Samdech Mahaghosnanda's biography

A Prayer

The suffering of Cambodia has been deep.
From this suffering comes Great Compassion.
Great Compassion makes a Peaceful Heart.
A Peaceful Heart makes a Peaceful Person.
A Peaceful Person makes a Peaceful Family.
A Peaceful Family makes a Peaceful Community.
A Peaceful Community makes a Peaceful Nation.
And a Peaceful Nation makes a Peaceful World.
May all beings live in Happiness and Peace.

-- Ven. Maha Ghosananda

The Biography of Preah Samdech Maha Ghosananda
(1913-2007)

Samdech Preah Maha Ghosananda Var Yav was born on May 23, 1913, Buddhist Era 2457, in Baray village, Trang district, Takeo Province, Kingdom of Cambodia. Parents name were Var Kut and Kim Keav. He has no siblings, only child of the family.

Samdech Preah Maha Ghosananda got ordained novice Monk on April 7, 1927, Buddhist Era 2416, at the age of fourteen (14) years old in Baray Temple, Baray Village, Trang District, Takeo Province, Kingdom of Cambodia.

Samdech received his religious education from third to first classes of Dhammavinaya, Takeo Province, Kingdom of Cambodia, 1929-1932, Buddhist Era 2472.

Samdech then got ordained Buddhist Monk on April 19,1934, Buddhist Era 2477, age of 21, Keo Preahplaeng Monastery, Phnom Penh City, Cambodia, by Samdech Preah Mahasumetatipadey Chourn Nath Jotanhano, King of Cambodian Buddhist Monks, as his ordaining teacher.

Samdech had traveled and relocated himself to many different Monasteries in Phnom Penh City for fifteen years (15) 1938-1953, Buddhist Era 2481 to 2495. Monasteries such as Sampaomeas Monastery, Langka Monastery, Ounalom Monastery, and Keo Preahplaeng Monastery.

Samdech has received and taken a lot of advantages to learn and educate one another in one way or another. He received several Master degrees from several countries all over the world. He could also speak and write in fifteen different languages such as Cambodian, English, Sangscrit, French, Lao, Chinese, Boengkali, Burmese, German, Pali, Thai, Vietnamesse, Japanese, Hindi, and last but not least Korean.

In 1978, Buddhist Era 2520, when Cambodian was in a civil war Samdech was busy coordination with the United Nations and the United States of America with Peter Pond, King Phumipokn Adoknyadat and Princess Maha Chakrey Serindorn of Thailand to help Cambodian refugees in refugees’ camps located along Thai-borders.

Samdech is a founder of International religious Council for Peace to search for a formal that can be used to find out truth, peace, and happiness. Samdech got appointed as King of Buddhist monks by Khmer Buddhists monks and laymen, by Cambodian leaders, and by the Cambodian people, and was officially recognized by United Nations and the United States of America in 1988, Buddhist Era 2530.

Samdech got honored “Doctorate” from Providence college, State of Rhode Island for his intelligence, compassions, and great favor in rescuing all kinds of human beings and educating about truth, happiness, and peace regardless of their classes which took place during Buddhist Era 2531, in 1989. Samdech also preach to educate Cambodian leaders of all parties and simple people to stop hatred and killing each other violently but to follow path of morality, good manners, truth, humanity, development, intelligence, and law as mean to resolve and settle all kinds of problems in own society. (Peace Maker all around the World)

Samdech got appointed member of Supreme International Religious Council and went to take part in an extraordinary meetings to discuss about altering war using military weapons to war using psychological weapon, in Chicago City, State of Illinois, in 1993, B. E. 2535.

Samdech wrote an book named “Step by Step”, a guide leading to truth, happiness, and peace for all Cambodians as well as for other nations in the whole world if they all follow the eminent path or ideas. His famous saying in the book he wrote was “The suffering of Cambodian has been deep, from this Suffering come great Compassions, great Compassions makes a Peaceful Heart, a Peaceful Heart makes a Peaceful Person, a Peaceful Person makes a Peaceful Family, a Peaceful Family makes a Peaceful Community, a Peaceful Community makes a Peaceful Nation, a Peaceful Nation makes a Peaceful World, and may all Beings live in Happiness and Peace in Our Universe Forever.” This book “Step by Step” was published in 1993, Buddhist Era 2535 in many different languages.

Samdech has received nominee his first “Nobel Peace Prize” from Mr. Pell, Chairman of the House, senate of the United States of America in 1994, Buhhdist Era 2536. He also got elected as Supreme counselor of Community of Khmer Buddhist Monks Center, in the United States of America in 1994, Buddhist Era 2539-2544. He then received his second, third, forth, and fifth nominee “Nobel Peace Prize” in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998, Buddhist Era 2537, 2538, and 2539.

Samdech, heroic leader of Dhammaytra walks, to share paying his gratitude to his country, religion, monarch, and people, by doing his best to stop wars as well as to cause true happiness and real peace to our beloved homeland Cambodia. He sacrificed all of his physical and spiritual strength, including his intelligence and skills, to help his homeland and many leaders on International Arena.

Samdech Preah Mahaghosananda has led Khmer Buddhist Monks delegates, Preah monastic Supreme Sao Khon Dhammathero, Venerable Yem Nak, and preah Bhikkhu Pinn Mahamonirath Intapanyo to join a special meeting with leaders of world religions, invited by United Nations, which held about 500 religions in the world participating, held in the Conference Hall of the United Nations, New York City for four days, which costed 100 millions dollars.

Samdech got appointed to lead the second Dhammayatra in Cambodia, which started moving from Siemrab Province to Phnom Penh City. The Dhammayatra walk was interrupted many times by war between government troop and Khmer Rouge. One B-40 bomb was dropped about two meters from Samdech, but fortunately it didn’t exploded probably due to the power of his purely holy mind and power of the Triple Jewels. Dhammayatra takes total times of 7 years from 1992 to 1998, Buddhist Era 2534 to 2540. For 7 years, the Dhammayatra walk took a total distance of more than 1 million kilometers.

Sandwich also joined meeting with leaders of Sri Lanoka in Colombo City, Sri Lanoka to discuss about solidarity and sociology in which each leader must have good intelligence and compassion toward their own people, and have moral power to bring forth development, truth, happiness, peace to their own nation and people in the entire Sri Langka which took place in 1994,
Buddhist Era 2536.

Samdech offered his preaching on television and in radio of Israel to educate youngsters there, to make themselves good descendants of their families and country as “Bamboo-Shot in place of Bamboo”. The Fivefold characteristics of good descendants of families are “To listen and follow up with good advice of parents physical, verbally, and spiritually”, second “Take effort in learning up to higher education for knowledge is the basic of one’s own value and his family value as well as all times”, third “To listen and follow up with lesson taught use them to cause value to own self, family, country, and making own-self”, forth “To use knowledge that own-self has got as means of causing value and reputation to his own family and teachers”, and last is “To have plans of making, maintaining, and protecting own family and own country as well as walking towards real development, intelligence, justice, physically and spiritually, so they can catch up with modern societies of human in the whole world.

Samdech is a top Khmer Monastic intellectual, who has multi-Doctor degrees. He got Doctor degree in Buddhism Philosophy from NALANDA University, India, Honor Doctor degree from Rhode Island College, Doctor degree from Preah Suramair College from Phnom Penh City; Kingdom of Cambodia. He traveled all around the world with Venerable Pinn Mahamonirath Intapanyo to join meetings with the International Peace Council in the state of Kentucky and Ohio and more. Samdech was a chairman of “Soul Memorial Ceremony”, for all Cambodian victims who passed away from 1975-2001; invited by Lady Doctor Roberson m an official of the Refugee Immigration Service Ministry of the United States of America.

Preah Samdech Mahaghosananda last breathe on this earth was located at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in North Hampton, Mass, third floor. In present there was Novice Rinh Kim, student of Master Venerable Pinn Mahamonirath Intapayno on March 13, 2007 at 8:15 a.m. with an announcement from his doctor.