LP Dun of Wat Buraparam

Wat Buraparam lies in Surin town. This old temple is famous for 2 things - its sacred Buddha image Luang Por Phra Chi and the master who used to teach here. This master was none other than LP Dun, a famous disciple of LP Mun. LP Dun passed away in 1983 at the age of 96. LP's last words to his disciples before he entered Parinibbana were:

"The Lord Buddha didn't attain nibbana in any of his jhanic attainments. When he left the fourth jhana, his mental aggregates all ceased at once, with nothing remaining. In other words, he allowed his feeling aggregate to cease in an awake state of mind, the normal human mental series, complete with mindfulness and alertness, with no other mental states coming to blind or delude the mind at all. This was the mind fully in its own state. You could call that state great emptiness, or the original cosmos, or nibbana, whichever you like. That's the state I've been practicing all along to reach."

The Ubosot of Wat Buraparam.

Inside the Ubosot, the monks were doing their morning chanting.

A crystal chedi containing the relics of the Buddha.

A statue of LP Dun inside the LP Dun Vihara.

Sacred relics of LP Dun.

LP Dun's photo portrait.

The LP Phra Chi Vihara.

Inside the Vihara.

A shrine to LP Sila Mongkon, a Monday Buddha image.

A parting shot of the temple gate.

LP Rit of Wat Chonpratan

LP Rit was another famous master in Buri Ram who passed away in 2005 at the age of 89. He was a fellow disciple of LP Hong Wat Petburi who learn Khmer magical arts under the same master in Cambodia. Above is the entrance of the LP Rit Vihara.

The body of LP Rit was still around in a glass casket for devotees to venerate.

However, all that was left of LP was just his skeleton. Most of the flesh and skin had rotted away.

Portraits of LP Rit in the Vihara.

The main shrine inside, with a Chinaraj Buddha in the centre.

A video I took of the courtyard outside before we left.

Wat Khao Kradong in Buri Ram

Wat Phra Puttabat Khao Kradong or Wat Khao Kradong in Buri Ram is the temple of LP Tiang, a famous master there. He has recently been invited to Singapore to meet followers. The temple is located at the foot of the Kradong hill. Above we see the Khmer style temple gate with the 4 faces of Phra Prom.

A special statue of Tao Wessuwan in Deva form with 4 arms, holding club, scripture, conch shell and one hand pointing to the ground. Normally he is portrayed in fierce Yakkha form protecting the entrances of temples.

Inside LP Tiang's Kuti. As LP Tiang was not around, we got his disciple to give us a blessing for the items that we chowed.

The altar inside the Kuti had many Lersi and Kumanthong statues.

The white chedi outside.

The bell and drum tower.

A video I shot of the Ubosot and Chedi.

The Self-righteous Cat-killer

Today the Sunday Times reported a certain retired man named Tan Tuan Khoon, aged 62, who traps cats as a past time and sends them to the AVA to be put down. Naturally, he had become a most hated figure for all the animal welfare groups and animal lovers in Singapore. Tan is responsible for the deaths of more than 300 stray cats, as he lost count after 300.

What is more shocking than the fact that he enjoys having cats killed in a systematic manner is the kind of rhetoric that he uses to justify his evil deeds. He says that "trapping and putting down cats is actually the humane thing to do because stray cats generally have a shorter lifespan due to the hazards they face on the streets." That is no different from saying that the weak, the sick and the disadvantaged all deserve to die because they have a lower chance of survival than ordinary people. Stinks of Fascism, doesn't it? It is exactly this line of thinking that Hitler used to justify his genocide of the Jews, or what the Japanese Imperial Army used to brainwash their troops to justify the mass murders of Chinese civilians during WW2. Tan also says that he is "helping stray cats to end their suffering". So when he becomes sick and helpless in the future, I guess he also won't mind other people coming along and merrily put an end to his suffering?

Furthermore, it is so hypocritical for Tan to tell others he is being humane to cats when the truth is that he harbours a strong hatred towards cats for "defecating in his garden and driveway", "cats having kittens in the space between his roof and ceiling, causing the plywood ceiling boards to give way", and "also cats who chased his pet rabbit and stole his food" in the past. Just because a few cats offended him, he wants all the stray cats in Singapore to die for it? How foolish and dangerous is this man's anger! Does he not fear the heavy negative karma that he had accumulated thus far? His lifespan has been shortened and when the time comes for him to die, all those cats that Tan killed would come back to torment him, and to demand their lives back. I foresee a painful death and a woeful destination for him.

The Dhammapada says, "Hatred cannot be conquered with hatred, but only with Metta (loving-kindness) can hatred be conquered." My master LP Jaran once told the story of old Madam Ping, who used to be a helper at Wat Ampawan. Madam Ping also had to deal with the cats defecating in the wrong places. She was very angry with them as she had to clean up their mess. So she used to curse them loudly and hit them with brooms and stuff whenever she sees them wondering into the temple dwellings. This caused the cats to be even more misbehaved. Those cats that were mistreated by Ping got their other cat friends to take revenge by defecating all over the place, making worse messes than before. Ping was at a lost to what to do, when LP learned of this and advised her to apologise to the cats instead. She was told to kindly ask the cats to stop defecating all over the place and offer them food in exchange for their good behaviour. Madam Ping did not quite believe in LP's advice, but she went ahead to try as she did not know what else to do. True enough, the cats accepted her apology and offer of peace. From then on all the cats and even dogs of Wat Ampawan know how to go to the river bank to defecate, rather than defecating on the temple grounds. Even the new animals that come to the temple were told by the older residents not to misbehave. This proved that animals are intelligent and can appreciate kindness. All beings want to be treated with kindness, and none likes to be scolded, beaten or even killed. If a person cultivates Metta towards all beings, he or she will be respected by even fierce beasts like tigers and crocodiles. What more for cats and dogs?

Therefore my advice to Mr Tan is give up your cruelty towards cats right away. Lay down the butcher's knife and repent while you still can. Otherwise after you breathe your last, nobody can save you when your stand before King Yama in the halls of hell, with all the cats that you killed on one side demanding that for you to be punished for your sins. 苦海无边, 回头是岸! Take heed, before it is too late.

Completed Maha Mondop at Wat Traimit

The Phra Maha Mondop building at Wat Traimit in Yaowarat, Bangkok has recently been completed. The sacred Gold Buddha Phra Sukhothai Traimit (also known at Phra Maha Suwan Patimakorn) has also been moved into the Mondop. However it is still not open to the public yet.

The building plan of the Mondop. It should be officially open by the end of the year.

The Phra Narai Song Krut and Rahu statue outside of the old Vihara housing the Gold Buddha.

Wat Hualampong in Bangkok

Wat Hualampong is the temple near to Hualampong train station. It is very beautiful due to the large number of Thai Chinese donors who contributed to its building. Above we see the Ubosot.

A LP Tuad shrine at the side.

The presiding Buddha image.

A video of the murals inside the Ubosot.

The Extravagant Kassa of CEO Yongxin

I read with interest that the Shaolin CEO Yongxin "ordered" an extravagant Yun Jin kassa robe to be made in Nanjing, and it was completed a couple of days ago. This luxurious work of art costs 160,000 RMB. Just the gold thread used alone costs 50,000. The jade and gold buckle cost another 30,000 perhaps. The rest is the high quality silk as well as the intricate embroidery of various auspicious symbols on the kassa itself. Yun Jin artisans had been famous for making Imperial robes and prized kassa since the Six Dynasties Era (420-589 CE).

This of course caused an uproar among Chinese netziens, but when queried Yongxin replied that he did not order the Kassa, but it was an offering made by Yun Jin to him. This precious kassa was not for his own use, but was to be displayed in the soon to be built Shaolin museum for research purposes. Reporters checked with Yun Jin and they also said the same thing.

So, what's the point of it all? The Diamond Sutra says, "Even if a person were to fill the whole universe with the 7 precious gems and use them for charity, it still could not compare to another person who could understand 1 gatha from this Sutra and explain it to others." The donor(s) is wrong to donate such a useless gift to a monk and the receiver is also wrong to receive it as this would only invite criticism from the lay people.

Regarding accepting this kind of offerings there is a Zen koan to illustrate the correct mindset a monastic should have. In the past after Dongshan's disciple Yunju had an initial awakening, he built a kuti in Sanfeng mountain to continue his cultivation. For days he did not go back to the temple to have his meal. So Dongshan sent for him and asked,
"Why have you not come to have your meal recently?"
Yunju replied, "When I'm meditating in my kuti, a Deva comes to offer me food everyday."
Dongshan was not too pleased and said, "I thought you were a very sharp student! Why do you harbour such views and conduct? Come to my chamber tonight, I want to talk to you."
So that night Yunju went to Dongshan's chamber to see him. Dongshan shouted,
"Yunju!"
"Here I am."
"Not to think of good, not to think of evil; what does this verse (from the Platform Sutra) mean?"
Yunju did not say anything, but when he went back to his kuti, his mind became very still and he entered into a deep state of cessation. From then on the Deva could no longer see him and thus after 3 days did not appear any more.

If one is devoted in seeking the Dharma, one should not even be moved by sublime offerings from the Devas; what more for mundane offerings from Men? This is the true meaning of renunciation and all monastics should do well to ponder this teaching whenever anybody makes special offerings to them.

LP Tah Wat Paniangdaek

Wat Paniangdaek in Nakhon Pathom is the famous temple of LP Tah (seen above), the greatest old-time guru monk of the province. He passed away 87 yrs ago in 2465 BE (1922 CE) and was also the first master of LP Tae Wat Sam Ngam (2434-2524 BE), the creator of the original Kumanthongs. LP Tah was the one who imparted to LP Tae all his knowledge of the Dhamma as well as meditation.

Arriving at the temple, located not far from the highway.

The outer shrine with a standing image of LP Tah as well as various Buddha statues.

The Katha to pray for LP Tah's help.

The LP Tah Vihara.

The gold foil covered statue of LP Tah.

Behind LP Tah is the big Buddha image of "Maha Mongkon Nimit".

Another glass shrine with the wax statue of LP Tah inside. In front is a standing Kumanthong statue like those of Wat Sam Ngam. Incidentally, Wat Paniangdaek does not make KMTs.

A display cabinet with the earliest amulets of LP Tah, consecrated by him in 2450 and 2455 BE.

The later batches of amulets consecrated in 2482 and 2502 BE.

An old 5" bucha of LP Tah, as well as Takruts and Pidtas consecrated by him.

The temple shop.

An altar with various Lersi and Deity Masks.

A video I took of the temple's courtyard. Interestingly there are many animal sculptures here, like a zoo.
One of the 2 elephant guardians of the temple, Plai Chaiyo.

The Ubosot.

The Vihara of LP Prayong, another disciple of LP Tah.
The 5" Phra Sangkachai bucha I obtained from the temple.

The Amazing Makkaliporn of Wat Prangmuni

Wat Prangmuni in Singburi is just opposite the great Phra Prom Shrine in Promburi district. Above we can see the temple gate, which says "Wat Phra Prangmuni". Locals call is Wat Phra Prang or Wat Prangmuni. This temple is famous for 2 things - 1. its Khmer style Chedi that is known as "Prang" in Thailand, and 2. the Makkaliporn. The Makkaliporn kept in this temple originally belonged to my master LP Jaran of Wat Ampawan. But because it was drawing too much attention, disturbing the peace of the Vipassana practitioners in Wat Ampawan, in the 1980s LP decided to have them kept in Wat Prangmuni instead. And this temple has become a strong tourist attraction ever since. However few foreign tourists will know this temple; it is the local tourists that are ever so fascinated by these out-of-this-world "creatures", because only locals know the legend behind them.
A golden chedi near the entrance. Many readers have expressed great interest in the Makkaliporn since I wrote the article "The Origins of Makkaliporn" last year, so I shall write more on the details in this follow-up article. Now, to understand more about them, again we need to go back to the Vessantara Jataka. As I wrote before, during the era of Vipassi Buddha in the previous kappa (aeon), the Lady Phussati was granted her wish to become the mother of a future Buddha by the Buddha Vipassi. She was then reborn as the consort of Lord Indra in Tavatimsa heaven. Before she passed away from that heaven, she was again granted 10 blessings by Indra, which are namely:

1) to be born into the khattiya (warrior) caste
2) to be endowed with eyes as beautiful and brilliant as a gazelle's
3) to continue to have the same name on earth as in heaven
4) to have an illustrious son with easy delivery
5) to remain slender even with a child in her womb
6) to have breasts firm and shapely,
with skin as fair as lotus buds even after becoming a mother
7) to always remain youthful and will not grow old
8) to have a delicate and soft complexion
9) to be allowed to release all prisoners from jails
10) to be able to get what she wishes for on earth
The famous golden Prang chedi of the temple. It is around 9-storeys tall. So Lady Phussati was reborn on earth with all those blessings, no less a goddess among women. What do these blessings got to do with the Makkaliporn? A lot - because later when Indra used his psychic powers to create the hermitage for Prince Vessantara along with the 16 Makkaliporn trees in the Himavana Forest, Phussati was the physical "model" from which he fashioned the beautiful Makkaliporn fruit fairies. Like Phussati the Makkaliporn have beautiful, brilliant eyes, slender figures, firm and shapely breasts and soft, delicate complexions. They are born as 16-yr old girls and will die as 16-yr old girls after 7 days, after which they will whither and shrink away. Many people are curious as to where this Himavana Forest is. According to Yogis who have been there, it lies 16 Yojanas or 256km away from the Himalayas. However, only Yogis who have attained the ability of teleportation through the 4th Jhana are able to enter the forest. It is actually a separate dimension by itself, inaccessible to ordinary human beings. Most of us live in a 3 dimensional world our whole lives, unaware of the 4th, 5th, 6th.. dimensions that exist in parallel to our reality. If there are people who could actually penetrate into those other dimensions, chances are they would be dismissed as crazy.
The LP Ban Laem shrine in front of the Prang chedi. LP Jaran did not believe in the existence of the Makkaliporn too, until he saw it with his own eyes in Sigiriya Hill, Sri Lanka in the year 1972. In the cave of the black-robed Sinhalese monk, LP saw it for the first time. The Makaliporn emitted a strong fragrance like perfume. It was the size of a 16-yr old human girl, very beautiful, and completely naked. It had almost connecting eyebrows, large bluish eyes with golden pupils. The eyebrows started from the top of the nose and curved outwards like a crescent moon (similar to a Sukhothai Buddha Image), and the eyes were as big as eggs. It also had a protruding nose. Its complexion was as smooth as a "mak pang" or marian plum; and it had long golden hair like a Westerner. On top of its head there was a stem like that of a mangosteen, evidence that it was actually a fruit. The neck had 3 ring-lines and it did not have any collar bones. In fact it did not have any obvious bone structure at all. When squeezed the Makkaliporn's body felt like a balloon. The hands and fingers were long and slender, with long finger nails, slightly different from a human. The feet were just as pretty as the hands, and equally smooth. There were no signs of any sinews at all. But what was amazing was that even though it had no bones, it had physical organs like the heart and the lungs inside its body just like an ordinary human being.

The Jow Mae Kery Thong shrine. She is a female deity in these parts. Given the goddess like attractiveness and beauty of the Makkaliporn, it is not hard to imagine how those lustful Yogis and Gandhabhas in the forest would go crazy over them. What was even more amazing that although Makaliporn are non-sentient beings created by psychic power, like an illusionary man created by a illusionist, they seemed to have minds of their own. They are "programed" to sing and dance to attract attention, and even after they fall from the tree and die, they still continue to possess that ability.

The golden Ubosot of Wat Prangmuni. Having seen and learned about the Makkaliporn in the cave, LP Jaran made a wish to meet the Makkaliporn again when he returned to Thailand. And in accordance with his wish, he came into possession of 2 of them years later, given to him by the son of a temple abbot in Lopburi province. At that time they were still large, but gradually they shrank and wither away, no longer looking like humans. Now they looked like palm-sized fairies.

Inside the Ubosot. Thousands of people have seen the Makkaliporn ever since they were at Wat Ampawan and thousands more when they were moved to Wat Prangmuni. People continued to be fascinated by them, whether they believed in them or not.

Inside the Kuti of the Abbot, who was a disciple of LP Jaran as well. He kindly allowed me to take a close look at the Makkaliporn on display inside his kuti.

The glass cabinet housing the 2 Makaliporn aka Nareepon in Thailand. Notice how it was well decorated with flowers and even offerings of cosmetics!

A closer shot of the 2 "girls" and their nice little bed. LP Jaran mentioned a couple of miraculous stories regarding these Makkaliporn. When they were in LP's possession many people talked about them. Once, there was a female lay follower of LP, Mrs Sopa, who invited LP to her house for a merit making ceremony. She was the wife of a district chief officer in Chantaburi province who learned meditation at Wat Ampawan. However her house was located near the border of Chantaburi and Rayong province, hundreds of kilometers away from Wat Ampawan in Singburi.

A painting of the Makkaliporn tree. We can see the Gandhabhas and Lersi Yogis snatching and fighting over the Makkaliporn on the tree. Now, Mrs Sopa and her doctor friends knew the story of the Makkaliporn well and they requested LP to bring them along for the invitation. They wanted to examine the Makkaliporn as they had not met LP even when they visited Wat Ampawan. LP was undecided on whether to accede to their request or not.

A closer look at one of the Lersi Yogis flying up onto the tree and gleefully grabbing the Makkaliporn. There was one obvious inaccuracy in this painting - the Makkaliporn had black hair. But in actual fact they had golden blonde hair. Eventually LP decided to bring the Makkaliporn along. He put them on a pedestal plate, wrapped it with white cloth and put it in the car beside him.

Hoax photos of fake Makkaliporn which can be seen in the Kuti. So LP set off from Wat Ampawan at 7am in the morning. The moment he boarded the car, he fell asleep. The miracle happened then - the car arrived in Rayong province at 8am. It took them merely 1 hr to reach Mrs Sopa's house when it normally should have took more than 4 hrs! The Makkaliporn had miraculously shortened the distance between Singburi and Rayong province, allowing them to arrive much faster than humanly possible.

Closer shot of the fake Makkaliporn. Notice that they are hanging in space. How is it possible for the Makaliporn to manipulate time and space like that? It was just like the way the Buddha used his psychic power to keep the distance between Angulimala and himself always the same, even though Angulimala was running after him and the Buddha merely walked at a slow pace. The great female Vipassana master Dipa Ma was also able to do the same thing when she mastered the various Iddhis through Jhana practice. This, along with flying and teleportation, were forms of Iddhividha or transformation at will.

Another close shot. See how "plastic" it was. Although the Makkaliporn were officially dead, yet they still had such miraculous properties. So LP had to wait many hours at Mrs Sopa's house before it was time for chanting and lunch. This was the 1st miracle.

A photo of the gold jewelries and money that devotees have offered to the Makkaliporn. The 2nd miracle happened when LP was invited by Mr Chan Konsitipa to Wat Si Bunreung in Bangkok. He had learned about the Makkaliporn as well and wanted to organize a merit-making ceremony as well for his birthday. Mr Chan requested LP to bring the Makaliporn with him as his son who came back from America wished to see them. So LP took them along in his kitbag.

Another photo of the backs of the Makkaliporn. Notice that the spine, ribs and pelvis could be clearly seen when they are all whithered up. But when they are in their original glory, the bones cannot be seen at all. When LP arrived at Wat Si Bunreung, there were many Chao Khun (high ranking chief monks) who gathered at the abbot's kuti. However nobody knew about the Makkaliporn except Mr Chan. After a while, a sweet song was heard coming out from LP's kitbag. And the only person who heard it was the abbot Phra Kru Sipariyattikun. So he asked LP whether he had brought a cassette player with him. The abbot found the song very nice and wanted to see the cassette. LP replied he was not the type of monk who would carry a cassette player, but the abbot did not believe him.

The main altar of the 2nd storey Sala, venerating Phra Buddha Nimit of Ayuttaya. LP tried to keep the kitbag to himself even though the abbot was trying to look inside it. Later he needed to go to the toilet and the abbot asked him to leave the bag with him as the toilet was far away. LP forgot about the matter and agreed to it. So when LP went to the toilet, the abbot could not contain his curiousity anymore and opened the bag. The Makkaliporn were exposed and soon a crowd gathered around them. Most people had not seen them before, including the Chao Khun of Wat Po, Wat Pamok and others. The people there then called their folks at home to come down to the temple to see the Makkaliporn, and this lasted until the late evening. Needless to say, there was no chanting ceremony for Mr Chan's birthday on that day since everybody was busy admiring the Makkaliporn.

Under the Phra Buddha Nimit statue was this strange preserved creature in a tank, called Por Chang Noi or Father Little Elephant. This was one of the attractions at Wat Prangmuni. How is it that the Makkaliporn could still sing after being "dead" for so long? Could they really be considered dead when they still had such miraculous abilities? That was the 2nd miracle.

A closer look at the "little elephant", which was actually a piglet with a long mutated snout like an elephant. Notice that the umbillical cord was still attached to its navel. It probably died soon after being born. The Makkaliporn were really too popular and LP had to put them away eventually. Otherwise they would surely distract people from seeking the real Dhamma. They would continue to exist until the current Buddha's teachings vanish from the world, after which they would vanish along with the Vessantara hermitage as well as the Makkaliporn trees in Himavana Forest.

Another angle of the "little elephant". Its ears and nose really looked like an elephant rather than a pig. Could it be an elephant in its previous life? Anybody who have seen the Makkaliporn with his orher own eyes would have to accept that the Vessantara Jataka is a real story and the Himavana Forest and Makaliporn trees do exist. Those who have not seen might not believe and neither do we need to convince them otherwise.

The display cabinets outside the Abbot's kuti. Many goodies inside but they are not for chow. If the reader have the affinity to go to Wat Prangmuni, you can go see for yourself. Many people ask me how they could obtain one of these Makaliporn. My reply is do you have the merit to get them? They are very rare and only highly attained yogis could pick them up from the Himavana Forest. And even if you do get one of the Makaliporn, can you handle the constant attention it attracts? I leave you readers with this to ponder about.