International Stature of Buddhadasa
In the 1960s, Ajahn Buddhadasa began to attract an international following, with growing numbers of western youth finding their ways to Suan Mokkh to learn meditation. Suan Mokkh was listed in tourist guide books.
A new movement of "Engaged Buddhists" began to look to Buddhadasa's teaching for guidance in applying Buddhist principles to social problems.
In 1967, Buddhadasa met the Dalai Lama for the first time, during the Dalai Lama's first Trip outside India, when he traveled to Bangkok to visit Thailand's King Bhumipol. During his flight to Thailand, the Dalai Lama looked out the window and saw an American B-52 bomber, and later recalled in his memoirs: "I was moved when I realized that the theatre of human cruelty extended even to ten thousand meters over the earth."
While in Bangkok, the Dalai Lama visited Wat Bovoranives where he had an audience with the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, Phra Sasanasobhon. The Dalai Lama expressed a desire to study vipassana meditation at a Thai monastery, and was suggested that he study with Buddhadasa.
In 1967, Buddhadasa Bhikku was invited to delivered three influential lectures on Inter-religious relations, as part of the Sinclair Thompson Memorial Lecture, in Chaing Mai. He compared Christian and compatible Buddhist concepts, and how they each explain the same basic truths. These lectures were complied in the book "Christianity and Buddhism".
Buddhadasa explained that, on a deeper level, Christians and Buddhists were possibly talking about the same thing, the same experience. Different religions are trying to lead people to the same universally valid experience. Buddhadasa's said that terms like the Buddhist "Dhamma" and the Christian "God" are, when properly interpreted, just different ways of referring to the same truth.
In 1968, he began a new project, teaching Buddhist missionaries to go abroad.
Foreigners discover Suan Mokkh
In the 1970s, Buddhadasa's teachings began to embrace not only Thailand, but the whole world, as growing numbers of Westerners from Europe, North America began to make their ways to Suan Mokkh in a search for inner peace. Thousands of disaffected youth were looking for meaningful spiritual practice, and turning to Buddhism for answers to their questions.
Some few ordained as monks and lived in meditation centers in Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka. Buddhadasa asked the Western tourists and students to take a second look at their own heritage, before it was too late. "Even the white people are beginning to realize that the East has something special and lofty in cultural and spiritual values ... some intelligent white people make an effort to come to us in order to learn a way of meditation practice known as Vipassana, aiming to overcome craving and desire. This is real Buddhism."
In 1971, Buddhadasa announced three new objectives. "To try to make everybody reach the heart of their religion, no matter what religion that person follows. To create understanding among religions in order to live together peacefully in the world. To join forces with all religions in order to turn the world away from materialism."
1972
In 1972, the Dalai Lama, aged 37, travelled to Chaiya, Thailand, to Wat Suan Mokkh to pay respect and meet with the Buddhadasa, then aged 66. The Dalai Lama arrived, accompanied by two lamas.
During the visit, Ajahn Buddhadasa invited the Dalai Lama to give a Dharma talk to the monks, outdoors under trees in the area reserved for teachings. About 40 monks and novices of the Theravada tradition, some nuns and a handful of lay people, came to listen to the Dalai Lama talk about the 'meaning of emptiness, in the Buddhist tradition.' The inquisitive monks listened with great interest.
"Who is the Dalai Lama? Is the Dalai Lama the robes? No. Is the Dalai Lama the voice? No. Is the Dalai Lama the face? No. Is the Dalai Lama the form? No. Is the Dalai Lama the name? No. Where is the Dalai Lama? There is no such thing, no such being, as the Dalai Lama."
At the end of his talk, the monks bowed to the Dalai Lama, as Buddhadasa looked on, smiling with the satisfaction at the display of unity between Theravada and Tibetan monks.
The Dalai Lama was very interested in the Theravada tradition of Insight Meditation (Vipassanā). During the visit, Buddhadasa and the Dalai Lama discussed Anapanasati Sutta, and the possibility of establishment of a Tibetan House at Suan Mokh, where Tibetan monks might learn Insight meditation under the guidance of Buddhadasa.
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1973-1976: Struggling with Democracy
Buddhadasa attracted increasing interest from Thai intellectuals and students, during the social upheavals of Thailand in the 1970s. Ajahn Buddhadasa received a lot of attention as Thailand grappled with Thailand's brief period of democracy between 1973-1976, when Dr Sanya Thammasakdi, the Rector of Thammasat University, was appointed as the civilian Prime Minister in 1973. Thammasakdi was a lifelong supporter of Ajahn Buddhadasa, having first studied with the Buddhadasa back in 1938.
The early 70's was an age of growing political awareness in an increasingly educated middle-class and demands for economic progress, and relief from the Vietnam War, which was escalating in intensity.
For the first time the urban middle class, led by the students had gained the apparent blessing of the king for a transition to democracy. During the social changes, Thailand became more moderate, less anti-communist, and friendly toward its neighbors. The new popular governments quickly called for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Thailand and the establishment of normal relations with the communist countries. The Thai leaders realized that they had to try to live with communist neighbors in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Buddhadasa began a period of his most political thought, in order to help Thai society manoeuvre it's way through troubled political waters, giving talks on socialism and social reforms in talks to students, with titles like - "A Socialist Type of Democracy", "Socialism According to Religious Principles", "The Type of Socialism That Can Help the Wor1d".
Buddhadasa was very concerned, as Marxist Socialism spread throughout Asia, and the socialist/communist ideas were hotly debated, and violently imposed, as the Vietnam War reached it's climax, dragging every nation into the fires of war, and threatening Thailand's stability.
Buddhadasa was concerned with poverty and material deprivation, oppression exploitation, violence, which is an obstacle to spiritual practice and happiness - and as driving the young people into the arms of the Communist party.
Buddhadasa published his advice to students and activists, and hoped to provide a Buddhist compromise between polarized society, by applying Buddhist solutions to the social problems dividing the country. He called for people to consider their duties and responsibilities as individuals, to their religion, government, nation, and their fellows, and to the common good.
When the people turned away from their Buddhis