Phra Yantra: The ‘handsome’ monk who defied a sex scandal – and Thai Sangha

Phra Yantra Amaro Bhikkhu, a once-popular Thai Buddhist monk, remained tied to the monastic world until his death last Sunday (March 9) – more than three decades after being defrocked following a sex scandal.

In 1994, Thailand’s highest Buddhist authority, the Sangha Supreme Council, ordered him to quit the monkhood due to severe misconduct, citing “obvious wrongdoings” uncovered in its investigation.

Yantra refused to accept the council’s decision, declaring that he would remain a monk. Even at the end of his life, the disrobed monk continued insisting he had never renounced his religious vows.

Banned from wearing traditional saffron robes by the monastic council’s order, Yantra switched to green and later maroon attire. And instead of shaving his head, as required by monastic protocol, he allowed his grey hair, beard, and eyebrows to grow long.

In mid-1994, Yantra fled Thailand for the United States to escape multiple legal cases that included a charge of defaming the Supreme Patriarch. The US granted him political asylum, a status he reportedly retained until his death.

The ex-monk died at the Sunyataram California Monastery in San Diego County, where he was its president and spiritual leader. “Phra Ajarn Yantra Amaro passed away at the age of 73, after 51 years of ordination,” read the temple’s Facebook announcement on March 9.

A young yogi

Yantra was born Winai La-ongsuwan on October 14, 1951, in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. After dabbling in the spiritual life as a youngster, he was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1974.

He adopted the monastic name “Yantra”, which means “one who is distant from desires”.

Good-looking and charismatic, the young monk soon managed to attract a large, predominantly female following. Thai media described him as “a handsome monk with a beautiful voice”. His fluency in English also drew international devotees, paving the way for him to travel abroad on religious trips.

But in 1994, scandal struck. Two decades after he entered monkhood, allegations surfaced that Phra Yantra had exploited his status by seducing a string of female followers.

The allegations were initially dismissed by his supporters as a plot to undermine Buddhism. However, the controversy exploded when one of his closest disciples, Jantima Mayarangsi, made a convincing claim that the charismatic monk had fathered her daughter.

Yantra refused to take a blood test to settle the paternity issue.

Investigative reporters also discovered that the monk used a credit card, funded by a follower, to pay bills at nightclubs offering sexual services in Australia and New Zealand.

First return home

After the 20-year statute of limitations on his defamation case expired in 2014, Yantra began making brief visits to Thailand. He reportedly made low-profile visits to his home province each October for his birthday, except during the Covid-19 pandemic.

During his first trip home in early May 2014, Yantra performed a ritual in his hometown’s Pak Phanang River to “dispel the country’s misfortunes”, joined by about 100 of his followers. At the time, Thailand was embroiled in a political conflict that would culminate in a military coup later that month.

Yantra asked the conflicting sides to exercise patience to help ease the situation. “If we are not patient, we will bring trouble to the country and ourselves. I ask everyone to love one another, make merit, and perform their duties conscientiously,” he said in a public address.

In October 2021, Yantra sparked controversy when a group of monks and nuns prostrated before him during his trip back home for his 70th birthday.

Critics condemned the sight of clergy bowing down to a layman as inappropriate. However, a defiant Yantra insisted he still held the status of a monk, adding that it was normal for any person to attract both love and hate.

He made his final trip to his homeland in February, paying homage to Buddha relics loaned by China on display at Sanam Luang in Bangkok.

Deceiving look?

Despite insisting he had never left the monkhood, Yantra appeared more like a hermit than a Buddhist monk during his final years

A photo posted on his California monastery’s Facebook page shows Yantra’s lifeless body lying on a bed with long hair, beard, and eyebrows.

As abbot of the monastery, Yantra gave sermons on the Buddha’s teachings and led meditation sessions among local followers. There, he was called Venerable Master Yantra Amaro.