to establish the "Bodhikhaya Fellowship" as a "Bodhikhaya Dhamma Army" to protect, support, and disseminate Buddhism in various roles both domestically and internationally.
Venerable Phromvachir Bodhiwongse (Veeryut Veeryuttho), head of the India-Nepal Dhamma Emissaries and abbot of Wat Thai Bodhikhaya, chaired the Bodhi People Mobilization meeting held on July 25, 1983, at the Thai Nakhon Pattana Company conference room. The gathering included senior monks, government and private sector representatives, and those who had ordained at the Bodhikhaya site.
Dr. Supchai Veeraphuchong, secretary-general of the institute, explained that the organization has been promoting the Dhamma Army concept under the "Bodhi People Mobilization" framework. The Bodhikhaya Witchayalai 980 Institute was founded in 2007 by a group who ordained at the Bodhi Mandapa beneath the great Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya in Bihar, India, as a merit offering to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on his 80th birthday. All participants were given the name "Bodhi," meaning "awakening."
Over the past 20 years, the institute has functioned as an international think tank, guided by the principle "Use Dhamma as power, not power as Dhamma." The network believes the Bodhi people are not merely a group of former monastics but a collective intellectual force forming a "Dhamma Army" to protect, promote, and uphold Buddhism. The institute is committed to preserving and spreading Buddhist principles as a universal human treasure, with the goal of creating a new world order based on morality, concentration, and wisdom rather than money or power.
Venerable Rajabodhivitetsavichimuni, Dr. Sompong Yanatthiro, secretary of the India-Nepal Dhamma Emissaries, reported that this gathering resulted from consultations among institute leadership to unite prominent individuals named "Bodhi" to exchange ideas and solidarity. Two preliminary meetings concluded that the organization should establish a Bodhi database and define its operational vision, leading to the formation of the Bodhikhaya Fellowship and the creation of the Bodhikhaya Dhamma Army to support and protect Buddhism.
