His Holiness Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara was a modest Buddhist monk whose practices in all aspects of daily life inspire many Buddhist Thais to follow.
When he was alive, Koytha Pramote Palace at Bangkok’s Bovoranives Vihara Temple was both the residence and the office of the late Supreme Patriarch where he had lived since 1937.
Phra Sakayawongwisut, an assistant to his secretary, said His Holiness conducted himself in a simple way while strictly following the Buddhist teaching. He ate once a day, ate vegetarian every Buddhist holy day, and slept around four hours per day.
He practiced dharma in accordance with the Thai Forest Tradition — a tradition of Buddhist monasticism within Thai Theravada Buddhism where practitioners inhabit remote wilderness and forest dwellings as spiritual practice training grounds. The tradition emphasises direct
experience through meditation practice and strict adherence to monastic rules over scholastic Pali Tipitaka study.
To affirm the modesty of His Holiness, Phra Sakayawongwisut said his bed at the palace was small with space for only one person, and his seat, where he meditated, was just a piece of cloth sewn and given to him by his mother. The seat was very old but perfectly kept and maintained until it was used at his last day. His meditation room was situated on the top floor of the palace.
“In the past, there were many of His Holiness’s attendants and followers. They stayed downstairs of the palace, while he ate upstairs at a small room. There was also another small room where he recorded his teaching. His Holiness was a radio host for the teaching of dharma. He also gave special speeches on the country’s important days when he would record his voice in that room,” said Phra Sakayawongwisut.
Next to His Holiness’s palace in the same premises is his mother’s residence. As a token of gratitude and gratefulness to his parent, he had received her under his care and had her stay there at the temple since 1953.
The Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara was a good example for Buddhists nationwide in terms of his modest way of living and virtue practices. He died from a blood vessel infection on October 24 at the age of 100.
