en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Paknam_Bhasicharoen#Somdet_Chuang_Varapu%C3%B1%C3%B1o_...
3 corrections found
He has presided over meetings of the council since 2005, when he became the acting Supreme Patriarch.
This gets the date and office-holder wrong. Somdet Chuang became the council chair/acting Supreme Patriarch in 2013; in 2005 that role was given to Somdet Kiaw.
Full reasoning
Credible sources on the Thai Sangha succession state that Somdet Kiaw, not Somdet Chuang, was appointed acting Supreme Patriarch in 2005. Somdet Chuang only became chair of the Supreme Sangha Council / acting Supreme Patriarch in 2013, after Somdet Kiaw's death.
An academic history from ISEAS/OpenEdition says: "Somdet Chuang ... had also been made chair of the Council in 2013, in effect, the acting supreme patriarch," and immediately adds that "In 2005 then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra ... appointed Somdet Kiaw ... as Council chair and acting supreme patriarch." Bangkok Post likewise reported on 21 August 2013 that the Sangha Supreme Council had appointed Somdet Chuang as the new chairman acting on behalf of the Supreme Patriarch.
So the article's sentence is incorrect in attributing the 2005 start date and that acting Supreme Patriarch appointment to Somdet Chuang.
2 sources
- Buddhism and Politics in Thailand - Polarization and crisis in the twenty-first century
Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn, popularly known as Somdet Chuang, had also been made chair of the Council in 2013, in effect, the acting supreme patriarch ... In 2005 then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra decided to fill the void and appointed Somdet Phutthacharn, or Somdet Kiaw ... as Council chair and acting supreme patriarch.
- Bangkok Post - New monastic panel chairman named
The Sangha Supreme Council has appointed Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangkhlachan, the abbot of Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen, as the new chairman of the monastic panel acting on behalf of the Supreme Patriarch.
The project was started in 2012, to celebrate 2560 years since the Buddha's enlightenment (Buddha Jayanti, following the Buddhist Era).
The anniversary number is wrong. In 2012, Buddha Jayanti was widely marked as the 2,600th anniversary of the Buddha's enlightenment, not the 2,560th.
Full reasoning
The article appears to have a number error here. Sources for the 2012 Vesak/Buddha Jayanti celebrations consistently describe them as commemorating 2,600 years of the Buddha's enlightenment.
For example, the official United Nations Day of Vesak 2012 site repeatedly labels the event "Buddhajayanti: The Celebration of 2600 Years of the Buddha's Enlightenment." A Thai news report on the Thai government's 2012 observances likewise says the nationwide activities were held under the name of the "2,600th Buddha Jayanti celebration" to commemorate the 2,600th anniversary of the Buddha's enlightenment.
So if this project began in 2012 in connection with Buddha Jayanti, the correct anniversary figure is 2600, not 2560.
2 sources
- United Nation Day of Vesak 2012
For Buddhajayanti: The Celebration of 2600 Years of the Buddha's Enlightenment ... Exhibitions on Buddhajayanti: The Celebration of 2600 Years of Buddha's Enlightenment.
- Govt to organize 2600th Buddha Jayanti celebration
Held under the name of the 2,600th Buddha Jayanti celebration, activities ... will be held to commemorate the 2,600th anniversary of Lord Buddha's Enlightenment.
his 2015 appointment as Supreme Patriarch
The year is wrong. Somdet Chuang was officially nominated/appointed by the Supreme Sangha Council on January 5, 2016, not in 2015.
Full reasoning
This sentence misdates the event. Contemporary reporting and later scholarly accounts agree that Somdet Chuang's official nomination for the Supreme Patriarch post happened on January 5, 2016.
Bangkok Post reported that the Sangha Supreme Council's special meeting on Jan. 5, 2016 agreed to nominate Somdet Chuang as the country's 20th supreme patriarch. An academic history of the succession controversy likewise says that the council unanimously nominated him during a meeting on January 5, 2016.
So describing this as his "2015 appointment" is inaccurate; the key nomination/appointment attempt occurred in 2016.
2 sources
- Bangkok Post - SSC nominee faces new flak
The letter confirmed 17 senior monks at the 20-member council's unannounced meeting on Jan 5 agreed to nominate Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn as the country's 20th supreme patriarch.
- Buddhism and Politics in Thailand - Polarization and crisis in the twenty-first century
In 2016 ... the seventeen members of the Supreme Sangha Council ... unanimously nominated Somdet Chuang as supreme patriarch during a meeting on January 5, 2016.