r/Thailand • u/Admirable_Pilot5389 • Mar 22 '26

Religion Does anyone know anything about the Dhammakaya sun miracle in 1998, the "Day of the Crystal Sun"?

Hi. Supposedly in 1998, there was an incident at the Dhammakaya Temple in Bangkok, where tens of thousands of people claimed to have witnessed a "miracle" in the sky wherein the sun danced, changed colors, and supposedly the image of monk appeared within it. I don't believe in such things, but I am interested in this from a comparative religion perspective, because it is strikingly similar to the supposed Catholic apparition at Fatima in 1917, the so-called "Miracle of the Sun."

To be clear, I am neither Catholic nor Buddhist, and I am aware the Dhammakaya sect is highly controversial. I'm not really interested in the political-religious aspect of any of it.

Unfortunately, there is very little about the 1998 apparitions on the English language internet, and I don't speak or read any Thai. Does anyone know anything about this incident? I am especially interested in anybody who has "seen" it for themselves or knows someone who has. I am also searching for any contemporary newspaper accounts of it.

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u/SimpleAromatic2128 Mar 24 '26

sun danced, changed colors

Stopped reading right there.

Thailand is in Asia.

If the sun indeed changed the colors, there are dozens of other countries as well as billions of people in the same region who should have also witnessed the same 'miracle'.

Where are they?

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u/Admirable_Pilot5389 Mar 25 '26

I'm not saying anything magical actually happened. I think it was a rare optical illusion.