LP Erb of Wat Nong Mor Gaeng

Short clip of the temple counter, main altar and LP Erb blessing 2 devotees at Wat Nong Mor Gaeng (Soomgratai), Chainat.

LP blessing the amulets and buchas I chowed at the temple.

The big civet cat bucha at the main altar.
5" civet cat palakit buchas.

9" civet cat palakit magic knife.

The Pious Cat in South Korea

Yesterday there was a story in the papers about a special temple cat in South Korea, which spend hours everyday gazing and praying to the Buddha. This cat was found as a kitten 4 yrs ago by the abbot with burn injuries. The abbot saved it and gave it the Dharma name of "Liberation". She also gave the kitten 3 precepts for staying in the monastery, which was to 1) refrain from making noise in the Vihara, 2) refrain from eating meat and 3) refrain from killing. Amazingly the kitten could understand her instructions and have never broken them for the past 4 years.

In addition to that, the cat spends hours everyday in the Vihara "venerating" the Buddha images, reluctantly leaving only for its meals. This display of devotion by the little animal puts even the humans to shame. Clearly, this cat was a Dharma practitioner in its past life, but due to thoughts of delusion in its final moments, its consciousness descended into an animal womb during the process of rebirth. It has a good store of worldly merit, but has not developed any insight leading to the end of suffering. This is how the cat managed to find its way back to a sanctuary of Buddhism and gets well taken care of by the nuns in the monastery. I believe it prays everyday in repentance for its past delusion, hoping to leave this animal form soon and achieve a higher realm of existence. This is a warning for us all, not to care only about making merit and neglect cultivating the mind to develop insight. Without true wisdom penetrating into the nature of sankharas (mental formations), all the merit in the universe cannot save us from suffering in the endless rounds of rebirth. May this cat live up to the name given to it and may its wish be fulfilled, sadhu.

Can Animals have Psychic Powers?

It's the hottest craze now: Paul the "psychic" octopus from Germany predicting the outcomes of World Cup matches and is 100% accurate so far. Many in the world are amazed by him, some love him, others hate him and want to make him into calamari. But whatever they think of him, they simply could not ignore him! But the thing most people want to ask is: do animals with special powers exist? The answer is yes. Tales of mystical creatures smarter and more powerful than humans exist in the mythologies of every culture in the world - they cannot all be false and products of the human imagination. In ancient Chinese culture, there are special tortoises that are used by the Imperial Astrologers to make accurate Yi Jing divination. Even after they die, their shells are still used to make such divination with the same effect. This practice continues until today, where ordinary fortune-tellers also use tortoise shells to put their coins for making predictions.

The Buddhist scriptures say: "If I shall head for the animal realm, may all animals become wise." Many a time Bodhisattvas will manifest in animal form to help and teach sentient beings the Dharma. Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion for example, has an animal form which is called Hayagriva, or Horse-head Guanyin. Like a horse desiring grass and water, he rushes to help all those who call upon him. Lord Buddha himself was reborn as an animal in many of his previous lives, and in all those existences he was wiser than many humans. He had the perfection of truth and by reciting those acts of truth he was able to cause miracles to happen. It did not matter whether he was a monkey, a fish, an otter, a deer, a lion or an elephant. These stories are all recorded in the Jataka tales, and well known in all Buddhist cultures. It is due to the influence of such stories, as well as the precept of refraining from taking lives that Buddhists develope a respect for all living beings. Thus animals are treated with equal respect as humans, if not more so. Why? Because they could very well be manifestations of the Bodhisattvas!

Coming back to the octopus, I believe it has shown great ability and should be respected as a divine creature by its host country. The Book of Odes say, "When a nation is about to prosper, there will be auspicious signs." Whenever divine creatures appear, it is a sign that country will enjoy peace and prosperity in the near future. Germans should not be angry that the octopus accurately predicted the 2 previous matches where Germany lost, but should instead rejoice that there is such an amazing sea creature in their country. It would be auspicious indeed for the people of Germany to treat it well until the end of its natural life, for it is sure to bring the country luck.

PT Prom of Wat Planupab

PT Prom of Wat Planupab, Pattani is a 92 yr old master who recently made a batch of Phra Kring and Chaiwat using 148 kinds of powerful old amulets. Having learned of this, I made a trip to this temple to visit this master. Above is the big portrait inside his kuti.

Having chowed some of the Kring and Chaiwat, I asked PT to bless them for me.

PT also gave us a blessing and tied saisin around our wrist. We were also given some small pieces of Leklai free.

Having a photo taken with PT Prom.

The catalog of the Kring, Chaiwat and Tao Wessuwan amulets.

Meeting PT Kaew at Wat Huay Ngor

Well I've visited Wat Huay Ngor a few times, but this was the first time (26/6/2010) I met PT up close in his kuti. We had the Malaysian dealer (blue shirt guy on the right) to thank for that.

Notice that in the above photos there are white orbs that can be seen. PT was also kind enough to give everyone present a long blessing and some free takruts. We got quite wet with the holy water splashed on our heads and faces.

When we got ready to leave, the Malaysian dealer still had many questions to ask PT about his amulets. See the LP Tuad Mandala in the lower part of the photo, all tied together with Saisin! Looks powerful!

The mani altar inside the kuti. Lots of nice buchas.

LP Tuad Consecration Ceremony at Wat Koksaman

Wat Koksaman in Hatyai held a consecration ceremony for a new batch of jade LP Tuad amulets on 25 to 26/6/2010.

The moulds containing the amulets.

Putting out for cooling.

The monks in the tent.

A shot with the LP Tuad statue.

The Ubosot in the background.

1st day of the Consecration event on 25/6/2010.

Video of the big LP Tuad statue on 25/6/2010. I thought the original plan was to build a statue plated with black gemstone.. but perhaps they ran out of funds.

Who will Guan Gong protect?

Recently somebody posted an old talk by Pastor Mark Ng of New Creation Church on youtube where he pokes fun at Chinese beliefs and customs. In that talk he raised an interesting point about triad gangsters and policemen in HK both praying to the deity Guan Gong, so if they clash, Guan Gong wouldn't know who to protect. So according to him there was no point praying to idols since they wouldn't protect you. But in reality, Guan Gong is very clear which devotees he would protect. There was also an article on 13/6/2010 discussing this topic (seen above).

For over 1,700 years, the Chinese have regarded the deity of General Guan as a personification of loyalty and righteousness. In Taoism he is revered as a high ranking warrior god, whereas in Buddhism, he is a well respected Dharmapala guarding all Mahayana temples. Triads pray to him for his loyalty, as they want the triad members to be loyal to the leaders and the underworld code of honor. Police pray to him for his righteousness, asking for protection while they do their jobs to maintain law and order. So there is no contradiction there as each side has their own objectives in praying to the same deity. However, for triad members who engage in highly unwholesome trades like selling drugs or assassinations, no deity can protect them from the consequences of their own evil karma. As for policemen, as long as they remain upright in their daily lives, they will be protected by the deity. This is because like all guardian deities, Guan Gong respect the righteous and disdain the wicked. Nobody can be immoral and disloyal and yet expect protection from such divine beings. That's the simple truth. Indeed, to say Guan Gong does not protect his devotees would be to deny the fact that the worship of this deity has endured from the end of the 3 Kingdoms era until today. As long as people remember the traditional values of loyalty and righteousness, Guan Gong will remain in their hearts forever.

Rediscovery of Lord Buddha's Skull Relic

On 12/06/2010, the precious skull relic of the Buddha, rediscovered in 2008, was finally displayed before the whole world in a grand ceremony at Qixia Monastery of Nanjing, China. It was found in an ancient King Asoka Stupa hidden in the ruins of Dabao'en Monastery, located in another part of old Nanjing. This skull relic is the only one of its kind existing in the world. It shall be put on display at Qixia Monastery for one month before being returned permanently to its original location - the rebuilt Dabao'en Monastery.

The skull relic was first brought to China from Northern India by Venerable Danapala during the early Song Dynasty, more than a thousand years ago. The Liuli Pagoda housing the King Asoka Stupa in Dabao'en Monastery was built during the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty. However it was destroyed during the Taiping rebellion of the late Qing Dynasty in 1864.

After centuries of turmoil, it was only until 2008 that a team of archaeologists managed to unearth the stupa, hidden underneath the ruins where the pagoda used to be. This rediscovery holds great significance in the history of Buddhism and will be rejoiced by men and gods alike for a long time to come.

Besides the Buddha's skull relic, his other crystalline relics were found within a glass bottle discovered inside the King Asoka Stupa. Both the skull relic and the glass bottle will be on public display together. It would be of great merit for all sentient beings in that region to go see and venerate them.

Visit to AJ Pachuab's house

Group photo taken with the famous Ajarn Pachuab, the successor of the late Ajarn Khun Phan. Now he is the No 1 white-robe master in Pattalung and Southern Thailand. One of our members was there to go through a luck changing ritual. The rest of us just took a flower bath at AJ's house.

The main altar inside AJ's house. The Jatukam altar is at the side.

One of the member's Jatukam bucha at AJ house. He left it here to do the gold plating and consecration by AJ.

Completed Chedi at Wat Sampowchey

Finally the Chedi at Wat Sampowchey, Pattani has been completed. It took a quite a few years to build!
The famous Phra Buddha Toh Hak statue of this temple, now gold plated.

Video of the amulet shop at Wat Sampowchey, Pattani. Some armed soldiers are stationed here to guard the temple from insurgents.

Behind me is the statue of LP Thong's master, LP Tuad Non.

The full view of the altar.

Meeting AJ Daeng at Wat Rai

Video of Ajarn Daeng Wat Rai, Pattani performing the flower bath ritual for a local boy. He was talking about making a trip to HK to meet the devotees there. Although I've come here a couple of times, this is my first time meeting him at the temple itself.
The large LP Tuad statue in front of AJ's kuti.
AJ giving me a blessing on the top of my head.
Having a group photo taken with AJ Daeng.

Ajarn Prasoot of Wat Naidao

A video of the surroundings at the cave temple Wat Naidao, Trang. This is the temple of the famous Ajarn Prasoot, who has learned Wicha from from great guru monks. He has recently been promoted to the rank of Phra Kru.



Video of the cave interior of Wat Naidao, Trang. Ajarn Prasoot is about to have his midday meal when we arrived there. The devotees are gathered there to wait for his blessing after their food offering.



Video of Ajarn Prasoot magically blowing 3 pieces of gold foil into my forehead. This blessing is for Metta and good luck. A maximum of 9 pieces of gold foil can be used.
Bird-head Lersi statue beside the main altar. He is called "Kru Mor Lek".
The 3 Buddha statues of the main altar.
A shot of the back of the cave. It leads all the way the back of the hill.

No Toilets in Heaven

I was reading the "Fruit of Karma" book by Sudassa Onkom sometime ago and came across an interesting anecdote. In the story LP Jaran's disciple Phra Buayao was offered divine food by a certain Deva who admired the progress he has made in meditation. The food looked like ordinary food, but the taste was beyond anything that he could imagine. The amazing thing was Phra Buayao was the only one who could experience it - to other monks it just tasted normal. A small amount of it was enough to satisfy one's hunger. Puzzled, Phra Buayao asked LP Jaran about this and LP explained it to him accordingly, as he too has been offered divine food by this Deva as well. LP mentioned that the food and drink of the Devas are so refined that they are completely absorbed by the body. Ordinary food and drink are only partially absorbed by our bodies and the rest comes out as waste matter. But for Deva food, it produces no waste matter at all. Thus the Devas have no need to urinate or defecate and there are no toilets to be found in the heavenly realms.

Furthermore, Deva bodies are very subtle and they do not sweat, accumulate dirt and become smelly like our gross bodies. The only time Devas sweat and become smelly are when they are about to die - one of the five major signs of decay. Otherwise they are always clean, radiant and good smelling. The clothes of the Devas are also always clean and pure, and their beauty depends on the merits that they have accumulated when they were humans. Because of this Devas do not need bathrooms as well, since there is no need for them to wash their bodies clean daily. As such, the heavens are places of perpetual purity and cleanness, as opposed to the hells, which are places of extreme impurity and suffering. That's why there's truth to the saying that "cleanliness is next to godliness". The Buddha himself placed great emphasis on hygiene and cleanliness, instructing the monks to bathe and brush their teeth daily. Hair and beard should also be shaved on a regular basis to maintain a neat appearance. He criticized those ascetics who made themselves naked and dirty in order to be holy as being foolish. So there's no question to how the Buddha perceived the merits of cleanliness.

Why is this so? Because the Buddha's teaching is about purifying one's mind, and keeping one's body clean has an undeniably positive effect on the mind. Toilets are places where we get rid of the filth and waste matter in our bodies and thus keeping toilets clean is also an act of great merit. I once heard another saying which goes, "If you want to know how civilized a country is, simply look at their toilets." Come to think of it, this is quite true. A good example would be Japan and its generally clean public toilets. This is directly linked to the refined and orderly manner which Japanese people conduct themselves in public. LP Jaran also taught that there's great merit to be gained from building public toilets and keeping toilets clean. He said that if parents want their children to grow up and become successful people, they should instill in them the merits of cleanliness and make them clean the toilet or bathroom regularly. Think about it; there's profound meaning to this teaching. If we can develop it into a habit and apply it to the mind, it will surely lead us to the end of suffering.

The Wicked Woman

Last week there was an article in Shinmin paper talking about a Taiwanese woman named Lin Yuru, who successively murdered her own mother, mother in law and husband in order to use their insurance money to pay off her gambling debts. Lin, aged 28, was addicted to betting on underground lottery since 2003. As a result she chalked up huge gambling debts totalling many millions of yuan. In 2008 she murdered her mother by pushing her down a flight of steps, gaining around 5 million yuan from a prior accident insurance policy. In the following year, she poisoned her mother in law while she was warded in hospital and in the next month used the same tactic on her husband, causing both of their deaths. Her wicked deeds were only revealed when she applied to receive 12 million yuan from the insurance company, arousing their suspicions. The company called the cops on her, prompting them to investigate this case and discover her crimes. Currently, being charged in court for the triple murders, the prosecutor is appealing for the judge to pass 3 death sentences on Lin. He rightfully reprimanded her for being inhuman, wicked and devoid of all conscience.
This woman reminded me of characters like Devadatta and Lady Cinca, who committed heinous sins during the Buddha's time and fell into Avici Hell alive. That was because the Earth was no longer able to bear the weight of their evil deeds and had to open up and swallow them. Even so, by killing her own mother and mother in law, Lin Yuru has committed 2 anantarika-karma and is thus destined to follow in the footsteps of those infamous ones. Furthermore there is the additional sin of killing her husband as well. Although she is still alive, her mind has already fallen into Avici Hell the moment she devised those wicked plans to murder her dear ones out of greed. In this case, greed is the defilement that has led her into the deepest hell. The minds of those who have committed the heinous sins can never find a single moment of peace while they are alive, nor will they be able to find a moment of respite after they die. This is the meaning of "Avici" - without intermission. They will suffer that way for an unimaginably long time, until all their evil karma is exhausted. Woeful indeed are the consequences of not keeping craving and greed in the mind under restraint. We must all take heed from such negative examples.

Great Drought in Southwestern China

"The water basin of the pure mind reflects clearly every moment;

But the broken basin that is the turbid mind of sentient beings,

Cannot reflect the Dharmakaya of the Tathagata."

- Avatamsaka Sutra

Currently, the Southwestern region of China is being hit by the worst drought in 60 yrs; and forecasters see no sign of it abating soon. The people in the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou are affected most badly by this drought, suffering greatly from the severe water shortage. Although the Chinese government tries to use modern technology to create artificial rain, the effect of such measures cannot really do much to solve the problem.

What are the causes of such a disaster? Normal droughts are the result of natural climate cycles, but great droughts of such a severe scale are a result of collective karma. Let me cite a story - during the Han dynasty, there was a filial widow, who continued to take care of her mother in law with devotion even after her husband passed away. But later when the mother in law died, the widow's sister in law wrongly accused her of murdering their mother. They went to the magistrate and the widow protested her innocence. Unfortunately, the magistrate did not believe her and sentenced her to death. After she died, her spirit went up to the Heavenly Emperor to complain of the gross injustice. As a result of this injustice, the entire province experienced a great drought for 3 yrs, causing many people and animals to die. It was only after a virtuous official righted this wrong before the new magistrate and proclaimed it before the widow's grave that the drought finally ended with a huge downpour.

So as we can see, severe climate disasters in a region are usually a result of an unwholesome deed of deeds committed by the people living there. In order to expiate this type of negative karma, the Chinese Sangha of that region should meet and chant the Avatamsaka Sutra together. The merits of this mass chanting should be dedicated to all the aggrieved parties and suffering sentient beings. When they received these merits, their anger will be appeased and the drought will automatically be lifted. Therefore out of compassion for all sentient beings, I hope the respected Sangha leaders will come out to perform this great puja as soon as possible.

The Legend of 9-Face Buddha 九面佛

This year many temples in Thailand are coming out with the images and amulets of Phra Setthi Nawagot (9-face Buddha) as well as Chuchok. Who is this 9-face Buddha? The origins of the veneration of this Buddha began in Chiang Mai of olden times, when it was still called the Lanna Kingdom. It was a difficult place to live and its population suffers much. Out of compassion, a learned guru monk named LP Ariya advised his lay disciples to built the statue of Phra Setthi Nawagot to help overcome their economic difficulties. After completing the statue, a puttaphisek consecration ceremony was conducted to invite Phra Setthi Nawagot to come and receive great offerings from the lay disciples. During the ceremony, many miracles happened throughout the puttaphisek chanting. The lay disciples were afraid as they haven’t seen such occurences in their life before. However when the puttaphisek was over everything went back to normal. Believe it or not the lives of the lay disciples started changing for the better. After the lay diciples experienced such extraodinary power, they asked LP Ariya how did such a strange 9-faced Buddha came about and why is it so effective.

LP Ariya explained that Phra Setthi Nawagot consists of the 9 rich merchants whom have taken refuge under Lord Buddha. "Setthi" means millionaire in Pali and "Nawagot" means 9 times infinity. During Lord Buddha’s lifetime, these 9 merchants have supported the Buddha’s mission in building the Sangha and spreading the Dhamma. Besides being rich lay supporters, they have also achieved the various stages of sainthood. Thus they can be considered Ariyas or Noble Ones. Inviting and revering them sincerely we hope they can bestow upon us the bountiful merits and wealth that they have accumulated in their previous lifetimes. The 9 of them are:

1. Phra Dhananjaya, who bestows power of superiority in ranks and respect.
2. Phra Yasa, whom bestows success in our undertakings.

Also bestows unity of the hearts and minds of people around us.
3. Phra Sumana, who bestows intelligence.
4. Phra Jati Kassa, who bestows prosperity in property and luck.
5. Phra Anathapindika, who bestows good progress in life.
6. Phra Menda Kassa, who bestows prosperity in wealth and luck.
7. Phra Jotika, who bestows Metta and attractiveness.
8. Phra Sumangala, who bestows a steady and peaceful life.
9. Phra Upasika Visakha, bestows promotions in office and progress.

And the Phra Setthi Nawagot Heart Katha is:

U A Ka Sa
A Ka Sa U
Ka Sa U A
Sa U A Ka
Na Cha Li Ti (9x or 108x).

May you all benefit from the veneration of this 9-face Buddha, sadhu.

Wat Tham Promsawat in Lopburi

LP Suang is a Forest Monk of the Thammayut Tradition, and has learned under great masters like LP Khao, LP Tet, LP Chob and so on. He is a grand disciple of LP Mun. Last year, he has been awarded the rank of Phra Kru by Somdej Phra Puttajarn and is now the Sangha chief of the Pattana district in Lopburi.
Meeting LP Suang last Nov in 2009. The altar in LP's Kuti.
New batch of amulets consecrated this year.
The batch of amulets consecrated last year.

Group members having their photos taken with the Luang Pee at the amulet counter.

Inside the Maha Mondop of Wat Traimit

A video of Phra Buddha Maha Suwan Patimakon (The Golden Buddha) from the front. The Maha Mondop of Wat Traimit, Bangkok was recently opened.

Video of the Golden Buddha from the back. As we can see the place is thronging with tourists and devotees.
A 19" black bronze bucha of the Golden Buddha on display.
Another 9" brass bucha on display.

Recently consecrated amulets to commemorate the opening of the Maha Mondop.