Ven. Phra Videsratanaporn, Ph.D., or known as Dr. Handy Inthisan is a well-traveled Buddhist missionary monk born in Thailand and now serving at the Wat Thai Washington, D.C., a Thai Buddhist temple in Silver Spring, Maryland, in the United States.

In 1977, Dr. Handy began his journey into the monastic life when he was 14 years old ordained as a novice. In 1983, he received higher ordination as a monk, his Buddhist name is Atthacharee.

Between 1978 and 1996, Dr. Handy practice Vipassana meditation under several “forest tradition” masters; achieved Pali Languages Study, Class V; earned a B.A. from Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University; and his first M.A (Education) from Century University, USA.

By the year 2000, he earned two additional Master of Arts degrees in India. He earned his Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies at Magadh University, India in 2003. His Ph.D. dissertation was “The Problem of Self in Buddhism.”

Dr. Handy’s studies and monastic duties took him from Thailand to over 30 countries that include diverse places such as Canada in North America, in Europe such as England, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Scandinavia, Russia, and all countries in Southeast Asia and some in South Africa, and Australia – New Zealand. He has been the tour guide for several recent pilgrimages to Buddhist holy sites in the South and Southeast Asian countries such as India-Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, etc. He travels to spread Buddha’s teaching in every region around the world

From 1992 to the present, Dr. Handy served, primarily, as a Buddhist Missionary Monk at Wat Thai Washington DC that serves the local Thai and American communities. While in the USA, he established the Buddhist Meditation Center of Pittsburgh (BMCP), Pennsylvania; served as the BMCP’s Vipassana meditation Master; was a visiting professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Value Research, Catholic University of America; and editor of the Thai Sangha Magazine of the Council of Thai Bhikkhus in the USA.

In 2008 he has been elected as Secretary-General of the Council of Thai Bhikkhus in the USA until now (2021).

In Russia, Dr. Handy taught Vipassana meditation in Moscow and St. Petersburg. His duties took him to the World Parliament of World Religion in Cape Town, South Africa in 1999 and the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Barcelona, Spain in 2004, and the last conference in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2015.

 

His studies took him to the Rumtek monastery in Gangtok, Sikkim to research the Karma Kagyu lineage (Karmapa Lama XVII). Then on to the Yuan Kaung Buddhist College in Tao Yuan, Chungli, Taiwan to observe the classroom Buddhist studies, Buddhist ceremonies, chanting, and activities of the Pure Land School of the Mahayana Tradition.

Dr. Handy was invited to be a Vipassana meditation master at Chan Tang, the meditation section of Yuan Kaung Buddhist College.  He is the author of several works, including The Buddhist Missionary in the USA (in Thai), Walking on the Path of the Buddha (in English), Buddhist Traditions &Thai Culture (in English), Basic Buddhist Meditation, and Practice (in English), etc.

 

Current positions:

Secretary-General of the Council of Thai Bhikkhus (Buddhist monks) in the U.S.A.

President of Wat Thai Washington, D.C. in Silver Spring Maryland USA

Chairman of the Board of Directors of International Buddhist Association of America (IBAA)

Current address: Wat Thai Washington, D.C. 13440 Lay hill Rd. Silver Spring MD. 20906

https://watthaidc.org, https://thectu.org, www.ibaa.org  Email: contact@thectu.org: Facebook, ID Line: DR. HANDY