LP Hong of Wat Petburi

LP Hong is perhaps the most famous and powerful guru monk in Surin. His fame spreads to as far as Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, with thousands of devotees. A master of Khmer magical arts, his life is full of legendary stories, as written before in various amulet magazines. However at the very old age of 93, his health has been getting weaker and weaker. Above we see the Phra Prom Gate of the Promakun Sala.

The Rahu shrine.

The Kuan Yin Bodhisattva shrine.

The 2 bulls outside the Promakun Sala.

LP posing with a young boy for the devotees.

A video of the interior of the Sala and LP having his meal. An Angmoh guy and his Thai wife have also come to pay homage to LP. Later a group from Malaysia also came.
The Phra Mae Thoranee statue outside the Sala.

The golden LP Tuad shrine.

The Khmer-styled stone Nakprok shrine.

One of the altars in the Wat Petburi Sala, which was some distance away from the Promakun Sala.

Another altar.

A large photo portrait of LP Hong.

The interior of the Wat Petburi Sala.

A parting shot with the Lersi statue under a tree.

One of the LP Hong 6" Mit Mors (magic knife) I obtained at Wat Petburi.

LP Kee of Wat Silamyong

LP Kee of Wat Silamyong, Surin is another one of the fellow disciples of LP Hong in Khmer magical arts. He is 81 this year. He along with LP Hong and LP Rit used to form a holy trinity in this region, but of course LP Rit left first. Above we see the beautiful Ubosot with a Prang chedi on top.

The altar inside the amulet shop.

Lots of buchas and amulets here. Most are images of Hindu or Brahministic deities.

When I took this photo with LP Kee, he was busy drawing Phayants by himself.

The Phra Gaew Shrine outside LP Kee's kuti. Not suprisingly, the shrine was sponsored by overseas Chinese donors from New York!

LP paying homage to the Phra Gaew before blessing the sacred objects for us.

Bro Hong and me have another photo taken with LP before we left.

The Phra Trimurati (Holy Trinity) bucha I chowed from the temple.

The Phra Mae Thoranee (Earth Goddess) bucha.

LP Dun of Wat Buraparam

Wat Buraparam lies in Surin town. This old temple is famous for 2 things - its sacred Buddha image Luang Por Phra Chi and the master who used to teach here. This master was none other than LP Dun, a famous disciple of LP Mun. LP Dun passed away in 1983 at the age of 96. LP's last words to his disciples before he entered Parinibbana were:

"The Lord Buddha didn't attain nibbana in any of his jhanic attainments. When he left the fourth jhana, his mental aggregates all ceased at once, with nothing remaining. In other words, he allowed his feeling aggregate to cease in an awake state of mind, the normal human mental series, complete with mindfulness and alertness, with no other mental states coming to blind or delude the mind at all. This was the mind fully in its own state. You could call that state great emptiness, or the original cosmos, or nibbana, whichever you like. That's the state I've been practicing all along to reach."

The Ubosot of Wat Buraparam.

Inside the Ubosot, the monks were doing their morning chanting.

A crystal chedi containing the relics of the Buddha.

A statue of LP Dun inside the LP Dun Vihara.

Sacred relics of LP Dun.

LP Dun's photo portrait.

The LP Phra Chi Vihara.

Inside the Vihara.

A shrine to LP Sila Mongkon, a Monday Buddha image.

A parting shot of the temple gate.

LP Rit of Wat Chonpratan

LP Rit was another famous master in Buri Ram who passed away in 2005 at the age of 89. He was a fellow disciple of LP Hong Wat Petburi who learn Khmer magical arts under the same master in Cambodia. Above is the entrance of the LP Rit Vihara.

The body of LP Rit was still around in a glass casket for devotees to venerate.

However, all that was left of LP was just his skeleton. Most of the flesh and skin had rotted away.

Portraits of LP Rit in the Vihara.

The main shrine inside, with a Chinaraj Buddha in the centre.

A video I took of the courtyard outside before we left.

Wat Khao Kradong in Buri Ram

Wat Phra Puttabat Khao Kradong or Wat Khao Kradong in Buri Ram is the temple of LP Tiang, a famous master there. He has recently been invited to Singapore to meet followers. The temple is located at the foot of the Kradong hill. Above we see the Khmer style temple gate with the 4 faces of Phra Prom.

A special statue of Tao Wessuwan in Deva form with 4 arms, holding club, scripture, conch shell and one hand pointing to the ground. Normally he is portrayed in fierce Yakkha form protecting the entrances of temples.

Inside LP Tiang's Kuti. As LP Tiang was not around, we got his disciple to give us a blessing for the items that we chowed.

The altar inside the Kuti had many Lersi and Kumanthong statues.

The white chedi outside.

The bell and drum tower.

A video I shot of the Ubosot and Chedi.

The Self-righteous Cat-killer

Today the Sunday Times reported a certain retired man named Tan Tuan Khoon, aged 62, who traps cats as a past time and sends them to the AVA to be put down. Naturally, he had become a most hated figure for all the animal welfare groups and animal lovers in Singapore. Tan is responsible for the deaths of more than 300 stray cats, as he lost count after 300.

What is more shocking than the fact that he enjoys having cats killed in a systematic manner is the kind of rhetoric that he uses to justify his evil deeds. He says that "trapping and putting down cats is actually the humane thing to do because stray cats generally have a shorter lifespan due to the hazards they face on the streets." That is no different from saying that the weak, the sick and the disadvantaged all deserve to die because they have a lower chance of survival than ordinary people. Stinks of Fascism, doesn't it? It is exactly this line of thinking that Hitler used to justify his genocide of the Jews, or what the Japanese Imperial Army used to brainwash their troops to justify the mass murders of Chinese civilians during WW2. Tan also says that he is "helping stray cats to end their suffering". So when he becomes sick and helpless in the future, I guess he also won't mind other people coming along and merrily put an end to his suffering?

Furthermore, it is so hypocritical for Tan to tell others he is being humane to cats when the truth is that he harbours a strong hatred towards cats for "defecating in his garden and driveway", "cats having kittens in the space between his roof and ceiling, causing the plywood ceiling boards to give way", and "also cats who chased his pet rabbit and stole his food" in the past. Just because a few cats offended him, he wants all the stray cats in Singapore to die for it? How foolish and dangerous is this man's anger! Does he not fear the heavy negative karma that he had accumulated thus far? His lifespan has been shortened and when the time comes for him to die, all those cats that Tan killed would come back to torment him, and to demand their lives back. I foresee a painful death and a woeful destination for him.

The Dhammapada says, "Hatred cannot be conquered with hatred, but only with Metta (loving-kindness) can hatred be conquered." My master LP Jaran once told the story of old Madam Ping, who used to be a helper at Wat Ampawan. Madam Ping also had to deal with the cats defecating in the wrong places. She was very angry with them as she had to clean up their mess. So she used to curse them loudly and hit them with brooms and stuff whenever she sees them wondering into the temple dwellings. This caused the cats to be even more misbehaved. Those cats that were mistreated by Ping got their other cat friends to take revenge by defecating all over the place, making worse messes than before. Ping was at a lost to what to do, when LP learned of this and advised her to apologise to the cats instead. She was told to kindly ask the cats to stop defecating all over the place and offer them food in exchange for their good behaviour. Madam Ping did not quite believe in LP's advice, but she went ahead to try as she did not know what else to do. True enough, the cats accepted her apology and offer of peace. From then on all the cats and even dogs of Wat Ampawan know how to go to the river bank to defecate, rather than defecating on the temple grounds. Even the new animals that come to the temple were told by the older residents not to misbehave. This proved that animals are intelligent and can appreciate kindness. All beings want to be treated with kindness, and none likes to be scolded, beaten or even killed. If a person cultivates Metta towards all beings, he or she will be respected by even fierce beasts like tigers and crocodiles. What more for cats and dogs?

Therefore my advice to Mr Tan is give up your cruelty towards cats right away. Lay down the butcher's knife and repent while you still can. Otherwise after you breathe your last, nobody can save you when your stand before King Yama in the halls of hell, with all the cats that you killed on one side demanding that for you to be punished for your sins. 苦海无边, 回头是岸! Take heed, before it is too late.

Completed Maha Mondop at Wat Traimit

The Phra Maha Mondop building at Wat Traimit in Yaowarat, Bangkok has recently been completed. The sacred Gold Buddha Phra Sukhothai Traimit (also known at Phra Maha Suwan Patimakorn) has also been moved into the Mondop. However it is still not open to the public yet.

The building plan of the Mondop. It should be officially open by the end of the year.

The Phra Narai Song Krut and Rahu statue outside of the old Vihara housing the Gold Buddha.

Wat Hualampong in Bangkok

Wat Hualampong is the temple near to Hualampong train station. It is very beautiful due to the large number of Thai Chinese donors who contributed to its building. Above we see the Ubosot.

A LP Tuad shrine at the side.

The presiding Buddha image.

A video of the murals inside the Ubosot.

The Extravagant Kassa of CEO Yongxin

I read with interest that the Shaolin CEO Yongxin "ordered" an extravagant Yun Jin kassa robe to be made in Nanjing, and it was completed a couple of days ago. This luxurious work of art costs 160,000 RMB. Just the gold thread used alone costs 50,000. The jade and gold buckle cost another 30,000 perhaps. The rest is the high quality silk as well as the intricate embroidery of various auspicious symbols on the kassa itself. Yun Jin artisans had been famous for making Imperial robes and prized kassa since the Six Dynasties Era (420-589 CE).


This of course caused an uproar among Chinese netziens, but when queried Yongxin replied that he did not order the Kassa, but it was an offering made by Yun Jin to him. This precious kassa was not for his own use, but was to be displayed in the soon to be built Shaolin museum for research purposes. Reporters checked with Yun Jin and they also said the same thing.


So, what's the point of it all? The Diamond Sutra says, "Even if a person were to fill the whole universe with the 7 precious gems and use them for charity, it still could not compare to another person who could understand 1 gatha from this Sutra and explain it to others." The donor(s) is wrong to donate such a useless gift to a monk and the receiver is also wrong to receive it as this would only invite criticism from the lay people.


Regarding accepting this kind of offerings there is a Zen koan to illustrate the correct mindset a monastic should have. In the past after Dongshan's disciple Yunju had an initial awakening, he built a kuti in Sanfeng mountain to continue his cultivation. For days he did not go back to the temple to have his meal. So Dongshan sent for him and asked,
"Why have you not come to have your meal recently?"
Yunju replied, "When I'm meditating in my kuti, a Deva comes to offer me food everyday."
Dongshan was not too pleased and said, "I thought you were a very sharp student! Why do you harbour such views and conduct? Come to my chamber tonight, I want to talk to you."
So that night Yunju went to Dongshan's chamber to see him. Dongshan shouted,
"Yunju!"
"Here I am."
"Not to think of good, not to think of evil; what does this verse (from the Platform Sutra) mean?"
Yunju did not say anything, but when he went back to his kuti, his mind became very still and he entered into a deep state of cessation. From then on the Deva could no longer see him and thus after 3 days did not appear any more.

If one is devoted in seeking the Dharma, one should not even be moved by sublime offerings from the Devas; what more for mundane offerings from Men? This is the true meaning of renunciation and all monastics should do well to ponder this teaching whenever anybody makes special offerings to them.

LP Tah Wat Paniangdaek

Wat Paniangdaek in Nakhon Pathom is the famous temple of LP Tah (seen above), the greatest old-time guru monk of the province. He passed away 87 yrs ago in 2465 BE (1922 CE) and was also the first master of LP Tae Wat Sam Ngam (2434-2524 BE), the creator of the original Kumanthongs. LP Tah was the one who imparted to LP Tae all his knowledge of the Dhamma as well as meditation.

Arriving at the temple, located not far from the highway.

The outer shrine with a standing image of LP Tah as well as various Buddha statues.

The Katha to pray for LP Tah's help.

The LP Tah Vihara.

The gold foil covered statue of LP Tah.

Behind LP Tah is the big Buddha image of "Maha Mongkon Nimit".

Another glass shrine with the wax statue of LP Tah inside. In front is a standing Kumanthong statue like those of Wat Sam Ngam. Incidentally, Wat Paniangdaek does not make KMTs.

A display cabinet with the earliest amulets of LP Tah, consecrated by him in 2450 and 2455 BE.

The later batches of amulets consecrated in 2482 and 2502 BE.

An old 5" bucha of LP Tah, as well as Takruts and Pidtas consecrated by him.

The temple shop.

An altar with various Lersi and Deity Masks.

A video I took of the temple's courtyard. Interestingly there are many animal sculptures here, like a zoo.
One of the 2 elephant guardians of the temple, Plai Chaiyo.

The Ubosot.

The Vihara of LP Prayong, another disciple of LP Tah.
The 5" Phra Sangkachai bucha I obtained from the temple.

The Amazing Makkaliporn of Wat Prangmuni

Wat Prangmuni in Singburi is just opposite the great Phra Prom Shrine in Promburi district. Above we can see the temple gate, which says "Wat Phra Prangmuni". Locals call is Wat Phra Prang or Wat Prangmuni. This temple is famous for 2 things - 1. its Khmer style Chedi that is known as "Prang" in Thailand, and 2. the Makkaliporn. The Makkaliporn kept in this temple originally belonged to my master LP Jaran of Wat Ampawan. But because it was drawing too much attention, disturbing the peace of the Vipassana practitioners in Wat Ampawan, in the 1980s LP decided to have them kept in Wat Prangmuni instead. And this temple has become a strong tourist attraction ever since. However few foreign tourists will know this temple; it is the local tourists that are ever so fascinated by these out-of-this-world "creatures", because only locals know the legend behind them.
A golden chedi near the entrance. Many readers have expressed great interest in the Makkaliporn since I wrote the article "The Origins of Makkaliporn" last year, so I shall write more on the details in this follow-up article. Now, to understand more about them, again we need to go back to the Vessantara Jataka. As I wrote before, during the era of Vipassi Buddha in the previous kappa (aeon), the Lady Phussati was granted her wish to become the mother of a future Buddha by the Buddha Vipassi. She was then reborn as the consort of Lord Indra in Tavatimsa heaven. Before she passed away from that heaven, she was again granted 10 blessings by Indra, which are namely:

1) to be born into the khattiya (warrior) caste
2) to be endowed with eyes as beautiful and brilliant as a gazelle's
3) to continue to have the same name on earth as in heaven
4) to have an illustrious son with easy delivery
5) to remain slender even with a child in her womb
6) to have breasts firm and shapely,
with skin as fair as lotus buds even after becoming a mother
7) to always remain youthful and will not grow old
8) to have a delicate and soft complexion
9) to be allowed to release all prisoners from jails
10) to be able to get what she wishes for on earth
The famous golden Prang chedi of the temple. It is around 9-storeys tall. So Lady Phussati was reborn on earth with all those blessings, no less a goddess among women. What do these blessings got to do with the Makkaliporn? A lot - because later when Indra used his psychic powers to create the hermitage for Prince Vessantara along with the 16 Makkaliporn trees in the Himavana Forest, Phussati was the physical "model" from which he fashioned the beautiful Makkaliporn fruit fairies. Like Phussati the Makkaliporn have beautiful, brilliant eyes, slender figures, firm and shapely breasts and soft, delicate complexions. They are born as 16-yr old girls and will die as 16-yr old girls after 7 days, after which they will whither and shrink away. Many people are curious as to where this Himavana Forest is. According to Yogis who have been there, it lies 16 Yojanas or 256km away from the Himalayas. However, only Yogis who have attained the ability of teleportation through the 4th Jhana are able to enter the forest. It is actually a separate dimension by itself, inaccessible to ordinary human beings. Most of us live in a 3 dimensional world our whole lives, unaware of the 4th, 5th, 6th.. dimensions that exist in parallel to our reality. If there are people who could actually penetrate into those other dimensions, chances are they would be dismissed as crazy.
The LP Ban Laem shrine in front of the Prang chedi. LP Jaran did not believe in the existence of the Makkaliporn too, until he saw it with his own eyes in Sigiriya Hill, Sri Lanka in the year 1972. In the cave of the black-robed Sinhalese monk, LP saw it for the first time. The Makaliporn emitted a strong fragrance like perfume. It was the size of a 16-yr old human girl, very beautiful, and completely naked. It had almost connecting eyebrows, large bluish eyes with golden pupils. The eyebrows started from the top of the nose and curved outwards like a crescent moon (similar to a Sukhothai Buddha Image), and the eyes were as big as eggs. It also had a protruding nose. Its complexion was as smooth as a "mak pang" or marian plum; and it had long golden hair like a Westerner. On top of its head there was a stem like that of a mangosteen, evidence that it was actually a fruit. The neck had 3 ring-lines and it did not have any collar bones. In fact it did not have any obvious bone structure at all. When squeezed the Makkaliporn's body felt like a balloon. The hands and fingers were long and slender, with long finger nails, slightly different from a human. The feet were just as pretty as the hands, and equally smooth. There were no signs of any sinews at all. But what was amazing was that even though it had no bones, it had physical organs like the heart and the lungs inside its body just like an ordinary human being.

The Jow Mae Kery Thong shrine. She is a female deity in these parts. Given the goddess like attractiveness and beauty of the Makkaliporn, it is not hard to imagine how those lustful Yogis and Gandhabhas in the forest would go crazy over them. What was even more amazing that although Makaliporn are non-sentient beings created by psychic power, like an illusionary man created by a illusionist, they seemed to have minds of their own. They are "programed" to sing and dance to attract attention, and even after they fall from the tree and die, they still continue to possess that ability.

The golden Ubosot of Wat Prangmuni. Having seen and learned about the Makkaliporn in the cave, LP Jaran made a wish to meet the Makkaliporn again when he returned to Thailand. And in accordance with his wish, he came into possession of 2 of them years later, given to him by the son of a temple abbot in Lopburi province. At that time they were still large, but gradually they shrank and wither away, no longer looking like humans. Now they looked like palm-sized fairies.

Inside the Ubosot. Thousands of people have seen the Makkaliporn ever since they were at Wat Ampawan and thousands more when they were moved to Wat Prangmuni. People continued to be fascinated by them, whether they believed in them or not.

Inside the Kuti of the Abbot, who was a disciple of LP Jaran as well. He kindly allowed me to take a close look at the Makkaliporn on display inside his kuti.

The glass cabinet housing the 2 Makaliporn aka Nareepon in Thailand. Notice how it was well decorated with flowers and even offerings of cosmetics!

A closer shot of the 2 "girls" and their nice little bed. LP Jaran mentioned a couple of miraculous stories regarding these Makkaliporn. When they were in LP's possession many people talked about them. Once, there was a female lay follower of LP, Mrs Sopa, who invited LP to her house for a merit making ceremony. She was the wife of a district chief officer in Chantaburi province who learned meditation at Wat Ampawan. However her house was located near the border of Chantaburi and Rayong province, hundreds of kilometers away from Wat Ampawan in Singburi.

A painting of the Makkaliporn tree. We can see the Gandhabhas and Lersi Yogis snatching and fighting over the Makkaliporn on the tree. Now, Mrs Sopa and her doctor friends knew the story of the Makkaliporn well and they requested LP to bring them along for the invitation. They wanted to examine the Makkaliporn as they had not met LP even when they visited Wat Ampawan. LP was undecided on whether to accede to their request or not.

A closer look at one of the Lersi Yogis flying up onto the tree and gleefully grabbing the Makkaliporn. There was one obvious inaccuracy in this painting - the Makkaliporn had black hair. But in actual fact they had golden blonde hair. Eventually LP decided to bring the Makkaliporn along. He put them on a pedestal plate, wrapped it with white cloth and put it in the car beside him.

Hoax photos of fake Makkaliporn which can be seen in the Kuti. So LP set off from Wat Ampawan at 7am in the morning. The moment he boarded the car, he fell asleep. The miracle happened then - the car arrived in Rayong province at 8am. It took them merely 1 hr to reach Mrs Sopa's house when it normally should have took more than 4 hrs! The Makkaliporn had miraculously shortened the distance between Singburi and Rayong province, allowing them to arrive much faster than humanly possible.

Closer shot of the fake Makkaliporn. Notice that they are hanging in space. How is it possible for the Makaliporn to manipulate time and space like that? It was just like the way the Buddha used his psychic power to keep the distance between Angulimala and himself always the same, even though Angulimala was running after him and the Buddha merely walked at a slow pace. The great female Vipassana master Dipa Ma was also able to do the same thing when she mastered the various Iddhis through Jhana practice. This, along with flying and teleportation, were forms of Iddhividha or transformation at will.

Another close shot. See how "plastic" it was. Although the Makkaliporn were officially dead, yet they still had such miraculous properties. So LP had to wait many hours at Mrs Sopa's house before it was time for chanting and lunch. This was the 1st miracle.

A photo of the gold jewelries and money that devotees have offered to the Makkaliporn. The 2nd miracle happened when LP was invited by Mr Chan Konsitipa to Wat Si Bunreung in Bangkok. He had learned about the Makkaliporn as well and wanted to organize a merit-making ceremony as well for his birthday. Mr Chan requested LP to bring the Makaliporn with him as his son who came back from America wished to see them. So LP took them along in his kitbag.

Another photo of the backs of the Makkaliporn. Notice that the spine, ribs and pelvis could be clearly seen when they are all whithered up. But when they are in their original glory, the bones cannot be seen at all. When LP arrived at Wat Si Bunreung, there were many Chao Khun (high ranking chief monks) who gathered at the abbot's kuti. However nobody knew about the Makkaliporn except Mr Chan. After a while, a sweet song was heard coming out from LP's kitbag. And the only person who heard it was the abbot Phra Kru Sipariyattikun. So he asked LP whether he had brought a cassette player with him. The abbot found the song very nice and wanted to see the cassette. LP replied he was not the type of monk who would carry a cassette player, but the abbot did not believe him.

The main altar of the 2nd storey Sala, venerating Phra Buddha Nimit of Ayuttaya. LP tried to keep the kitbag to himself even though the abbot was trying to look inside it. Later he needed to go to the toilet and the abbot asked him to leave the bag with him as the toilet was far away. LP forgot about the matter and agreed to it. So when LP went to the toilet, the abbot could not contain his curiousity anymore and opened the bag. The Makkaliporn were exposed and soon a crowd gathered around them. Most people had not seen them before, including the Chao Khun of Wat Po, Wat Pamok and others. The people there then called their folks at home to come down to the temple to see the Makkaliporn, and this lasted until the late evening. Needless to say, there was no chanting ceremony for Mr Chan's birthday on that day since everybody was busy admiring the Makkaliporn.

Under the Phra Buddha Nimit statue was this strange preserved creature in a tank, called Por Chang Noi or Father Little Elephant. This was one of the attractions at Wat Prangmuni. How is it that the Makkaliporn could still sing after being "dead" for so long? Could they really be considered dead when they still had such miraculous abilities? That was the 2nd miracle.

A closer look at the "little elephant", which was actually a piglet with a long mutated snout like an elephant. Notice that the umbillical cord was still attached to its navel. It probably died soon after being born. The Makkaliporn were really too popular and LP had to put them away eventually. Otherwise they would surely distract people from seeking the real Dhamma. They would continue to exist until the current Buddha's teachings vanish from the world, after which they would vanish along with the Vessantara hermitage as well as the Makkaliporn trees in Himavana Forest.

Another angle of the "little elephant". Its ears and nose really looked like an elephant rather than a pig. Could it be an elephant in its previous life? Anybody who have seen the Makkaliporn with his orher own eyes would have to accept that the Vessantara Jataka is a real story and the Himavana Forest and Makaliporn trees do exist. Those who have not seen might not believe and neither do we need to convince them otherwise.

The display cabinets outside the Abbot's kuti. Many goodies inside but they are not for chow. If the reader have the affinity to go to Wat Prangmuni, you can go see for yourself. Many people ask me how they could obtain one of these Makaliporn. My reply is do you have the merit to get them? They are very rare and only highly attained yogis could pick them up from the Himavana Forest. And even if you do get one of the Makaliporn, can you handle the constant attention it attracts? I leave you readers with this to ponder about.

LP Sawai Wat Preedaram

On 21.4.2009 I visited Wat Preedaram for the first time. This is the temple of the late LP Sawai (1921-2000 CE), master of Metta magic. The temple is located very far from the highway, deep in the rural parts of Nakhon Pathom. Above is the LP Sawai Vihara with his statue and undecaying body behind. The temple counter is also in this Vihara.

A closer shot of LP Sawai's body, which is covered with gold foil.

Another angle. On closer look, LP Sawai's flesh and his facial features still appear to be intact.

Outside the Vihara is this big white Buddha statue in the posture of preaching.

A video I took of the White Buddha statue and the surroundings.
The Phra Sivali shrine.

The Ubosot.

The golden Luang Por Ban Laem (Wednesday AM Buddha) statue at the back of the Ubosot.

The Phra Ruang (Monday Buddha) and LP Sawai statues at the front.

Inside the Ubosot. The Sangha was doing their evening chanting at that time.

The elegant crematorium.

The Kuti building of the monks.

Above the LP Sawai Vihara we can see an image of LP riding on a rooster - his zodiac animal. Both LP Sawai and LP Mee passed away in the same year, but Wat Preedaram is obviously in a much better state than Wat Manwichai. After chowing some of LP Sawai's remaining amulets, we proceeded back to Bangkok.

LP Mee Wat Manwichai

On 22.4.2009 I went to visit Wat Manwichai in Ayuttaya. This is the temple of LP Mee, a disciple of LP Jong Wat Natangnok. He was famous for a time, but since he passed away, very few people visit this temple anymore. It is also located quite far from the town, deep in the rural parts of Ayuttaya.

One of the temple entrances. The temple was generally quite run down and had not been renovated for years.

The temple counter. There were some interesting stuff, but unfortunately the Abbot was not around and he was the only person with all the keys. Reminded me of the time I was in Wat Mai Naparam. It's not a good practice for a monks to keep the keys to the shop as it denies visitors a chance to tamboon the temple when the monks went out.

The Sangkachai shrine.

The Ubosot.

The crematorium.

A video of the temple courtyard that I took before leaving.

Managed to chow this LP Mee 5" bucha when I went there again in Jun 2009.

The Legend of LP Krai Wat Lamphaya

LP Krai is actually a fellow disciple of LP Tuad as both learned under the same teacher at Wat Pako, Songkhla. When LP Tuad went to Ayuttaya to further his studies in Buddhism, LP Krai went to Yala to continue his meditation. It is said he attained a very high state when cultivating there. That's when he started to use his psychic powers to help people. LP Krai went to the hilly & forested area of Yala and subdued all the fierce beasts there, especially the tigers and cobras with his psychic power. That's why we see LP Krai sitting on a tiger and 2 cobras. The villagers there were able to live safely without being harmed by any beasts. In memory of the virtues of the master they built a temple to honour him, which is the Wat Lam Phaya of today.
There were a lot of miraculous stories of LP Krai, who became the faith of the villagers as they passed down for centuries. Legend has it that when LP Krai was alive, his hair was able to turn into copper by itself and so if he wanted to shave his hair, a rite must be performed first before others can proceed. On June 5 BE2505 (1962) LP Krai's ashes was invited to be place in Wat Lam Phaya. When digging the burial ground it was found that when the urn was tapped the ashes within will produce a loud metallic sound. Whereas the wood in the vicinity within a radius of 20 metres from the burial ground produced a fragrance as well as miraculous healing properties. It had the efficacy to heal the sickness of the faithful devotees. When the ashes of LP had already been invited and placed inside the temple, LP's images was produced and LP's spirit was invited to reside within the images.When Ajarn Tim Wat Chang Hai saw the images he remarked that it were just like what he saw in his meditation. The amulets of LP Krai were produced in BE2505 (1962) with sedges, containing altogether 3 pims which were small, medium and large.
The first LP Krai amulets of Wat Lam Phaya were created in 2505, and subsequently in 06 & 07. At that time, both Ajarn Tim & Ajarn Nong were invited to Wat Lam Phaya to consecrate the LP Krai amulets. Materials used were the Wan used to make LP Tuad at Wat Changhai in 2505. Various Rians were also made at that time. Because LP Tuad & LP Krai are closely related, AJ Tim had no problems inviting the both of them to come and bless the amulets during the "Puttaphisek" ceremony. The 2506 and 2507 amulets I obtained from Wat Lam Phaya were blessed by AJ Tim as well as many guru monks of Pattani and Yala at that time.

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LP Krai Katha:

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Namo Tassa (3x)

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Chant Buddhaguna, Dhammaguna & Sanghaguna (3x)

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Buddhang Nakak Phayakkang Heum Ham Itinamo Sugato Buddhang Attho. (3x)

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After chanting the above you can pray to LP Krai to help you.

Wat Chedi Hoy in Pathum Thani

On 22.4.2009 I visited Wat Chedi Hoy in Pathum Thani to obtain the Pan amulets as well as meet LP Thong Gleng. When I reached there it was already in the late afternoon. Above is the yet to be completed Khmer-styled Phra Buddha Mongkon Nimit Shrine. The statue was completed when I went there in Jun 2009.

A big billboard advertising the next consecration ceremony on May 8-10.

The under construction Phra Buddha Nimit (same as the one in Wat Na Pramen, Ayuttaya) Vihara, scheduled to be completed this year.

The big Nakprok shrine. Below have the statues of Somdej Toh, Sangkachai and LP Tuad.

The Lersi shrine with some Hindu gods as well.

A video of the Chanting Hall. Look at the many statues of Buddhas, Arahants, Luang Pors, Lersis and other deitites kept in the hall.

The various Magic Batons (Mai Kom Faek) of different sizes available at the counter.

The rows of Pan amulets, both metal and powder material available. They still have quite a lot of stock.

The Pan amulets in plastic packing, which are the same as those in boxes. The price is clearly stated there.

The last set of 4 Pan amulets at the counter. None left in the temple.

One of the three oyster shell chedi in the temple. This one is the smallest.

This is the medium-sized one near the entrance.

A video of the biggest oyster shell chedi at the temple. The 100-yr old plough metal used to make the Pan.

More of the plough metal, which is consecrated by LP Thong Gleng.

LP blessing the stuff I obtained from the temple for me.

Receiving the stuff from him after the blessing is completed.

Some of the Pan amulets I brought back, which were sold out within 3 days.

The small 6.25" long Magic Baton I got, which was also sold. I have the big one for my own personal use.

At the wake of LP Tim Wat Phra Kao

As we all know LP Tim passed away on 22.3.2009 at the age of 96 yrs old. I was at Wat Phra Kao on 22.4.2009 to pay my final respects to this master.

A video of the Sala housing the body of LP Tim Wat Phra Kao, who passed away a month ago in Nonthaburi. Many other devotees have came to pay their final respects to the highly respected LP Tim in Ayuttaya.

Sampogong at Wat Phanancheong

On 22.4.2009 I was at Wat Phanancheong, Ayuttaya to pay homage to Phra Sampogong, the oldest Buddha statue in the ancient city. This is something I always do whenever I'm visit Ayuttaya.

A video of the the newly gold plated Sampogong (Luang Por Toh) at Wat Phanancheong, Ayuttaya. This revered Buddha image looks more magnificent than before!

The Vegetarian Cat

2 days ago there was a report on Dante, which is UK's and perhaps the world's only vegetarian cat. Apparently, Dante ate only vegetables and fruits, refusing to eat traditional cat food like meat, fish and everything else cats usually like. It had been that way since its owner Becky found it as an abandoned kitten. And the miraculous thing was Dante is perfectly healthy living on a vegetarian diet, which is almost impossible for ordinary cats to survive on. This is indeed a case baffling for vets and animal researchers.

Now, what could be the cause of Dante's behaviour? According to Buddhism, there's 2 possible explanations. Dante was probably a Dharma practitioner in its past life who kept the precepts and refrained from eating meat on a life-long basis. However, he or she did not practice meditation and did not have any insight into the true nature of all things. He or she could not separate Rupa (Form) and Nama (Mind), and when the person passed away, his or her mind was still clouded by Moha (ignorance). Moha conditions rebirth into the animal realm, and the next thing we know, his or her consciousness ended up in a mother cat's womb. However, due to its moral behavior in its previous life, it did not forget its dietary habit as a human and was also able to find a good owner. So even as an animal, past merit ensures that it did not have to suffer starvation, heat, cold or being devoured by other animals. Merit is the basis of happiness for all sentient beings as they wander endlessly through the wheel of samsara. Yet merit without wisdom and insight is ultimately Dukkha (unsatisfactory), for no matter how great it is, it will still be exhausted one day. That is why Master Yongjia said in his Song of Enlightenment:

"To dwell on form when giving & being rewarded with a heavenly rebirth, is like looking up and shooting an arrow towards the sky;

When its force it exhausted the arrow falls back onto the earth,
which is to say future lives will not be in accordance to one's wishes.

How then can it be compared to the gate of the unconditioned,
with a single leap one enters straight into the ground of the Tathagatas?"

The other possible explanation is that this cat is a Bodhisattva who purposely took birth into the animal realm to teach us the Dharma. Even though Dante is a cat and cannot speak, yet it is using its body to tell us that even as a common animal, it is possible to live life without harming other animals. So how much more so for humans, who can speak and have the intelligence to differentiate right and wrong? If Dante is really a Bodhisattva cat, then we must clasp our palms and show reverence to it, sadhu.

True Modern Karma Stories - Story 04

7. Wastage of natural resources is a great sin

A certain female reporter from a newspaper agency has heard Venerable Miaofa preaching the Dharma to devotees coming to seek treatment for their ailments and explaining their causes on many occasions. One day she asked the Master: she had gastric problems for years, and they did not seem to improve with treatment. Is it due to some misdeed she did in her previous lives?

The Master asked her, “Is it true that you hate eating bun skin, peeling and throwing them away every time you eat buns?”

The female reporter replied with surprise, “Oh Master, that’s completely true. I hate eating bun skin since young. Is that considered sinful?”

The Master smiled and said, “All those bun skin you threw away ended up in your gut. With time they became fermented, so how could it not cause pain? Know that the wastage of natural resources is a great sin. Grain and vegetables exist in this world to nourish human beings, but you wasted them because of your own dislikes. You must be aware that in the world today there are still many people who suffer from hunger daily, even starving to death. You should be ashamed of yourself. Furthermore, in many countries there are still people who survive on food scavenged from trash, and developed countries are no exception. Those people end up in that situation because they have wasted edible food in their previous lives. What you throw away in the past life, you have to pick them up to eat in the present life. So take heed!”

The female reporter asked in shame, “So what should I do, Master?”

“Repent in your heart, and from now on do not waste any more food. In this way your gastric problems will slowly be cured.”

The female reporter asked again, “Should I also perform the Precious Repentance of Emperor Liang?”

“Very well.” The Master smiled in satisfaction.

The Fountain-head of Chan - Nanhua Si (南华寺)

Last October (2008) I visited Nanhua Si in Shaoguan, Guangdong with my wife. This is the famous temple where the 6th Patriarch Huineng spent most of his life, preaching the Doctrine of the Correct Dharma Eye. It is also the final resting place of his undecaying body, which sits in eternal samadhi for devotees to venerate until the end of the kalpa. Above we see the Caoxi Gate, which is the main entrance of the temple.

A big map showing the layout of the temple. Nanhua Si was first built in 502 CE during the Southern Liang dynasty by Indian Tripitaka Master Prajnabhaisajya (Zhiyao). He prophesied that 160 yrs later there would be a great Bodhisattva who would come and occupy this temple and benefit countless sentient beings. True enough in the year 667 CE of the Tang dynasty, Huineng came to Nanhua Si and became the abbot here. That was the beginning of the mass propagation of the Chan school in China. Today there is a Vihara in the temple to commemorate this master.

General Hum guarding the entrance.

General Ha opposite.

The Pavilion of the 5 Fragrances, which symbolizes Morality, Concentration, Wisdom, Liberation and the Insight that leads to Liberation according to Huineng's teachings.

The Baolin Gate. Nanhua Si was originally known as Baolin Si. It was renamed Nanhua by the first Emperor of the Song dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin in 968 CE.

The Golden Bowl that stands in front the Hall of Heavenly Kings.

Laughing Maitreya Buddha greets all visitors to the temple.

Kings Virupakkha and Vessavana.

Kings Dhatarattha and Virulhaka.

Outside the Grand Hall.

The gold-plated Buddhas of the 3 Worlds, Amitabha, Shakyamuni and Bhaisajyaguru.

The Hall of Scriptures.

This is the Lingzhao Pagoda which used to house Huineng's undecaying body.

The base of the Pagoda.

The Patriarch Hall, where Huineng's undecaying body is located.

A quick shot of the 1,296 yr old undecaying body; no photography was allowed inside the Vihara. The body is coated with dark brown sandalwood paste for better protection from the elements. But it was absolutely amazing that the facial features and even slight smile on his face was still so clear after nearly 13 centuries. Throughout history, the undecaying body was only damaged twice - both times in the last century. The first time was by Japanese soldiers who occupied the temple during WW2. Some of these audacious men wanted to know whether the body was real, so they cut open the back of the body to see whether there was anything inside. They were shocked to find Huinengs organs still intact inside his body! Immediately they quickly prostrated towards him, asked for forgiveness and left. So the hole had to be sewn up and repaired. The second time was during the cultural revolution, where fanatical Red Guards again cut open the body to see whether it was real. Those ignorant fools were not convinced and even paraded Huineng's body along with the undecaying bodies of Master Hanshan and Master Dantian in the streets to denounce them as fakes. They were going to destroy the bodies, but luckily, thanks to the timely and clever intervention of Mr Lin Dezhong, they were returned to Nanhua Si so that "the whole world could see the fake bodies". It was only because of this ruse of Mr Lin that we are still able to see and venerate the undecaying bodies today.

The sanctioned photos of the 3 bodies. On Huineng's left and right sits Master Hanshan and Master Dantian. Master Hanshan was a great Chan Master of the Ming dynasty, but not much is known about Master Dantian, or why he deserves a place beside the Patriarch.

The Fuhu (Subduing Tiger) Pavilion.

The Gate with the words Tianxia Baolin inscribed above. It means "Precious Forest Under Heaven".

The Zhuoxi Fountain. This is the original mystical fountain where Huineng stuck his ritual staff into the earth, and lo and behold, a fountain started to gush out from underneath. The reason for creating this fountain was for him to wash the Buddha's robe passed down through the ages. The bas relief behind the sacred fountain depicts this story from the Platform Sutra. This is the bigger fountain for people to wash their hands and face.

And this is the smaller fountain at the side for people to drink from. I drank some of the holy water and it was totally refreshing indeed.

This is Master Xuyun Memorial Hall. Master Xuyun was perhaps the most influential Chan Master of China in the last century. In 1934 Master Xuyun came to rebuild Nanhua Si as it had become very run down in the chaos and turmoil that ensued since the fall of the Qing dynasty. This hall was built to commemorate his great contribution to the temple.

A live-sized statue of Master Xuyun on the main altar.

The Stupa that houses Master Xuyun's relics.

The Wujin Nunnery next to Nanhua Si. This Nunnery was started by Huineng's first female disciple, Wujin Zang, who questioned him on the meaning of the Nirvana Sutra. Huineng replied he could not read and asked her to recite the verses she could not understand out loud for him. Wujin Zang asked how he could understand the meaning when he did not even know the words. That was where Huineng gave the famous parable of the finger pointing to the moon. He said to see the moon, it was not always necessary to rely on the finger, and that "the subtle meaning of the Buddhas had nothing to do with words". Wujin Zang was deeply impressed by Huineng's wisdom and followed him ever since. Later when he came to Nanhua Si, Wujin Zang also came and established a Nunnery here so that she could continue to learn from him.

The Main Hall of the Nunnery. A special feature of this Nunnery was the use of Burmese white jade for all the holy buchas. On the main altar is this Burmese style Buddha as well as the images of Ven Maha Kassapa and Ven Ananda (the 1st and 2nd Indian Patriarchs). Bodhidharma was the 28th Indian Patriarch.

The 18 Arahat statues at the left and right side of the hall were also carved out of white jade.

The opposite side.

Inside the Memorial Hall of Master Weiyin, the previous abbot of Nanhua Si. His statue is carved out of marble.

The Stupa of Master Weiyin.

The lotus pond and the corridor that leads to the Nanhua Si Buddhist University.

The temple shop. Actually there are a few in the temple (sign of commercialization) but this was the main one.

A parting shot before we left.

The 5" gold-plated bucha of Huineng that I obtained from the temple. It is now one of the "trinity" of Huineng buchas that sits on my altar.