Part 6: Monastic Governance, Civic Outreach, and the Monumental Public Works of Wat Chedi Luang
Part 6: Governance and Public Works of Wat Chedi Luang: Monastic administration, 106 BPP mass ordination, Bo Poeng well, and the Sasanathayat Academy.
Ecclesiastical Structure: The Two Residential Monastic Chapters
As a royal monastery of the third class and the administrative heart of the Dhammayut monastic order in Northern Thailand, Wat Chedi Luang Worawihan maintains a bifurcated governance structure aligned with the Vinaya and the national Sangha Act, divided into two primary territorial chapters (Khana):
- Khana Chedi Luang (Southern Precinct): Fronting Ratchamankha Road, supervised by Phra Khru Maha Chetiyaphiban as Chapter Head, housing 34 monks, 52 novices, and 30 temple attendants. It comprises the contemplative residences (Kuti) and university faculty buildings.
- Khana Ho Tham (Northern Precinct): Running along Ratchadamnoen Road, governed by Phra Winai Koson as Chapter Head, accommodating 15 monks, 26 novices, and 9 attendants, anchoring the historic scriptural library and the secondary school.
In 1996 (B.E. 2539), the residential monastic census counted 166 residents (49 fully ordained monks, 78 novices, and 39 lay postulants), coordinated through integrated clerical subcommittees, novice councils, and lay advisory boards.
Lay Mobilization, Philanthropy, and the Golden Jubilee Outreach
The social vitality of Wat Chedi Luang relies on active lay integration:
- The Wat Chedi Luang Alumni Association (ศจล. / WCLAA): Established in 1987 under the presidency of Pol. Col. Thongchai Thippayamonthon and Uthai Nantawarat, this network of over 1,000 alumni mobilizes logistics for the annual Salakphat almsgiving, the Inthakhin flower offerings, and the lustral bathing of the Canadian Jade Buddha.
- The Sunday Dhamma Study and Meditation Group: Founded by Col. Tanat Decha, this society opens the Dhammanantho Pavilion every Sunday for public Buddhist forums, silent Vipassana sittings, and communal vegetarian lunches.
- The 1996 Royal Golden Jubilee Endeavors: Marking the 50th anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's (Rama IX) accession to the throne, the monastery hosted year-long doctrinal preaching circuits and sponsored the mass ordination of 106 Border Patrol Police (BPP) officers, dedicating the accrued merit to the late Princess Mother, Princess Srinagarindra (Somdet Ya).
Monumental Public Works and Historic Preservation (1995–1996 CE)
Between 1995 and 1996, Wat Chedi Luang executed an extensive series of capital preservation projects:
- Completed Infrastructure: Paving turf blocks around the Yaksha guardian shrines; erecting 300 meters of brick perimeter fencing; constructing the Phra Chao Than Jai Vihara (200,000 Baht); casting a bronze Phra Kandhararat (rain-invoking Buddha) for the Inthakhin shrine (65,000 Baht); installing automated floodlighting surrounding the great stupa; and hiring arborists to perform corrective surgical pruning on the three 200-year-old sacred Yang trees to safeguard pilgrims.
- Ongoing Monumental Endeavors: Constructing the grand Kanchanaphisek Pavilion to accommodate mass public meditation assemblies; landscaping and erecting an ornamental open-air pavilion over Bo Poeng, the sacred 11-meter-deep well dug under King Tilokaraj in 1479 (200,000 Baht budget); and erecting the Sasanathayat Academic Building — a three-story concrete edifice (20 by 50 meters, 6-million-baht budget) seeded by personal donations from Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, designed to house monastic student dormitories and classrooms.
The Epilogue Poem "Living at Home, Living in the Temple"
The volume concludes with the contemplative poem "Yu Ban - Yu Wat" (Living at Home, Living in the Temple) composed by former abbot Phra Thammadilok (Khanti Khantiko), reminding readers that whether residing as a lay householder or a cloistered monk, human beings remain perpetual debtors to the world, obliged to serve society with wisdom rather than idling away their human birth. This is paired with the benedictory closing stanza by Phra Thammadilok (Jan Kusalo), bestowing blessings upon all benefactors.
Across six centuries, Wat Chedi Luang has endured not as a dead reliquary of calcined brick, but as an ever-renewing vortex of Buddhist ethics, scholastic excellence, and civic charity at the epicenter of Chiang Mai.