Sunday, July 19, 2009

LP Thammarangsi of Wat Khao Panom Din

The late LP Thammarangsi is another very famous master in Surin famous for his Metta magic. He specialized in making lockets and takruts. But before we went to Wat Khao Panom Din, we went to visit LP Jai, who was LP Thammarangsi's senior disciple. The reason was he was the only one who kept LP Thammarangsi's old amulets - there were none left at the temple. Above we see LP Jai's small kuti in the middle of a padi field in Ban Pong village. There were many flies and ants around, and LP is trying to gather funds to build a temple here for the benefit of the villagers.
After chowing amulets and receiving a long blessing from LP Jai, we took a photo with him. I could feel LP is a very sincere and compassionate monk.
Arriving at Wat Phra Puttabat or Wat Khao Panom Din. It was some distance away from Ban Pong village.
The long sheltered walkway leading to the temple.
A Phra Ruang statue outside still under construction.
The main altar inside the LP Thammarangsi Vihara.
Paying respect to LP Thammarangsi's undecaying body, which was inside a glass room.
LP Thammarangsi's portrait.
His Metta katha:
Namo Tassa (3x)
Na Metta Mo Metta Put Metta Tha Metta Ya Metta
Sappechana Pahuchana Metta Ehi Ehi Mak Mak. (5x)
A Burmese Jade Buddha on another side of the Vihara.
The Sala with various murals.
The Shrine Room with the Buddha's Footprint (Phra Puttabat).
The bell and drum tower.
The Ubosot.
The beautiful marble Chedi.
The Buddha statues inside the Ubosot.
LP Thammarangsi's old Khun Paen amulet.
His famous 3.6" big takrut.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

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.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

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.