This Blog discusses the truth of the Buddha's teachings to be found in everyday life here in Singapore and anywhere else. The practice of the Dhamma is not something far away, but begins right here. To learn more abt Buddhism, visit my online temple at http://www.lianhuayuan.net/ To see my collection of Thai and Chinese Buddhist amulets and images go to http://buddhoamuletshop.blogspot.com/
I've heard that LP Roon of Wat Jam Pathong, Singburi has passed away this year, so I went to his temple and checked when did this happen and see whether there was anything of interest left there.
The large Somdej Toh statue in the main Sala. On checking with the monks there, they told me LP had passed away in Jan this year at the age of 79 (he was borned in 1931). There were also not much left at the temple counter other than some Somdej amulets, chains and takruts.
The Ubosot. LP Roon is the disciple of LP Niam, LP Boy as well as LP Pae. He was a master of Wicha who was best known overseas for the batch of 9-face Lersi and Hindu god amulets consecrated last year. There were also special Somdej and Sivali amulets that were well received by overseas collectors.
The LP Boon Leua statue in front of the Ubosot.
A small shrine at the side with images of LP Roon's masters.
An old Chedi.
A large Reclining Buddha or Phra Non statue.
An old barge that was once used by HM the King.
LP Roon's 9-face Lersi bucha that I found near Pantip.
Lersi head chains that I cleaned out from the temple counter.
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.
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, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Portrait of the late LP Roon.
I've heard that LP Roon of Wat Jam Pathong, Singburi has passed away this year, so I went to his temple and checked when did this happen and see whether there was anything of interest left there.
The large Somdej Toh statue in the main Sala. On checking with the monks there, they told me LP had passed away in Jan this year at the age of 79 (he was borned in 1931). There were also not much left at the temple counter other than some Somdej amulets, chains and takruts.
The Ubosot. LP Roon is the disciple of LP Niam, LP Boy as well as LP Pae. He was a master of Wicha who was best known overseas for the batch of 9-face Lersi and Hindu god amulets consecrated last year. There were also special Somdej and Sivali amulets that were well received by overseas collectors.
The LP Boon Leua statue in front of the Ubosot.
A small shrine at the side with images of LP Roon's masters.
An old Chedi.
A large Reclining Buddha or Phra Non statue.
An old barge that was once used by HM the King.
LP Roon's 9-face Lersi bucha that I found near Pantip.
Lersi head chains that I cleaned out from the temple counter.
