Sunday 28 September 2008

Who was that Mystery Man?


In last week's County Press there was a letter from a Mrs. K.Webb enquiring if anyone had any information on a "saffron robed" monk (or Hari Krishna) who was often seen around the Island back in the Eighties. I'm reliably informed that this was Venerable Ajahn Khemadhammo, the founder of Angulimala, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Organisation. He was based on the Island from 1979 until 1984 (for those of you who don't know we have three prisons here, the most famous being Parkhurst which was until 1995 a category A gaol).


In the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2003, Ajahn Khemadhammo was appointed an OBE for services to prisoners and the following year the King of Thailand on his birthday made him a Chao Khun (One of several ecclesiastical titles conferred upon senior monks selected by the King) with the title Chao Khun Bhavanavitesa.

"Remember, prisoners can't come to the temple,
so we have to take the temple to them".

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