File photo : Samana Bodhirak
Samana Bodhirak will be remembered as the spiritual leader who founded the Santi Asoke Buddhist sect but never shied away from political upheavals that have shaped Thailand for the past four decades.
Although Santi Asoke is widely considered an ascetic sect, its followers under Samana Bodhirak – who died at the age of 90 earlier this month – have played a crucial role in political movements.
In 1992, this charismatic leader led his followers in a huge anti-government protest at Bangkok’s Sanam Luang that ended in the bloody crackdown known as Black May.
In 2006, he threw his weight behind the yellow-shirted People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protests against Thaksin Shinawatra’s government that culminated in a military coup. Later, he backed several other anti-Shinawatra movements.
Scoring early success
Born as Mongkhon Rakpong in the…
