San Jao Por Lak Meung of Suphanburi

San Jao Por Lak Meung is the largest Chinese temple in Suphanburi province, comparable to the Nezha temple in Chonburi. It has many rich supporters and devotees who make it into some sort of a theme park cum temple. Above we see the temple gate with twin dragons above.
Large fountain in the courtyard, obviously for Fengshui purposes.
The joss paper furnace built into a pagoda shape.
The beautiful 7-storey Pagoda.
Statue of Guan Gong.
Giant Dragon statue which holds a Chinese cultural museum below.
The 9-dragon Mural behind the main shrine.
Inside the main shrine is the twin stone tablet of Jao Por Lak Meung, which is interestingly worshipped as a stone god 石本头公 by the Chinese.
Incense urns outside the shrine.
The side gate.
Full view of the Giant Dragon spewing water statue from the carpark.
Jao Por Lak Meung bucha made from roof tile material. Actually they resemble Tao Wessuwan and Phra Narai, Devas usually depicted as guarding the Ubosot doors in Thai temples.

Prison of Lust - Yishun murders

The Dhammapada says:

"Such a man acquires demerit
and an unhappy rebirth in the future.
Brief is the pleasure of the frightened man and woman,
and the king imposes heavy punishment.
Hence, let no man consort with another's wife."

Recently in the news is the case of the Yishun murders where a mother and daughter were knifed 98 times (Source). The attack happened after 45-year-old Wang Zhi Jian from China quarrelled with his lover Zhang Meng and attacked her while she was sleeping. He also attacked her daughter when she was awakened by her mother's cries. Later, he went into another room and attacked another mother-and-daughter pair who was staying in the same flat at Block 349, Yishun Street 11. In her bid to escape, one of the women, Yang Jie, ran to the kitchen and climbed out the window while holding on to the ledge. Wang then hacked at her fingers. Unable to hold on, she fell to her death. Her daughter was injured. The suspect is believed to have killed the three victims within 1 hr 49 mins.
It was also revealed that the woman had an affair with the suspect when they first met in China. Wang had only been in Singapore for 10 days before he attacked the women. He was here on a 30-day social visit pass. He had previously met with Zhang Meng in Singapore the same year in July and August, hoping that she could introduce him to a job. Zhang and Wang had been engaging in adultery on a regular basis in China and had to run away when Zhang's husband discovered their misconduct. They continued living together immorally in Singapore with Zhang's daughter in close proximity. So it was inevitable that their unwholesome lifestyle ended quickly in a violent tragedy.
The Prison of Lust traps those in the karma of "Kamesu Michacara", leading them to misfortune and punishment in this life and having to climb the tree of spikes in the next. Zhang's husband, a rich police officer in China, is ashamed of the wife's infidelity and refused to have anything to do with what happened here. They have not divorced yet. Innocent victims of the violence include Zhang's daughter and the other pair of mother and daughter sharing the flat. Although tragic, the fact that they were all there together to be killed indicates that they were linked by the same negative karma from past existences. The only surviving girl of the murders was the one that stood by and watched. Unfortunately the cycle has come full circle and will end with Wang being hanged for his crimes. Thus we know that the prison of lust traps sentient beings not only in this life but in many cases it spans across several existences. But no matter in which existence, it drives them to woe and suffering all the same, as long as they do not awaken to their wrong doing. Sad indeed are these beings, never hearing the Dhamma, creating negative karma and suffering for it again and again, yet never learning from their mistakes from life to life. It is hard to see when will they ever be free from the wheel of Samsara.

LP Purachet of Wat Suwannaki

Wat Suwannaki in Suphanburi province is the temple of LP Purachet, an upcoming monk specializing in spirit amulets. He has learned from Lersi masters as well as famous ones such as Kruba Baeng and Kruba Kitsana. Above we see the Ubosot.
Banner advertising the consecration of Lek Lai by LP Purachet 2 years ago. It was reported on Thai TV channel 5.
A large Bodhi Tree in the courtyard.
The cremation hall.
The main Sala.
Mae Hong Prai in a small coffin kept by LP. Some offerings of cosmetics and a mirror can be seen.
Main altar in LP's kuti.
LP reblessing the KMT and other amulets that I chowed.
A shot taken with LP.
Hoonpayon amulets soaked in oil. There are bone fragments embedded below.
Very unique looking KMT bucha.

LP Nuam of Wat Po Sijaren

LP Nuam of Wat Po Sijaren in Suphanburi province is an old guru monk famous his special Wealth and Metta amulets. When we arrived at the temple we were greeted by this King Naresuan shrine with many Rooster statues as his guardians.
The Drum Pavilion.
The main Sala.
The cremation hall.
The monks' quarters.
The Ubosot with a very nice Naga perimeter wall.
The Mondop where the temple counter is.
LP Nuam blessing the 3 pairs of Fighting Fish buchas that I chowed.
A shot taken with the 91 yrs old master.
The special Fighting Fish roops which is said to be able to swim during the consecration.
The Nawa shell Khun Paen with old Bang Krang powder behind.

Wat Ampawan miraculously untouched by the floods

The Dhammapada says:

"Even the Devas hold dear the Noble One,
whose senses are subdued like horses
well trained by a charioteer,
whose pride is destroyed and
who is free from the cankers."

Just heard from my friend who went for a 9-day Vipassana retreat at Wat Ampawan in Singburi 2 weeks ago that the temple somehow remained mostly dry, despite being situated just beside the Chao Phraya river. Most of the province is seriously flooded and even villages nearby the temple are still under water today, yet miraculously the flood waters did not affect Wat Ampawan much. There was still food and water readily available and the practitioners inside could continue with their meditation without any problems.

Why does the flood waters not overwhelm the temple? There are 3 reasons:
1) The Barami of LP Jaran - having completely purified his mind, he is respected by both the Water and Earth Devas, who commanded the waters not to enter his temple.
2) The Practitioners themselves - practicing Vipassana earnestly, they are protected by the Dhamma. The great flood is an outer manifestation of the inner craving of sentient beings, which has accumulated to an unstoppable level. Yet when it is arrested by the power of mindfulness, the waters of craving can find no way to enter.
3) The many Devadas residing there - having gained great merit from LP and the others, they have vowed to be guardian deities for the temple. As such they keep the temple dry and unharassed. They also ensure that there will always be a constant supply of daily necessities for everyone.

This is also a live testament telling us that the gates of the Deathless are still open at Wat Ampawan. If one wishes to see the end of suffering in this life, one should head there to sincerely support and practice meditation. Anumodana Sadhu!

LP Chaem of Wat Tagong

LP Chaem of Wat Tagong is an old time guru monk of Nakhon Pathom province, and one of the important masters of LP Tae Wat Sam Ngam. He taught LP Tae a lot of the Wicha of making KMT passed down since ancient times. Above we see the fountain in the centre of the courtyard.
Shrine to LP Chaem.
Other prominent monks from Wat Tagong.
The Chedi containing Lord Buddha's relics. In front is a Mae Thorani shrine.
The main mondop.
Display chedi with some of the holy relics.
Billboard showing the old amulets of Wat Tagong.
Inside the main Sala. The current abbot of Wat Tagong is seated on the right.
The temple counter. The senior monk there told me that he had worked in Singapore when he was young.
Phra Pidta from LP Chaem.
Clay KMT roops from LP Chaem.

PT Wan of Wat Lorn

Wat Lorn in Pattalung province is the temple of PT Wan, one of the top guru monks of the South in the 60s and 70s. He was one of the 108 monks who consecrated the 2505 batch of LP Tuad at Wat Suwankiri. Above we see the temple gate.

Billboard asking for donations to build the Ubosot.
Statues of past white-robe Ajarns of Wat Lorn, disciples of PT Wan. Pattalung has a strong magical tradition originating from Wat Kao Or.
Statue of PT Wan in the shrine.
Golden-white Chedi of PT Wan.
Shrine to LP Tuad, Somdej Toh and PT Klai.
The main Sala.
The altar in the abbot's kuti.
Ajarn Nipon, the current abbot and grand disciple of PT Wan performing Lersi Krop Sian blessing on me.
It is done on both front and back.
Drawing Yant on forehead.
Portrait of the 2505 consecration ceremony at Wat Suwankiri in Songkhla province.
AJ Nipon doing the candle wax pulling blessing ceremony.
He has to chant with his Lersi Mitmor while pulling the wax.

A shot taken with AJ. Behind him is the portrait of PT Wan.

Newly built PT Wan statue.

Chinese style Sangkachai (Maitreya) statue.

Phra Sivali statue.