Last week there was a report on the new airport in Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi being seriously haunted. Since they started to build this airport 4 decades ago, the construction had been delayed time & time again by lack of funds or corruption scandals. There were also reports of hauntings & unexplained accidents which further undermined the urgency to get this airport up & going. Some airport workers also said that the 6 km stretch of road on the east side of the airport was very accident prone because drivers saw ghosts wandering on the road at night.So on 23rd Sep 2006, 5 days before the official opening, the airport authorities invited 99 monks from 3 famous temples in Bangkok to perform a chanting ceremony in 8 directions of the airport to pacify the spirits & pray for a smooth operation.
A strange event happened during the chanting. A 22 yr old worker named Khun Chai who was present at the ceremony started to tremble uncontrollably, after which he assumed a humped back form & spoke in an old man's voice. The spirit identified himself as "Poo Ming" (Poo means grandfather), who is the guardian deity of the land on which they built this airport. Poo Ming complained that all their construction work destroyed his home & they have ignored his existence for too long. He threatened to cause trouble for the authorities if they do not build a shrine for him to reside in. Khun Chai collapsed after delivering this message for Poo Ming.
Although the airport authorities find it unbelievable, but they still acceded to Poo Ming's request and built a shrine near the Novotel airport hotel for him. Besides the shrine to Poo Ming, they also set up & consecrated 1 Buddha image (called Phra Pathingma Suvarnabhumi Sirichok) & 1 Phra Prom (4-faced Maha Brahma) image inside the Thai Airways office building for further protection & good luck.
But did everything go smoothly on the opening day (28th Oct)? Fortunately for them, other than a luggage belt cock-up, the airport operated without any major problems.
Real life is sometimes stranger than fiction. The moral of this story is to respect the land we live on, & also not to dismiss things we cannot see with our naked eye. Thus there is such a verse in the Atanatiya Paritta given by the 4 Heavenly Kings (recited for protection against evil spirits):"Sada sukhena rakkhantu,
Buddha santikara tuvang;
tehi tavang rakkhito santo,
mutto sabba bahayehi ca."
It means, "May the Buddhas who are peacemakers protect you always, so that you may be happy; being protected by them, may you be free from all dangers."
The key word here is "santikara" or peacemaker. Make peace with the earth we live on, make peace with the air that we breathe & the water which sustain our lives. Make peace with humans, animals, devas, spirits & all sentient beings. In this way you will find happiness & be protected from all dangers always.
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