LP Parn of Wat Bangnomkho

LP Parn (1875-1938 CE) is best known as the great guru monk who taught the Phra Pajjeka Po Prod Sat Katha, better known as the "Billionaire Rich Katha", as well as the Yant Kropetch or "Diamond Shield" talisman of invulnerability. Like many others, I first learned of this guru monk from Lek Watruak's website. For a more detailed history you can click here.
LP was the past abbot of Wat Bangnomkho in Sena district in Ayuttaya. Although LP had passed away for 70 years, he is still remembered by many people in Central Thailand for his transcendal Dhamma power.
I visited Wat Bangnomkho on 18.01.2008 in admiration of this great guru. A giant statue of LP Parn immediately greets all visitors to this temple.
A smaller standing statue of LP Parn. Beside the statue is the Billionaire Katha, which goes:

Namo Tassa (3x)
Put Ta Ma Ah U Na Mo Put Ta Ya (1x)
Wira Dhayo Wira Konayang Wira Hingsa
Wira Dhasi Wira Dhasa Wira Ittiyo
Buddhassa Manee Mama Buddhassa Swahom (3 or 9x)

This Katha is chanted every morning and evening for prosperity and the ending of poverty.
The Buddha image in the Ubosot of Wat Bangnomkho. Below the Buddha is another image of LP Parn. The web of Saisin or holy thread above suggests a consecration ceremony had taken place recently. A new life-sized wax image of LP Parn. It was only there when I visited the 2nd time in July 08.
A mural in the Ubosot depicting HM the King coming to honour LP Parn.

The main Chedi of the Wat.

The wax statue of LP Parn. Behind it is the golden stupa containing LP's relics.

Another view of the Vihara.

Outside the Vihara.
Another shrine outside the Vihara, with a statue of LP Parn reading a scripture.

A 5" bronze bucha of LP Parn I obtained from the temple.
Another 5" bucha I obtained from the temple in Jan 2009.

A set of 6 LP Parn Somdej amulets consecrated in 2545 BE (2002 CE). A set of LP Parn's Somdej Rian (medals), also consecrated in 2545. As the Chinese saying goes, "A mountain is famous not because of its height, it is famous because of its immortals". This is an interesting temple definitely worth visiting again.

Phra Buddha Nimit of Wat Na Phramen

Phra Buddha Nimit 常胜佛 (seen above) is the main Buddha Image of the centuries old Wat Na Phramen, Ayuttaya. The Image was first casted in bronze, then lacquered and plated with gold. It measures 9 cubits wide knee to knee and is 6 meters high. The Image is also clad in royal attire and in the posture of subduing Mara. Legend has it that the temple was built my the King of the Devas, Phra Indra in 1503 CE during the reign of King Ramathibodi II, the 10th King of Ayuttaya. The name given to the temple at that time was Wat Phra Meru Rachikaram. In the year 1760 CE, when King Along Phaya of Burma came to attack Ayuttaya, he had his soldiers station cannons at Wat Na Phramen and Wat Chang. King Along Phaya commanded the troops and fired the cannon at Wat Na Phramen himself. Unfortunately for him, the cannon exploded and he was seriously injured. The Burmese forces had to beat a hasty retreat north. As soon as the troops left, the King also passed away. With the sacredness of the Buddha Image, it was long believed to have help save Ayuttaya from its enemies. Furthermore, the Image had always remained in the same condition for the past few centuries, and the temple was the only one not sacked by the Burmese when they conquered Ayuttaya.

Another important Buddha Image in Wat Na Phramen is Phra Khandararat (above), which had been around since the Dvaravati period. It is carved out of green sandstone and believed to be around 1,500 years old. The Image measures 1.7 meters wide knee to knee and is 5.2 meters tall. It sits upon a throne with the hands resting on his knees, similar to the giant Maitreya Buddha Image in Leshan, China. Phra Khandararat is believed to be brought from Sri Lanka to Siam during the Dvaravati period by Phra Upali and Phra Chaiwichit, when they went there to study Buddhism.

Replicas of the 2 important Buddha images in the Ubosot, side by side. Below is the Katha for revering Phra Buddha Nimit. First chant Namo Tassa 3 times, then recite:

"Buddha Nimittang Ahang Wantha Kamamihang

Buddha Nimittang Sahassakoti Taotanang

Buddha Nimittang Sathu Roophanang

Iti Sugato Arahang Buddho Namo Buddhaya

Potawee Kongkha Phrapoo Matewa Kamamihang."

Another 2 replicas in the courtyard.The Phra Sangkachai shrine.
The glass-enclosed Jatukam shrine.

The glass-enclosed Thousand Arm Avalokitesvara (Guanyin) Shrine.

This is the 5" Bucha of Phra Buddha Nimit that I obtained from the temple, made from bronze with gold coating. See how majestic and shining it is! An excellent image to pray to, no doubt.
The 3.5" Phra Mahasetthi 9 Nah (9-Face Buddha) bucha I obtained from the temple in Jan 2009. Made of Navaloha material. A fine bucha as well.

A video of Phra Buddha Nimit, the presiding Buddha image of Wat Na Pramen, Ayuttaya.

The Contrasting Faces of Chinese Buddhism today

From: http://bbs3.news.163.com/bbs/photo/43627730.html
A very powerful article in Chinese showing the 2 completely different sides of Buddhism in China. Dabeisi, the only monastery in China today with no Donation Box. Located in faraway Haicheng of Liaoning province, the Sangha there uphold the Vinaya strictly, eating only one meal a day and do not touch money.

Shaolin temple. Used to be the ancient founding site of Chan Buddhism & Shaolin Kungfu, now it has turned into the main tourist attraction in Henan, China and the pillar of Dengfeng county's economy. Or to put it in a better way, it's the Head Office of the Shaolin Corporation.

Ven Miaoxiang, abbot of Dabeisi.

Yongxin, CEO of the Shaolin Corporation.

The Sangha of Dabeisi on their morning Pindapata alms round.

The Kungfu performers of Shaolin striking a pose for the camera.

Accepting only food from laypeople, begging for no more than 7 households.

CEO Yongxin appearing on a TV show with one of their young performers showing off his acrobatic skills.

Preaching to the devotees during their Dhutanga travels.

Yongxin signing autographs for his fans.

Camping out in the open at night. The monks of Dabeisi are not allowed to stay in laypeople's houses or hotels during their Dhutanga travels.

Shaolin performers taking part in the Miss International Tourism pageant and posing with the 87 contestants.
Travelling around only on foot. Travelling only in the most luxurious European car.

Doing all the chores and building works by themselves.

The Shaolin Corporation employs cleaners and security guards to do the work for them.

One of the Dabeisi monks meditating on the roadside.

A Shaolin employee surfing the net. Notice the webcam. Free joss sticks at Dabeisi. Giant joss sticks on sale in Shaolin. Prices range from 6,000 - 100,000 RMB.

An august Dharma assembly at Dabeisi.

An auction sale of mobile numbers blessed by Shaolin monks. This person won the bid with 82,000 RMB. For the rest you have to read the original article. The Dhammapada says:

"One who wears the stainless robe, who's yet not free from stain,

without restraint and truthfulness, he is unfit for the stainless robe.

But one who is self-cleansed of stain, in moral conduct firmly set,

having restraint and truthfulness, he is fit for the stainless robe."

I have the deepest reverence for the Sangha of Dabeisi. As for the Shaolin Corporation.. you guys can draw your own conclusions. Actually Shaolin does not just represent itself, but the vast majority of commercial Buddhism in modern China. Everything about the religion becomes a way to earn money. But Shaolin has the edge compared to other commercial temples due to its unique army of famous Kungfu performers. Dabeisi monastery represents the small minority of adherents here and there, who remain true to the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, quietly practicing faraway from the money, the cities and the crowds. These are the real renunciates, Sangha that we look up to. As long as they are around, there is still hope for the religion.

Focus on the nose or the abdomen?

In the practice of meditation the question of whether to focus on the breath in the nose or in the abdomen often comes up. It is widely believed that to focus on the nose with the meditation word "Bud-dho" is more conducive to the practice of the Samatha method, leading to various Jhanas. To focus on the abdomen is more widely used for the Vipassana method, with aims at building mindfulness rather concentration, leading to the arising of different levels of insight.

However many people tend to make the mistake of perceiving Samatha and Vipassana as 2 separate methods. In reality they are one and you cannot practice one without the other. With regard to Samatha, you have to train the mind to reach Jhana by concentrating on the fine breath going in and out of the nose, to the exclusion of everything else. Once the 5 factors of Jhana appear, you can slowly refine them until nothing other than one-pointedness and equanimity of mind are left. After you leave that state you must immediately use that calmed and subdued mind to review the various aspects of the aggregates, so that clear Jnana (knowledge) about their true nature can arise. This is the Vipassana aspect in Samatha.

But with regard to Vipassana, to have the intention to build concentration up to the point of Jhana would be wrong. The noting of the abdomen movement is not for you to do get into Jhana, but rather to simply establish mindfulness in your own body (kayanussati). While noting the abdomen movement, one also notes any feelings (vedananussati) or thoughts (cittanussati) that arise. If one can maintain powerful and stable mindfulness in these 3 things, that is your Samatha aspect within Vipassana. Once mindfulness becomes full, it will enable you to see the nature of these 3 things, which are none other than the aggregates. Mindfulness of the Dhamma (Dhammanussati) will arise from there. These are the 4 foundations of mindfulness leading to the end of suffering.

Whether it is Samatha-Vipassana or Vipassana-Samatha, if you try to practice them as 2 separate methods, your meditation would lack power and this will make it very difficult for you to achieve good results. Therefore you should always bear in mind that they work hand in hand and once you decided where best to focus, stay true to the method until the very end.

Relics of MC King

The Dhammapada says:

"Though one should live a hundred years foolish, uncontrolled,
Yet better is life for a single day moral and meditative."

On Tuesday (8.1.2008) the Shin Min paper reported that after the late actor-comedian Jimmy Nah or "MC King" was cremated, relic fragments were found among his remains. These small white flower-like fragments are considered sacred objects in Buddhist belief, even though they are not as rare as the multi-colored crystalline relics (Sarira) of enlightened beings. His relatives had these relics fragments all collected together in an urn with the rest of the remains.

Although MC King died suddenly of heart failure last week, his death was not in vain. Some would consider him young, dying at 40; but he had lived a good and moral life, which is in many ways superior to people who lived a much longer but heedless life. Besides being humorous, MC King was a hardworking and humble person, well-liked by his friends and colleagues. He was also known to be very filial to his widow mother and supportive to his siblings. MC King also had a deep reverence for the Buddha and the gods, as he was born with the "spirit eye" which enabled him to see ghostly beings at times. This made him well aware of other realms of existence other than the material one. Although he had not practiced any meditation, his filial piety and wholesome conduct no doubt had a profound positive effect on his karma. That is why some parts of his physical body had been purified into relic fragments. It was also reported that somebody dreamt of him appearing in a bright golden form, a clear sign that MC King had been reborn into a realm of happiness, mostly probably in one of the heavens. I hope that he can continue to follow the Dhamma in that realm and achieve the highest bliss.

Let us rejoice for MC King, sadhu, sadhu, sadhu!