Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana

Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana (the royal title in Thai is Vajirañāṇasaṃvara) was born on 3 October 1913 in Kanchanaburi province, as Charoen. He ordained as a novice at fourteen and took full ordination in 1933. He later re-ordained in the Dhammayut order at Wat Bowonniwet in Bangkok, under the supervision of the 13th Supreme Patriarch, and Wikipedia reports he studied Pali and Buddhist philosophy.

In 1956 he was named adviser to King Bhumibol Adulyadej during the king’s period as a monk. He became abbot of Wat Bowonniwet in 1961, according to the temple’s list, and held the post until his death. He received the title Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara in 1972.

On 21 April 1989 he became the 19th Supreme Patriarch of the Thai Sangha, the head of the Thai monastic order. He held the office until his death in Bangkok on 24 October 2013, aged 100.

He also initiated and oversaw the building of Wat Yannasangwararam, a royal monastery in Chonburi, near Pattaya. The temple’s history says he wanted it to be a vipassana training centre close to Bangkok, and it carries his ecclesiastical title in its name.

This page rests on Wikipedia and two temple websites. It does not cover his teachings or books, which are not verified here.