正文
有人认为他逃到了国外，也有人说他可能已经死了。在这一年多内，泰国当局一直试图抓住Phra Dhammachayo——一个富有争议的佛教宗派的前领袖，而且他早已退隐。但他涉嫌策划一个欺诈案。2月16日政府官员终于有机会接近这个庞大而又复杂的修道士团体，因为他的Dhammakaya运动要在曼谷市郊举行。不过，他们并没有找到这个常被刻画成戴着太阳镜的七十多岁的僧侣，只是找到了堆满枕头的空床。
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septuagenarian n. 七十岁老者
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get hold of 把握，抓住
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controversial adj.有争议的
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outskirt n.郊区，市郊
By February 22nd more than 4,000 police and soldiers were
lingering
outside the Dhammakaya compound—waiting to complete a full sweep of the massive site but apparently
hindered
by monks and devotees who had blocked its dozen entrances. A spokesman for the sect claimed that 30,000 people were still inside the property, having ignored orders to leave; there have been
scuffles
at its gates. Apiradee, a retired civil servant helping to feed Dhammakaya followers who had gathered in support outside the police cordon, said she has never seen anything like it.
到了2月22日，4000多警察和士兵在Dhammakaya外徘徊——准备进行一个大面积的清扫活动，但遭到了僧侣和信徒的阻碍，他们将很多入口都堵住了。一名宗教发言人称30000人无视撤离的要求，待在在房子内。并且他们已经在大门口发生过混战。Apiradee，一个退休的国家公务员，她负责给聚集在警戒线外的Dhammakaya的追随者提供给养。她说她从没见过这种事。
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scuffle n.混战，扭打
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linger v.徘徊，磨蹭
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hinder v.阻碍，牵制
Founded in the 1970s, the Dhammakaya movement claims about 3m followers around the world. It is by far the most influential temple in Thailand.
It bears a loose resemblance to the evangelical mega-churches that increasingly beguile the world’s Christians
.
（读者试译句）
Dhammakaya’s mostly middle-class
adherents
complain that older Buddhist temples have grown complacent and materialistic. They insist, rather grandly, that the Bangkok compound, with its vast stadium, is meant to become a kind of Buddhist Vatican.
