LP Hock of Wat Thakam

LP Hock of Wat Thakam in Songkhla province was most famous for his 108 criminals' ash Phra Leela amulets created in 2506-2509 (1963-1966). It was one of the most special batch of Leela amulets in Thailand due to its content, and the effectiveness of this Leela amulet is still remembered by all collectors up to this day. The first batch had no inscriptions behind whereas the second batch had some Akaras inscribed behind. LP Hock passed away soon after making the second batch.
The temple gate of Wat Thakam. However Wat Thakam today is pretty much deserted save for a couple of young monks. There are also no amulets left in the temple.
The altar in the main Sala.
Phra Ruang statue.
Skeletal Buddha shrine under the Bodhi Tree.
Statues of 2 Jow Ngors carrying the temple bell.
The LP Hock shrine.
Walking around in the empty courtyard.
Statue of LP Hock in the shrine.

Mother & Son Double Suicide Case

The Dhammapada says:

"Four misfortunes befall a heedless man who commits adultery;
acquisition of demerit, disturbed sleep,
thirdly blame, and fourthly a state of woe."

Currently there is a very hot news report in the local Chinese papers Shinmin and Wanbao regarding the double suicide case of Ms Chen Shishi and her son. In a bid to foil her ex-husband's attempts to get custody of their son, and also out of rage and frustration, Ms Chen drowned herself and her son together in Bedok Reservoir. The marriage of Ms Chen and her husband were fraught with many problems from the start. Eventually they had a bitter divorce when the husband Chen Yanxing had an affair outside. But Mr Chen still wanted to get back his son despite their tense relationship, so after many fights, it led to the tragedy of a double suicide.
Family portrait of the Chens during happier times. Both mother and son wore red when they committed suicide, and they died with their eyes wide open and almost popping out. So much so that their eyes could not be closed even after they were embalmed for the funeral wake. According to Chinese beliefs, this signified that they died with much anger and hate in their minds. LP Jaran once said in his Law of Karma books that those who died with strong clinging in the minds became hungry ghosts 饿鬼 and those who died with anger became demons 恶鬼. Such ghosts are very difficult to deliver or 超度 due to the strong hatred 怨气 consuming their entire consciousness. They will not let go or give up until they take revenge on the party who aggrieved them. A good example was the ghost Mae Nak, portrayed in many Thai horror movies. No exorcist could subdue her and only someone as highly attained as Somdej Phra Puttajarn Toh could pacify and deliver her from that demonic state.
The ex-husband still defiant yesterday, when questioned by reporters. He denied being responsible for the suicide of his ex-wife and son. However I see dark Chi clouding his eyes and forehead and know that he is going to be in a lot of trouble soon. Needless to say the vengeful spirits of the mother and son will not let him off so easily.
Chen Yanxing's attitude softened later, after he saw the gruesome corpse photos of the mother and son, said to be rotting yet still with eyes wide open. So he secretly went to the funeral wake early this morning to "apologise" to both of them and gave many child offerings to the casket of his son (none for the wife though). He had to go when all of the relatives were still asleep as he was afraid of being beaten up. Unfortunately such a superficial gesture won't appease the angry spirits who will haunt him for a very long time. It also won't save him from the calamity that will befall him soon. The only way for him to lighten his karma is for a highly attained monk to be the peacemaker and preach to the angry spirits so that they may give up on seeking revenge (unlikely in Singapore); or he must ordain to become a monk and deliver them himself. If he does not repent his sins, nothing can save him from the fruits of his evil karma.

Wat Chum Saeng in Rayong

Wat Chum Saeng in Rayong province is the temple of Ajarn Dek, a senior disciple of LP Sakorn Wat Nong Grab. Relatively small, it recently came out with a batch of Khun Paen amulets to raise funds for the temple, with the help of LP Sakorn. Above we see the Ubosot.
The main Sala with the bell and drum towers.
Big billboard advertising this "Pratanpon" batch of Khun Paen Prai Kuman and Pidta.
Staircase leading to the side Sala and temple shop.
When I was there the higher end KPs of this batch were all gone. There were only lower end ones like the above double-sided Yant KP.

Kids possessed after exploring haunted school

A couple of days ago there was a news report in Hong Kong regarding a bunch of kids who went to explore an old abandoned school in Yuen Long district, rumoured to be haunted. During the trek, some of the girls claimed they heard footsteps and saw 2 female ghosts, 1 red and 1 white. All of them ran out in panic and fled all the way to the Ping San train station. 3 of the girls fainted and when 1 of them woke up shortly after, she acted in a "possessed manner", strangling herself and biting a boy who tried to help her. The girls were later sent to the hospital.

The Mahayana Scripture "法苑珠林" says:
"When we talk about ghostly beings, know that they are those who are prone to evil and commit all sorts of unwholesome deeds in secret. They dwell in uninhabited places like rocks, caves, cliffs, pits, wilderness and forests."

Uninhabited places like abandoned buildings are a magnet for invisible lower-realm beings, because they are places closest to the frequency of the ghosts. They are dirty, dark, damp and lifeless, conditions most suitable for beings with very coarse minds. When these ghosts reside in such places, they are bound by their own negative karma and will remain in their own suffering till their ghostly lifespan runs out. Being deeply attached with strong craving, they certainly don't like to be intruded on, especially by humans. These HK kids like to look for adventure in haunted buildings, but what they find is just trouble too much for them to handle. Intruding into such places without any purpose or protection is certainly a foolish hobby. The girls are lucky that they only fainted with fright; they could very well become mad in serious cases of possession. These girls who bumped into ghosts have been tainted with much negative Chi in them and probably need to be cleansed with holy water for their own good.

When Buddhist monks past by those uninhabited places in their tudong travels, or have to reside in them temporarily, the custom is to first radiate loving kindness to the invisible beings there, before reciting a protective katha like the Atanatiya Paritta, Itipiso or Chinabanchon. This is out of respect for the ghosts or deities staying there before them. As such, these beings usually just leave them in peace. If they are rude and heedless, won't they also not end up like these foolish kids?

Ajarn Sawai of Wat Phaksak

Ajarn Sawai is the senior disciple of LP Dit and the current abbot of Wat Phaksak in Pattalung province. LP Dit is one of the great guru monks of Pattalung along with Ajarn Kong and Ajarn Nam around 50 years ago. Above we see the altar inside AJ Sawai's kuti.
Photo shot of AJ Sawai, already in his 80s.
Portrait of LP Dit with AJ Kong and AJ Nam during the consecration ceremony at Wat Phaksak. AJ Sawai is in the background.
Having a shot taken with AJ.
Poster of the first batch of Sangkachai roops by LP Dit, co-chanted with AJ Kong and AJ Nam in 2483 (1940). I managed to chow 1 piece of this great amulet.
Article on the 2nd batch of SKC roops consecrated in 2504 (1961). It was also the final batch by LP Dit as he passed away in 2507 (1964).
And this is the poster of the Pidta roops chanted by AJ Sawai with AJ Kong and AJ Nam in 2516 (1973). AJ Kong and AJ Nam passed away soon after that.
Phra SKC roop 2504.
Phra Pidta roops 2516.

Sex Exorcism of Fake Fengshui master

Today there is a news report regarding an unemployed middle-aged man Luan Yujian in Hong Kong, who pretended to be a Fengshui master and sexually abused the teenage sister of his girlfriend in the pretext of exorcising the "ghosts" haunting her body. This took place over a period of 6 yrs, and Luan used many different threats and excuses to make the girl give in to his sexual demands, which includes oral sex to shut out evil spirits and anal sex to purge black magic etc.

Interestingly, this is but one of the string of religious conmen sex abuse cases that happens in HK every once in a while. HK may be a cosmopolitan Asian city, but much of the populace are generally still quite superstitious as well as ignorant when it comes to what is orthodox Fengshui, Taoism and Buddhism practices. It is this ignorance and superstition that give charlatans like Luan a chance to pretend to be some sort of master or priest to cheat people. And when those victims happen to be young women, they are almost sure to be sexually abused by these conmen. Of course, such cases happen in other Asian cities as well, but they are not as widely reported as those in HK and Taiwan.

When you talk about Fengshui, there is no part of the art that involves exorcising evil spirits. As for Taoism, the Maoshan school has many methods suitable for that purpose, as simple as drawing a 5-thunder talisman, burning it in a bowl of water and giving it to the victim to drink. Of course whether it works or not depends on the power of the practitioner. Buddhism also uses Mantras or Parittas to be chanted over a bowl of water to achieve the same purpose. Sacred instruments like Mit Mor, Mai Kru or even Takrut can be used in the same way. But certainly when anybody say that they need to use sex to exorcise demons you can be sure they are just lustful criminals, who know nothing of proper Wicha. It is quite ironic that modern people are all so smart in technology and worldly ways, yet totally ignorant when it comes to spiritual culture and traditions. If they are not educated accordingly, it won't be possible to reduce the number of such crimes happening.

Wat Suwankiri in Songkhla

Wat Suwankiri in Songkhla province is the temple where 108 top guru monks from Southern Thailand gathered in 2505 to create the first Egg Pim LP Tuad amulets. At that time PT Kling was the abbot. Above we see the temple signboard.
Old Chedi built on a boulder.
Chinese style Pagoda.
Beside the Sema stone.
Phra Ruang statue in front of the Ubosot.
Side view of the Ubosot.
White bell tower.
View of the road leading to the temple.
Main altar in the Sala hall.
AJ Mongkon, the current abbot of Wat Suwankiri.
Having a shot taken with him.
The poster showing PT Klai, LP Chuang and PT Nuan here at Wat Suwankiri in 2505.
Phra Buddha Siwichai amulets consecrated at that time.
The famous Egg Pim LP Tuad amulets chowed from the temple.
They were also featured in the encyclopedia of early LP Tuad amulets.
Description of the guru monks involved, the diffferent pims and materials used.

LP Anan of Wat Bang Pi Noi

Wat Bang Pi Noi in Samut Prakan is the temple of LP Anan, famous for the efficacy his Phaya Wanon (Monkey deity, one of Hanuman's generals) amulets and images. He is well promoted by Malaysian tabloids like New Life Post. Above we see the temple gate.
The main Sala.
The side Salas.
The Ubosot.
The main Vihara with various LP statues inside.
The big Phaya Wanon statue outside the Vihara. Normally he is depicted as holding a baton. Interestingly they offer him bananas and red fanta drinks.
LP Anan reblessing the amulets I chowed.
Having a shot taken with LP while he engraves on my snake-bone bracelet.
The Phaya Wanon tree made of different kinds of wood.
Another beautiful Wanon tree.
The altar in LP's kuti.
New amulets and images to be blessed. Behind we see wax statues of LP's gurus.
2 of the Wanon roops that I chowed.