Thursday, July 28, 2011

Ajarn Rak of Wat Ban Muang

Ajarn Rak of Wat Ban Muang in Lopburi is one of the top disciples of LP Thom. He is quite young, only a few years older than me, but has learned much wicha from his master when he was still alive. Above we see the temple gate.
The Ubosot.
The cremation pavilion.
The main Sala.
The Mae Takian shrine.
The "Luang Por Nak" statue that is still under construction.
Display counter inside Ajarn Rak's kuti, with a portrait and wax bucha of his guru LP Thom.
The altar in his kuti with a Phra Kaew bucha.
AJ reblessing the items that I chowed.
A shot with the upcoming master.
AJ Rak's Mitmor Tao Wessuwan.
His Takrut Narai Plaeng Roop.

Monday, July 18, 2011

LP Thom of Wat Cherng Tha

Wat Cherng Tha is the temple of LP Thom, who used to be the top guru monk in Lopburi until he passed away some years ago. It is also famous for its Lopburi-Khmer style Nakprok Buddha statue.
The very old "Luang Por Nak" Buddha statue which is believed to grant the wishes of the faithful.
The front altar with various relics.
The temple counter. I chowed one of the smaller Luang Por Nak buchas made of sandstone. Unfortunately it was badly damaged when I brought it back to Singapore.
The LP Thom shrine in front of his kuti.
A life-like wax statue of LP Thom sits in front of his undecaying body in the glass casket.
A closer shot of LP Thom's body.
The side Vihara.
The Mai Takian shrine.
White Chedis and a row of Lopburi style Buddha statues outside the Ubosot.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

LP Pichet of Wat Kok Mor

LP Pichet of Wat Kok Mor is an upcoming guru monk in Lopburi, and his temple is famous for its wood carving sacred objects. Above we see the Phra Huyan shrine. It is said that the Phra Huyan is the most famous Buddha image and amulet in Lopburi province.
The Ubosot of Wat Kok Mor.
Entrance to the inner courtyard.
The Pikanet shrine.
A portrait of LP Derm outside LP Pichet's kuti.
Statues of Phra Sangkachai and Poo Chiwok in the temple shop.
LP Pichet drawing Yants on the Lersi Mai Tao that I chowed.
The main altar in LP's kuti. Other than the big Phra Kaew statue, I can see many chunks of crystals and minerals below. LP has some Chinese blood and is able to speak a little Teochew dialect.
Photos of LP Suang.
Phra Upakut 7" bucha made of teakwood.
Rare teakwood Cobra Staff from LP Pichet. It is now in the hands of a local collector.

Friday, July 08, 2011

Master Pushou of Tampines

Master Pushou 普寿师父 of Tampines St 11 is a very ordinary looking old man with great abilities. He is the spiritual teacher of a Buddhist group "Sakya Mee Toh Hall". The name Pushou was given to him by Ven Hongchuan, the late abbot of Bright Hill temple. Already 69 this year, he had the ability to see various supernatural beings since very young. During his late 30s he suddenly gained the ability to chant Buddhist kathas and use various methods to help people with spiritual problems, all without any master to teach him. Throughout the past few decades, he had tried to ask many famous highly attained masters why he possessed all those abilities, but gained no satisfactory answer. He only managed to find out that he was Lord Buddha's relative from Queen Maya's tribe in his past life. Some of his followers also believed he is the incarnation of 财光佛 "Wealth Light Buddha", a unique Buddha image unlike any that most of us have ever seen.
The side altar in Master Pushou's house. His house was like a warehouse of all sorts of religious and occult artifacts.. which made me feel dizzy immediately after I stepped in. But I felt better after the master gave me some blessed water to drink.
The main altar in the house. The black statue in the middle is the "Wealth Light Buddha" which I mentioned earlier. Although it did not look like any Buddha image we know, there were many miraculous stories surrounding it, as told to me by the master. He hopes to be able to help more people with his special knowledge and guide them towards the right path.