Buddha Amulets
How to
Reconnect One’s Mind to a Buddha Amulet of Wat Paknam
By
Phramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro)
The Great
Master of Dhammakaya Meditation & Late Abbot of Wat Paknam
R
According to the ‘Explanation on Gift Buddha
Amulet of Phramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro), Luang Por Wat Paknam in Bangkok,
page 5 – 7, Luang Por explained the method on how to reconnect one’s mind to a
Buddha amulet as follows:
“.. Please take out the package and look at
the Buddha amulet with your naked eyes until you can remember well. Then, picture the image of Buddha amulet in
your mind for further sacredness. For
ladies, picture the image of Buddha amulet at your left nostril. For gentlemen, picture the image at the right
nostril. [Move the pictured image from
base to base until reaching the middle of your body.] Locate the pictured image at the center of
your body. Imagine that there are two
threads. The first one stretches from
the navel to the back. The second one
stretches from the right to the left. At
the intersection of two threads, there is a transcendental Dhamma sphere which
forms the human body. Next, continue to
picture the image of your Buddha amulet in the middle of the sphere, the Buddha
amulet should face to the same direction as your own body. This is the first step.
Secondly, the ladies should move their mind
from base to base, starting from the left nostril, and right nostril for the
gentlemen. Then, settle your mind in the
middle of the pictured Buddha amulet.
Your mind will reach an infinite number of Lord Buddhas. This method is stipulated by the Lord Buddhas
in order to allow humans to reconnect their minds to the Nirvana. It is similar to devices that can send signal
from one country to another country.
Such devices can transmit voice back and forth. The devices are both a transmitter and
receiver. Still your mind in the middle of
the pictured Buddha amulet. Still your
mind there. Then, recollect the purity
of the Lord Buddhas. Keep your mind
still and repeat the pali mantra ‘Samma Arahang… Samma Arahang… Samma
Arahang.’ Keep your mind still further
until it unifies. At the right mental
unification, the mind becomes still in the middle of the pictured Buddha
amulet. As the mind becomes still, it
complies to the Lord Buddha’s teaching.
The stillness of mind is the Lord Buddha’s
teaching. When he went to teach
Angulimala, after Angulimala became less aggressive to him, Angulimala yelled
“Standstill, monk!... Standstill!” Then,
the Lord Buddha turned to Angulimala and said “I am already still, but you are
not.” This is the stillness that he
meant. Once your mind becomes still, it
complies to the Lord Buddha’s teaching.
It reaches the target of Buddhism.
Being still mentally in the middle of the Buddha… in the middle of the
middle… deeper and deeper… not to the above, below, right or left, but in the
middle of the middle only until one’s mind becomes superbly refined. Then, one will see the Lord Buddha whether
one opens or closes one’s eyes. The
merit energy earned from building a temple or a Buddhist hall is not comparable
to the merit energy earned from keeping one’s mind still until seeing the Lord
Buddha in meditation. The merit energy
earned from building a temple is just a meritorious deed of the sensual
realm.
The stilled mind in the middle of the
pictured Buddha amulet is a mind in meditation.
It is a great merit which is superior.
Keep your mind still in the middle of the clear Buddha image and deepen
your mind into the middle of the middle without retreating. Don’t make it slip, deepening your mind
further into the middle of the middle.
At the right mental unification, the clear Buddha image will change his
size and color [automatically]. He will
turn crystal clear, about the same size as your body or bigger. You will find
yourself in the middle of the Buddha image.
Recollect the purity of the Buddha image. If you can attain the crystal Buddha image
like this, you reaches the core of Buddhism.
Further into the middle of the crystal clear
Buddha image. The crystal clear Buddha
image will become purer and bigger. You
will gain expertise in doing this. The
Buddha image will radiate His radiance.
Follow my guidelines accordingly until you see the crystal clear Buddha
image clearly. This will be wonderful
and magnificent…”
How To Make Wishes
Once you know how to enshrine [the celestial part of] a Buddha
amulet inside your body, you can make wishes with the Buddha amulet further
which will come true sooner or later. You
should do so before leaving your home to work or prior to doing any business or
work, at least once a day, or one more time before going to bed. If you always do this and reconnect your mind
at all times, your wishes will come true quickly. For those who do not make wishes, they will be
blessed for happiness and prosperity. Luang
Por had published the explanation on how to reconnect one’s mind to the Buddha
amulet and make wishes. The explanation
slip was enclosed into each Buddha amulet package. Luang Por’s explanation is as follows:
“Please bring your mind to become still in the middle of your body. First, pay homage to the sacred Triple Gem,
there is no such other comparable sacred thing.
Then look at your Buddha amulet until you can remember and visualize or
picture the image of your Buddha amulet in the middle of your body, at the
center of yourself. Then, repeat the
mantra ‘Samma Arahang… Samma Arahang… Samma Arahang…” Picture the image in your mind clearly as if
you were seeing with your naked eyes.
The more you visualize, the clearer of the image. However, it is not to see with your naked
eyes, but to see with your celestial eyes [or your mind]. (Your body that you
see in your dream is one of the celestial bodies.)
Once you can clearly see the image, make sure you see the image at
all time irrespective of your gesture.
If you can do this, the Buddha amulet will bless you. After that, He will turn his own image to be
larger or smaller or to be of different colors such as white, silver,
quicksilver, golden, yellow, crystal clear, emerald green, like a diamond, or
like a mirror.
When you can see the image like this in your mind, keep your mind
indifferent as it is the power of Buddha amulet that blesses you. You have to respect and recollect Him all the
time. To do so, it is to worship Him in
practice. It is a superior type of
worship where no other worship is comparable.
Up to this point, the Buddha amulet will fully turn himself into a
beautiful and flawless crystal clear Buddha image. He will be seated [in cross-legged meditation
posture] at the center of your body, facing outward to the same direction as your
body. The center of your body is the
place where He is enshrined. Your mind
should remain still at the center of the Buddha image, similar to the way you
still your mind in the middle of your human body when we meditate.
After you attain the Lord Buddha like this, no matter what [good
things] you wish for, you can request the Lord Buddha directly to fulfill your
wishes. Your wishes will come true
sooner or later or immediately. Once you
gain expertise in reconnecting your mind to the Lord Buddha [through the Buddha
amulet you own], when you travel, either on land, in the water, in the air, or
by any other way, or when there is a happening in the present, you can request
the Lord Buddha to help you immediately.
If you work as a government officer, you can request for a trouble-free
work that does not distract those who supervise you. If you do business, you can request for good
business. If you do farming or any other
works, you can request for a fruitful outcome.
If you travel by any mean of transportation, you can wish for safety and
prosperity at all time. May all of you
who donate for the construction fund [of the Dhamma school] be successful, and
may all of your wishes come true.”
The Story of Wat Paknam’s Amulets
In addition to the gift of Dhamma given
by teaching meditation and Buddhist doctrine to his disciples, Luang Por Wat
Paknam (Phramongkolthepmuni), the master of Dhammakaya meditation, also gave
Buddha amulets to his patrons as gifts that represent the Lord Buddha. Moreover, Luang Por’s Buddha amulet can also
be used as meditation objects.
Luang Por ordered his disciples to produce
the first series of Wat Paknam’s Buddha amulets in 1950, totaling 84,000 pieces
which equals to the number of Dhammakhanda in the Tripitaka Buddhist
scripture. In that year, Luang Por held
the monastic title of Prabhavanakosolthera.
He assigned Kru Treetar to create the first nine Buddha amulets, then
other Buddhist nuns who attained Dhammakaya continued to make the rest under
the supervision of Kru Treetar until completion.
Each Buddha amulet was in rectangle
shape. The Buddha image is in blessing
gesture. At the back of each Buddha
amulet, there is a Cambodian language that says ‘Dhammakhanda’. [Cambodian language used to be the sacred
language of Buddhist scriptures in ancient Thai civilization.] Luang Por named his amulet as ‘the gift
amulet.’ The Buddha amulets were given
to contributors who donated at least 25 baht for the construction of Wat Paknam’s
Dhamma school.
The constituents of Luang Por’s Buddha
amulets were dried jasmine flowers and Luang Por’s hairs. After producing the amulets, they were
contained in crates and blessed by the power of Dhammakaya meditation at the
meditation workshop throughout the period of three month during Buddhist lent,
starting from the new moon day of the eight month until the full moon day of
the eleventh month. Then, Luang Por
framed the amulets with aluminum, so the receivers would be able to hang on
their necklace immediately. There was
also an attached slip explaining how to worship and make resolutions to the
Buddha amulets. The amulets were given
to patrons for the first time in the eleventh lunar month of 1950, at Wat
Paknam’s Buddha hall on the occasion of Luang Por’s birthday anniversary.
People may believe that each Buddha
amulet is an image of the Lord Buddha, so it should be sacred in itself
already, and there is no need for a ceremony to bless them. Luang Por explained that whether a Buddha
amulet is big or small, they are non-living being. However, after blessing them [with Dhammakaya
meditation], they can become ‘alive’.
Luang Por Also Donated
Luang Por was an honest person, either
to others or himself, whether another party is present or not. He was even honest in his thoughts which were
unknown to others. He did not take it
for granted. For the giving of Buddha
amulets which he ordered to produce, he knew that his Buddha amulets were
sacred, he also had to donate money to the temple when he wished to give such
amulets to others as presents. To him,
it was not a personal matter. He always
said that if he took the amulets without donating money, it would mean that he
cheated the temple.
Only One for Each Person
No matter how much an individual
donated to the temple, Luang Por gave him or her only one Buddha amulet. The reason was that he gave as a gift, and
the receiver had to take the Buddha amulet from him directly. Nobody can take the Buddha amulet on others’
behalf. When someone lost the Buddha
amulet, Luang Por refused to give a new one except that he could not remember
or such person lied to him when he asked.
For some people, Luang Por could remember that they took the Buddha
amulets already, so he told them not to take the amulets again.
Once, there was an individual who was
to offer 10,000 baht to Luang Por in order to support the construction of the
Dhamma school, but such person wished to receive numerous Buddha amulets for
sharing to family and fellows. When such
person knew that he would receive only one Buddha amulet, he turned to donate
less than 10,000 baht. However, Luang
Por was not the one who received money.
He was responsible for giving the Buddha amulets only whereas the
templewarden received money from donator.
The donator would receive a coupon from the templewarden, so they could
exchange the coupon for a Buddha amulet.
This did not mean that Luang Por was
unkind for giving only one Buddha amulet to each person, disallowing anyone to
receive an amulet on others’ behalf, and refusing to give a new Buddha amulet
to those who lost it. Some people might
feel dissatisfied and criticized Luang Por that he was unjust. His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch (Poon
Poonasirimahathera), the late abbot of Wat Prachetuphon, a nephew of Luang Por
Wat Paknam, had opined about this that “Luang Por’s one man one amulet policy
made it so sacred. I myself used to
receive an amulet from Luang Por, and I gave the amulet to a baby boy whose
parents requested me to name him. One
day, I went to Luang Por to ask for another amulet, but he refused. He said that only one amulet per person
only. Later on, I tried to ask him for
another amulet again, but Luang Por remained silent. So, I was certain that he would not give me.”
At one time, I told Luang Por that I
wished to spared the amulets with me when I traveled to distant cities. So, I would be able to give to anyone who
wanted them. Luang Por replied that it
should not be like that because our amulets were of good quality. Anyone who wished to receive had to come to
Wat Paknam by himself. Otherwise, it
would be like fake Buddha amulets, and it won’t gain good reputation. Luang Por added that “Don’t worry. Making 84,000 amulets twice would not be
enough. And it became true just like
what Luang Por said.”
The Most Venerable Pra
Dhammasinghaburacariya (Charun Dhittadhammo), the abbot of Wat Ampawan in
Promburi District, Singhburi Province, who used to study meditation with Luang
Por in 1950 had questioned Luang Por why he gave only one amulet per person.
“… Venerable Luang Por, you set up a
rule that whoever donates 25 baht will receive an amulet, and no one can
receive the amulet on others’ behalf.
Some people donated 100 baht wishing to receive more amulets for their
family members at home. If so, we will
earn more money, and the school will be completed more quickly.” Luang Por remained silent. In the evening, he explained that “Do you
know? For those who donate a hundred or two hundred baht in order to receive
more Buddha amulets for their family members, there are both advantage and
disadvantage. The advantage is we earn
money. Do you know the
disadvantage? If you do not know the
disadvantage, let me tell you.
If people receive numerous Buddha
amulets for sharing to their family members and neighbors, the receivers of
Buddha amulet will not know Wat Paknam and Luang Por Sodh. So, they will not pay attention, and the
Buddha amulets may be left uncared. If
an individual comes to receive the amulet by oneself, he or she knows Luang Por
Sodh, this makes it sacred. If such
person does not know how Luang Por Sodh looks like or does not know Wat Paknam,
he may even throw away the Buddha amulet.
This is the disadvantage.”
The Most Venerable Charun continued
that Luang Por had a technique in giving the gift Buddha amulet that Luang Por
would look at the face of the receiver first if he or she was a disciple who
respected in him or not, this would make the amulet sacred. Otherwise, it would be useless for those who
received the amulet.
The amulets can become sacred and
powerful if the receiver is faithful and respectful. If one receives an amulet and does not
experience the sacredness of such amulet even though one wishes to, one needs
to change one’s attitude. For Wat
Paknam, the temple has produced the Buddha amulets up to series nine. This excludes many other special series of
Buddha amulets on special occasions.
How to be Blessed by A Buddha Amulet
After receiving a Buddha amulet from
Luang Por, he recommended the receiver not to place the amulet on the altar at
home. Luang Por suggested each Buddha
amulet owner to bring the amulet with oneself wherever one went to. So, the Buddha amulet could secure him. However, there is a method in inviting the
Buddha amulet before putting on the necklace where the Buddha amulet is
hung. Although the Buddha amulet owner
did not receive the amulet directly from Luang Por or the amulet is not of
series one, the owner should follow Luang Por’s suggestion. This is the same to Buddha amulets from all
series. To invite the amulet to
accompany oneself, one has to make a wish.
Before Luang Por gave amulets to the
receivers, he would explain the meditation method in order to visualize a
Buddha amulet at the center of one’s body.
For those who follow his guideline, the Buddha will be enshrined inside their
body even though they lost the Buddha amulets.
The method is similar to meditation method, but the
meditation object is changed from a crystal clear sphere to the Buddha
amulet. According to the ‘Explanation on
Gift Buddha Amulet of Pramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro), Luang Por Wat Paknam
in Bangkok, page 5 – 7, Luang Por explained the method on how to reconnect
one’s mind to a Buddha amulet as follows:
“.. Please take out the
package and look at the Buddha amulet with your naked eyes until you can
remember well. Then, picture the image
of Buddha amulet in your mind for further sacredness. For ladies, picture the image of Buddha
amulet at your left nostril. For
gentlemen, picture the image at the right nostril. [Move the pictured image from base to base
until reaching the middle of your body.]
Locate the pictured image at the center of your body. Imagine that there are two threads. The first one stretches from the navel to the
back. The second one stretches from the
right to the left. At the intersection
of two threads, there is a transcendental Dhamma sphere which forms the human
body. Next, continue to picture the
image of your Buddha amulet in the middle of the sphere, the Buddha amulet
should face to the same direction as your own body. This is the first step.
Secondly, the ladies
should move their mind from base to base, starting from the left nostril, and
right nostril for the gentlemen. Then,
settle your mind in the middle of the pictured Buddha amulet. Your mind will reach an infinite number of
Lord Buddhas. This method is stipulated
by the Lord Buddhas in order to allow humans to reconnect their minds to the
Nirvana. It is similar to devices that
can send signal from one country to another country. Such devices can transmit voice back and
forth. The devices are both a
transmitter and receiver. Still your
mind in the middle of the pictured Buddha amulet. Still your mind there. Then, recollect the purity of the Lord
Buddhas. Keep your mind still and repeat
the pali mantra ‘Samma Arahang… Samma Arahang… Samma Arahang.’ Keep your mind still further until it
unifies. At the right mental
unification, the mind becomes still in the middle of the pictured Buddha
amulet. As the mind becomes still, it
complies to the Lord Buddha’s teaching.
The stillness of mind is
the Lord Buddha’s teaching. When he went
to teach Angulimala, after Angulimala became less aggressive to him, Angulimala
yelled “Standstill, monk!... Standstill!”
Then, the Lord Buddha turned to Angulimala and said “I am already still,
but you are not.” This is the stillness
that he meant. Once your mind becomes
still, it complies to the Lord Buddha’s teaching. It reaches the target of Buddhism. Being still mentally in the middle of the
Buddha… in the middle of the middle… deeper and deeper… not to the above,
below, right or left, but in the middle of the middle only until one’s mind
becomes superbly refined. Then, one will
see the Lord Buddha whether one opens or closes one’s eyes. The merit energy earned from building a
temple or a Buddhist hall is not comparable to the merit energy earned from
keeping one’s mind still until seeing the Lord Buddha in meditation. The merit energy earned from building a
temple is just a meritorious deed of the sensual realm.
The stilled mind in the
middle of the pictured Buddha amulet is a mind in meditation. It is a great merit which is superior. Keep your mind still in the middle of the
clear Buddha image and deepen your mind into the middle of the middle without
retreating. Don’t make it slip,
deepening your mind further into the middle of the middle. At the right mental unification, the clear
Buddha image will change his size and color [automatically]. He will turn crystal clear, about the same
size as your body or bigger. You will find yourself in the middle of the Buddha
image. Recollect the purity of the
Buddha image. If you can attain the
crystal Buddha image like this, you reach the core of Buddhism.
Further into the middle
of the crystal clear Buddha image. The
crystal clear Buddha image will become purer and bigger. You will gain expertise in doing this. The Buddha image will radiate His
radiance. Follow my guidelines
accordingly until you see the crystal clear Buddha image clearly. This will be wonderful and magnificent…”
The Miracle Power of Buddha Amulets
Series 1
Many of those who received the Buddha
amulets series 1 had experienced with the miracle power. Some of them informed their experiences to
Luang Por. Luang Por himself said about
the miracle power and sacredness of his Buddha amulets series 1 as follows:
“… all of you had supported
Buddhism. Buddhism received donation
from you, so there is something given in return which is a sacred thing. None has ever found such a sacred thing. It could be true or hard to estimate. I myself had invited the Lord Buddhas in
Nirvana, there were numerous Dhammakaya.
We invited the Lord Buddhas in an uncountable number of Nirvana to bless
these Buddha amulets.”
Those who attain Dhammakaya in the
human world also joined to work on such task.
They did the same as the Lord Buddhas did. The Lords managed by themselves, starting
from the beginning of Buddhist lent until the end of Buddhist lent day. They did not stop even for a single
second. They blessed the amulets to be
sacred. At dawn of the end of Buddhist
lent day, our wish in blessing the Buddha amulets was fulfilled. The foremost Lord Buddha uttered “It is
the first time on earth that such sacred things occur.” Then, He remained silent. After He uttered like this, we calculated how
sacred the amulets are, but it was incalculable.
I myself started to give these amulets
to contributors on the 6th waning moon day which is my own
birthday. After I gave these amulets,
there have been many miracle happenings due to the Buddha amulets. For example, Mrs. Kheao Bangpai, she is
around 80 year old. After she received
the Buddha amulet, she placed it on the top of her mosquito net. At night, the Buddha amulet radiated his aura
all over the house. Everyone was
surprised for some time. Then, the
radiance faded away gradually until she found the brightness on the top of her
mosquito net. So, she realized that she
placed the Buddha amulet there, and the brightness came out from the amulet.
In the morning of the following day,
Mrs. Kheao came to see me saying that there was brightness at her house because
of the Buddha amulet who radiated. In
the beginning, she did not know what the cause was, but later on the brightness
was at the Buddha amulet, so she came to realize. On the day when Mrs. Kheao came to receive
the Buddha amulet, she had illness. But
since that only one night… when she came to inform me… it seemed like she had
an aura. She looked different from
before. She said the Buddha amulet was
amazing as it could change her so much.
That’s not all. There are many
others who received the Buddha amulets.
There was a girl who was not fully
thirteen year old yet. She received a
Buddha amulet from Wat Paknam. She lived
on Tok Road. As she got home, he Buddha
amulet floated away into the air. She
saw the Buddha amulet floated into the praying room of a house in her
neighborhood. She followed the Buddha
amulet and wished to enter the praying room of such house. But the owner refused saying that no other
was allowed to enter. So, they argued,
and the girl cried. Then, the owner said
if she wished to enter she had to inform her mother first. So, the girl told her mother, and she was
finally allowed to get into the praying room.
She found her Buddha amulet on the altar of the praying room. The house owner admitted that the amulet did
not belong to him. So, he gave back to
the girl. It is so amazing that a
material object like this could fly.
Moreover, the Buddha amulet could talk,
not only just radiating. He could
talk. There was a navy. On the 29th, the navy had dinner
together at the Military Signal Section. After dinner, the navy had their guns
back. Then, the Buddha amulet which was
at the chest of a navy said that “leave your gun and do not stay here.” The navy did so, but he did not know where to
go. The Buddha amulet replied “go to Wat
Chang (Wat Arunrajavararam). When he got
to Wat Chang, the temple was surrounded.
He guessed that he would get shot as the temple was surrounded. But the Buddha amulet told him to hide away
in a concealed place. So, the navy
followed the Buddha amulet’s guidance.
He followed what the Buddha amulet said accordingly by going here and
there. Finally, he could flee.
When the situation turned to normal, he
went to see his commander. Then, he was
assigned to the post of a royal adjutant due to vacancy. After taking his post for nine days, he came
to see me to inform what happened to him.
When I saw him, I asked “Where have you been?” He said “Luang Por, please let me bow to your
feet.” “What’s going on? Tell me.” I
questioned. Then, he explained his
happenings.
Different people experienced with the miracle
power of the Buddha amulets in different ways.
Some people experience the miracle power soon after they received the
amulet, some had to wait for a longer time.
Some did not experience the miracle power until years had passed by or
until the Buddha amulets were passed on to their descendants as
inheritances. Some people did better in
their business, won the lottery, or experience with financial gains. Some of them were saved from accidents where
many people died.
By that time, Thailand sent its soldiers
to join the Korean war. Many soldiers
came to see Luang Por before their departure in order to receive the Buddha
amulet and blessed by Luang Por. Luang
Por said as follows:
“… During the Korean war, there were
British, American, and Western soldiers who were conversing together. There were also some Thai soldiers. Then, a bomb dropped there. Everyone died except a Thai soldier who had
the Buddha amulet. He received a
medal. This is the miracle power of the
Buddha amulet. One of the amulet owners
climbed a coconut tree and fell down. He
laid down for a while and rose to climb the coconut tree again. Nothing was wrong with him.”
Protecting Oneself & One’s Fellows
The Bangkok Times newspaper had
included many articles about the miracle power of Buddha amulets produced by
Wat Paknam, even after Luang Por passed away.
So, many people who were interested in the Buddha amulets looked for
Luang Por’s Buddha amulets series 1.
This resulted the price to increase continually. Some samples of the articles are as follows:
“… in order to present the story about
courage of Thai soldiers in the Korean war and the sacredness of Thai art…
once, I went to see the Most Venerable Pramongkolthepmuni (Sodh), the abbot of
Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in Thonburi who was well-known as Luang Por Wat Paknam,
in order to ask him about the renowned Buddha amulets which he produced for
giving to people as gifts as there were Thai soldiers who could amazingly
survive from the battle ground of the Korean war. Each of these soldiers has a Buddha amulet
from Luang Por Wat Paknam on their necklace all alike.
As I arrived Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in
Thonburi, in the area of Talad Plu market, it was time for Luang Por to have
lunch at the refectory. So, I waited for
him amidst several people who came to see Luang Por. While I was waiting, I saw a letter which was
written by the lance corporal Vasana Arkomwattana from the 21st
mixed division, mailed directly from the battle field of Korean War. I think that this letter should be publicized
for the public to know. The letter
content is as follows:
… since I received a white Buddha
amulet and now that I am joining the Korean war. I am well secured. As I have been a Buddha amulet collector for
years, I have never seen such a high performance Buddha amulet. Whatever I wish, I made resolutions according
to the methodology, and my wishes came true.
This is such a wonderful Buddha amulet, and there is no superior
refuge. I used to have financial
difficulty, but since I received this Buddha amulet from you, my financial
status has improved and I never face with scarcity.
I would like to tell you, the monastic
members, and laypeople about my situation in the war. By that time, the Thai soldiers engaged in a
turmoil battle. The opponent’s artillery
bullet had hit the bullet’s warehouse resulting those who stayed in the area to
evacuate as the diesel tanks was on fire and burst its flame until the sky was
brighten. Guns and metal tools and
equipment melt down in the fire. By that
time, a soldier had left his Buddha amulet in a pack.
Late in the morning, the fire started
to stop and the solider rushed to the spot where he left the amulet, he found
his Buddha amulet which was wrapped in a handkerchief and hung to a metal pole. This amazed many soldiers because the fire
was so strong that it melted down even metal, but it could not harm the Buddha
amulet wrapped in a handkerchief. Inside
the handkerchief, there were many Buddha amulets from different Buddhist
masters. All of them deformed and melted
down except the Buddha amulet from Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen. Wat Paknam’s Buddha amulet was the only one
that survived and left unharmed, even the amulet’s frame. The news had spread all over our company, and
we found that there are only two soldiers who have a Buddha amulet from Wat
Paknam which are I myself and my friend whose amulet was under fire.
Another story is, one day, I had to
transport some weapons to the top of a mountain. The spot where I stood to have a conversation
was the very spot where the bomb was dropped.
By the power of your amulet, I felt peculiar and moved my weapons away
from the spot immediately. Around fourteen
minutes afterward, a bomb was dropped onto the spot where I stood.
In addition, once, my vehicle fell down
from a cliff. Many soldiers died and got
injured, but I could survive by jumping out from such vehicle. Sometimes, there were snow and fog that
caused me to get lost while doing my duty.
It was helpless. So, I placed my
hands in a prayer position and thought of you, around an hour after that the
fog faded away rapidly, so I could return to my military base.
There are many other stories which I
have not included in this letter since I have to shoot in the battle field
almost every single day. But I could
return with a victory every time. The
enemy’s weapons could not harm even my skin.
So, I would like to inform you about this. My friends and I had tried by ourselves. Sometimes, the enemy shot us badly. If we do not have a chance to focus our mind
at the center of the body and repeat the mantra, we recollect Luang Por. This could secure myself and even my friends…
When Luang Por Wat Paknam came down
from the refectory after having his lunch, I had a conversation with him about
his renowned Buddha amulets. Luang Por
said that he produced the 84,000 Buddha amulets in order to give to his
faithful followers for the sake of their prosperity.
In addition, it is for the building of
the Dhamma school which cost around two million baht. The Religion Office provided only 5,000 baht,
so the rest comes from the giving of Buddha amulets to donators. So far, he could raise more than one million
baht. He believed that his project will
come to a completion soon. Regarding the
sacredness of his Buddha amulets, Luang Por said that the amulets are sacred in
many ways. Ones who have the Buddha
amulets will have a prosperous life and safety as the amulets were produced
with the right methodology.
Other than the miracle power of Wat
Paknam’s Buddha amulets experienced by lance corporal Vasana Arkomwattana from
the 21st mixed division during the Koren war, Luang Por’s other
disciples, both monks and laypeople, whom I conversed with on that day, had
also experienced the miracle power of Wat Paknam’s Buddha amulets in several
ways. One of them had travelled by
plane. On the way, the plane crashed and
caused every passenger to die except the one who has Wat Paknam’s Buddha
amulet. Some of them experienced with
prosperity in their lives by winning lottery.
One of Luang Por’s disciples said that
Wat Paknam’s Buddha amulets are powerful in term of both gain and beloved. Luang Por himself has proved that he never
face with scarcity, and he is well beloved.
This is a common phenomena at Wat Paknam as Luang Por and his disciple
monks do not have to go out for alms round for many decades already because his
faithful disciples would line up to donate for treating meals to the monks
every single day.
Moreover, there are people who bring
groceries and ingredients to the Buddhist nuns and lay staffs for cooking at
the kitchen, totally more than a hundred of them. The electricity and water work bills are also
sponsored by donators every month.
Luang Por Wat Paknam is an expert in
vipassana meditation, so his temple is a renowned and dominant vipassana school
which is well recognized by people from all walks of life including VIPs who
are members of the government. They
invite Luang Por and his monks to join different ceremonies always.
Luang Por’s curing of disease is also
weird. He does not rely on medication or
holy water, but the patients are required to fill the form to report their
symptoms as well as their names and birthday.
The forms will be passed on to Luang Por everyday for one week. For patients who live in other provinces and
are unable to visit Wat Paknam, they can mail their letter to Luang Por. The forms and letters will be read by vipassana
meditators at Wat Paknam who cure the patients’ disease with meditation
power. It has proved that Luang Por’s
method of curing disease has helped many patients to recover…” (An
article from Bangkok Times, Year 6, Week 280, Monday, 23 May 1960)
Luang Por said that if an army general
has one of his Buddha amulets, the subordinates would also be safeguarded.
The news about the miracle power of
Luang Por’s Buddha amulet series one had spread and became the headlines of
many newspapers, especially the ones that emphasized on sacredness of Buddhist
masters and Buddhist amulets. People
wished to receive an amulet from Luang Por, so they went to Wat Paknam. People came by bus and by boat from almost
every province. Some came from
abroad.
Due to his popularity, the head of the
21st mixed division invited Luang Por to have meal and chant at his
work place, and he requested Luang Por to give the Buddha amulets
there.Afternoon session:
The more popular the Buddha amulets
became, the more workload Luang Por had.
He had to give Buddha amulets to donators by himself, and this took many
hours a day. Luang Por started to give
Buddha amulets series one when he was 66 year old. He continued to do so until he became very
ill. Hence, the role was taken over by
Luang Por Lek. Luang Por did not do it
because he wished to have good reputation or earn money, but he did it with
kindness. Luang Por thought that many
people sacrificed their time and spent money to travel to Wat Paknam, he knew
that most people wished to see him and received blessing from him. People would be disappointed if they travel
afar to Wat Paknam but missed the opportunity to meet him. And they did not know when they would have a
chance to go to Wat Paknam again. Luang
Por was a very committed person, and he prefers the committed ones. He had no worry and never showed his
exhaustion.
Luang Por’s brief schedule to give away
Buddha amulets was as follows:
Morning session: After having breakfast
Afternoon session: From one o’clock to
three o’clock (in case that there were numerous people)
Evening session: After evening chanting
until at night (until there is nobody left in line at the Buddha Hall)
Venerable Pra Kru Samuh Charoen had to
arrange the line for those who waited to receive the Buddha amulets. They would meet Luang Por as a group. There were monks who assisted the process in
lining up and managed the group to enter and leave the Buddha Hall, so there
would be not puzzlement. When the Buddha
Hall was overcrowded, the doors would be closed until a number of people leave
the Buddha Hall from the back doors, and the front doors would be opened again. Some people, even strong men who waited in
front of the Buddha Hall, had passed out.
But nobody gave up. Some of them
did not just want to receive an amulet, but they wished to seek for advice and
guidance from Luang Por. So, it took
longer time.
During the years when Luang Por gave
Buddhat amulets to donators, Wat Paknam was crowded. Many people went to Wat Paknam as if there
were a festival. This made many
merchants around the temple got rich, such as those who sold Kao Larm (Bamboo
shaft stuffed with sweet rice). The Kao
Larm merchants made very good business, and they could sell numerous bamboo
shafts each day. The bamboo shafts were
grilled next to the Buddha hall, and it was known to the public that whoever
went to Wat Paknam to receive a Buddha amulet had to buy Kao Larm and Kao Tang
(deep fried crispy rice). Whereas Kao
Larm could be bought from merchants, people could buy Kao Tang from Buddhist
nuns who worked for the temple kitchen.
In the old days, rice was steamed with
a big metal pan as there was no sizable electric rice cooker as the present
days. Everyday, there were remains of
rice on the pan surface. The Buddhist
nuns who worked for the kitchen would scratch the remains of rice and dried it
with sunlight. Then, the dried rice was
fried to make Kao Tang.
Nobody knew that the merry of Wat
Paknam when Luang Por gave Buddha amulets had brought about both loss and
gain. As some people gain from this
opportunity, Luang Por himself was the one who lost his strength as he had to
use much energy and effort in meeting people and explained how to reconnect
their mind to the Buddha amulet. He had
to do it over and over for thousands of time as he explained to each person one
by one. Especially, on Buddhist holy day
like Visakha puja day, there were about 1,500 people who went to receive Buddha
amulets. This excluded the children.
In addition to meeting with those who
went to receive an amulet from him, Luang Por still carried on his routine
including meditation practice, chanting, teaching monks and novice monks, and
giving sermons as usual. His workload
increased accordingly with his age. The
older he got, the more respect people had upon him.
In 1953, Luang Por’s disciples led by
Mr. Kul Pongsuwan, had bought an audio player/recorder for Wat Paknam in order
to reduce Luang Por’s workload. Thus,
Luang Por’s voice was recorded into two versions namely the full version and
brief version. The full version explains
all the details about how to reconnect one’s mind to the Buddha amulet. This version takes about an hour. Another version is brief version. This is suitable for those who had little
time and needed to return to their place earlier. This is mostly for those who went to receive
Buddha amulets in the morning or evening.
The explanation takes about only fifteen minutes. Mr. Kul had said about this issue as follows:
“I have pondered that Luang Por has to
work hard in giving Buddha amulets to donators in order to raise fund for the
construction of Dhamma school which cost millions. He had to bless every single person and
explain the recollection methodology to each receiver personally before he gave
them. It normally takes almost two
hours. So, I persuaded senior monks,
disciples, and laypeople [of Wat Paknam] to buy an audio player/recorder. By that time there was only one brand,
Revier, from the United States. The
device cost about 10,000 baht. The audio
tape cost around 120 baht each. We
bought the audio tapes for about 5,000 baht.
They are very helpful in reducing Luang Por’s effort in teaching people
and giving Buddha amulets. We also had
opportunities to record Luang Por’s sermons every time.
Later on, the audio player/recorder was
used to record lectures of teaching monks who taught Dhamma to monks and novice
monks. The recorded lectures were played
in order to repeat lessons prior to examination. I learned later on that many more monks and
novice monks had passed the examination [due to the device].
Luang Por was very much satisfied with
the audio player/recorder. He said that
it was very good as it lessened his responsibility partially. Although it could not fully take away all of
his responsibility, but it was helpful in such a way that he did not have to
speak everything by himself. Otherwise,
he would become more exhausted as it took longer time.
For readers who are people of the new
generation and do not know Luang Por, they should put his teachings into
practice in order to gain the intellect and become wise. So, it is worthwhile to be born as a human
who meets with Buddhism. This will make
one to be truly wisdomful. If you do not
believe in others’ saying, you should experiment on it by practicing and
waiting to see the outcome before concluding that it is impossible. This is similar to the scientists who
experiment on their subjects such as medicine.
Sometimes, the experiment can take such a long time like two decades
before they can get a solid outcome.
However, that is not the end of the experiment as they can research further
in order to discover something better and gain better understanding.
Buddha Amulets Series 2 and 3
In 1951, after Luang Por had given a
half of all the Buddha amulets series 1 to donators, he ordered for the
production of Buddha amulets series 2 amounting 84,000 pieces. He assigned Kru Treetar to supervise the
Buddhist nuns at the meditation workshop to press the Buddha amulets similar to
series 1. Then, the amulets were blessed
with Dhammakaya meditation power at the meditation workshop. The amulets series 2 were given to donators
right after all of the Buddha amulets series 1 became out of stock. In 1956, there was only a half of Buddha
amulet series 2 left. However, Luang Por
became ill and was unable to give Buddha amulet to donators by himself any
more.
Hence, he assigned Luang Por Lek (Teera
Dhammadaro, Pali Scholar Level 4, Advanced Level of Dhamma Study) to replace
him in giving Buddha amulets. Luang Por
Lek was the only one who was assigned to do this duty because Luang Por Wat
Paknam had transferred his Dhammakaya meditation knowledge to Luang Por Lek
since Luang Por Lek was a novice monk.
Luang Por Wat Paknam had Luang Por Lek cure others’ diseases as well as
teaching and propagating Dhammakaya meditation on his behalf with good results. Luang Por Wat Paknam had ordered Luang Por
Lek to produce Buddha amulets series 3 amounting 84,000 pieces, in the same
manner as series 1 and 2. Luang Por Lek
was assisted by Prakru Palad Narong Dhitayano (later on he was promoted to the
rank of the most venerable Rajmolee) and Pramaha Tanom Khemiko. Kru Treetar was assigned to supervise the
pressing of Buddha amulets again.
In the beginning, the Buddha amulets
series 3 were pressed from the old molds.
After pressing about 20,000 pieces, Luang Por Lek suspended the Buddha
amulets production temporarily since the molds became thin. So, this lot of Buddha amulets is called
‘shallow-sunken.’ Then, the molds were
fixed and the production process continued.
This lot is called ‘deep-sunken.’
Totally, about 100,000 pieces were pressed. They were more than what was required by
Luang Por since there were more components left.
It is amazing that when the Buddha
amulets series 3 were produced, Luang Por was sick and he did not supervise the
process by himself. However, Luang Por
could know that the number of Buddha amulets had exceeded the number he
ordered. So, one day, he asked Kru
Treetar to meet him and told her to stop pressing the Buddha amulets.
All of the Buddha amulets were brought
into the meditation workshop for blessing with Dhammakaya meditation prior to
the beginning of Buddhist lent in 1956.
So, there were three series of Wat Paknam’s gift Buddha amulets formally
produced when Luang Por was alive.
Blessing the Buddha Amulets
Luang Por’s Buddha amulets became
renowned and popular not only among amulet collectors but for people from all
walks of life. Some people would like to
know how Luang Por blessed his Buddha amulets.
Actually, Luang Por’s Buddha amulets,
starting from series 1 and all other special series, which were produced since
World War II, were produced per Luang Por’s order. So, Wat Paknam’s Buddha amulets were not
antiques discovered from time capsules buried in a sacred place. Luang Por assigned Kru Treetar to supervise
the Buddhist nuns who attained and did not attain Dhammakaya to press the
Buddha amulets with molds. The Buddha
amulets were made from dried jasmine and Luang Por’s hairs. At the back of each amulet, there is a
Cambodian language indicating ‘Dhammakhanda.’
Each Buddha amulet is pressed and dried completely, before it is placed
into crates and carried into the meditation workshop for blessing. Luang Por said that the Buddha amulets either
big or small as a tamarind leaf are non-living thing, but after blessing for
sacredness, they become living being.
The Buddha amulets series 1 amounting
84,000 pieces were blessed with Dhammakaya meditation power from the first waning
moon day of the 8th
lunar month until the full moon day of the 11th lunar month
(throughout the Buddhist lent period).
Luang Por brought out the Buddha amulets series 1 for giving to donators
who contributed for the construction of Dhamma school building on the sixth
waning moon day of the 11th month year 1950 on the occasion of his
birthday, at the Buddha hall of Wat Paknam.
The production of the Buddha amulets
series 2 commenced in 1951, amounting 84,000 pieces, after Luang Por gave about
a half of all of Buddha amulets series 1 to donators (around 40,000
pieces). The Buddha amulets series 2
were made from the mixture of Buddha amulets series 1 and blessed with
Dhammakaya meditation power at the meditation workshop for four years. In 1954, when the Buddha amulet series 1
became out of stock, the Buddha amulets series 2 were given to donators. This series became out of stock in 1962.
The Buddha amulets series 3 were first
produced in 1956, amounting more than 100,000 pieces. The production commenced after Luang Por gave
about a half of all the Buddha amulets series 2 (around 40,000 pieces). This series was made from the mixtures of
Buddha amulets series 1 and series 2.
All the amulets series 3 were blessed with Dhammakaya meditation power
at the meditation workshop for 6 years.
They were given to donators for the first time in 1962 and became out of
stock on 5 August 1971.
Memorabilia and Medals
Luang Por ordered for the production of
memorabilia and medals to be given to people who went to Wat Paknam to
congratulate him on the occasion that he was promoted to the monastic rank of Prabhavanakosolthera
on 1 February 1950. There were also
handkerchiefs with a picture of Luang Por.
There are wordings that say “Celebrating the Monastic Rank of
Prabhavanakosolthera.” Below Luang Por’s
picture, there are wordings that say “Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen Thonburi, 1
February 1950.”
When Luang Por was promoted to the rank
of Pramongkolrajmunee on 5 December 1955, he ordered for the production of
lockets with his picture from Japan as memorabilia.
Birthday Symbol Medal
Prakru Pipatdhammakanee produced Luang
Por’s birthday symbol medal on the occasion that he was promoted to the
monastic rank of Prakru Pipatdhammakanee on 5 December 1956. This medal is in rectangle shape. On one side, there is a symbol of Luang Por’s
birthday (Thai numbers on a circle chart) with a wording below that says “The
Birthday symbol of Pramongkolrajmunee, Luang Por Wat Paknam.” At the back, there is a symbol of the seventh
base of mind. Above this symbol, there
is a wording that says “Samma Arahang.”
Below this symbol, there is a wording that says “The enigma symbol of
Dhammakaya Year 1956.” This medal is
called the birthday symbol medal. They
were available in copper medals and golden medals.
Year 1957 Medal
When Luang Por was promoted to the
monastic rank of Pramongkolthepmuni on 5 December 1957, he ordered for the
production of silver and copper amulet oval medals as memorabilia. One side is the image of Luang Por with the
wording “Pramongkolthepmuni” below. At
the back of the amulet, there are wordings that say “Luang Por Wat Paknam
Bhasicharoen Thonburi 5 December 1957.”
In the middle, there is a Cambodian language that says “Samma Arahang.”
Meals Offering Medal
Luang Por ordered for the production of
this medal in year 1958 in order to give to laypeople who donated for meals
offering at Wat Paknam. The medal is in
oval shape. They were available in
silver and copper. In front of the
medal, there is a picture of Luang Por with the wording “Pramongkolthepmuni” on
the top. At the back of this medal,
there is a symbol of the seventh base of mind with the Cambodian language which
says “Samma Arahang.” Above this symbol,
the wording says “A memorabilia for offering meal.” Below the symbol, the wording says “Wat
Paknam Bhasicharoen Thonburi.”
Every series of lockets and medals were blessed with Dhammakaya meditation power at the meditation workshop before they were given to donators, similar to the Buddha amulets series 1 to 3.
Translated by Pittaya Wong
7 November 2013
How to Meditate With A Buddha Amulet of Wat Paknam
Compiled by Pittaya Wong
Buddha
amulets of Wat Paknam (Bangkok) are blessed by Dhammakaya meditation
masters. Each amulet contains pure
energy which is accessible by its owner through meditation practice. In addition, a Buddha amulet of Wat Paknam
can be used as a meditation object (nimitta) for visualizing in
Dhammakaya meditation practice. Owners
of Wat Paknam’s Buddha amulets can meditate with their Buddha amulets as
follow:
1. Choose a Buddha amulet that you wish to
meditate with.
2. Look at the Buddha amulet until you can
remember well.
3. Close your eyes and visualize or picture the
image of your Buddha amulet (it doesn’t matter if you can visualize clearly or
not), facing outward to the same direction as you do, at the first base which
is your nostril (right side for men and left side for women). Then, while visualizing the image, repeat the
mantra Samma Arahang in your mind three times.
4. Move the visualized image of your Buddha
amulet to the second base which is at the corner of your eye where your tear
duct is located (right eye for men and left eye for women). Repeat the mantra Samma Arahang three
times.
5. Move the visualized image into the middle of
your head (the third base), and repeat the mantra Samma Arahang three
times.
6. Move the visualized image to the roof of your
mouth (the fourth base) and repeat the mantra three times.
7. Move the visualized image to the top of your
throat which is above your Adam’s apple (the fifth base) and repeat the mantra
three times.
8. Move the visualized image to the middle of
your body at the navel level (the sixth base) and repeat the mantra three
times.
9. Move the visualized image of your Buddha
amulet to the center of your body or the seventh base of mind which is
approximately two fingers-breadth above the sixth base and repeat the mantra Samma
Arahang three times.
10. Continue to visualize the image of your
Buddha amulet at the seventh base of mind and repeat the mantra Samma
Arahang over and over.
As you
follow the ten steps above, your Buddha amulet will be unlocked, and your mind
will be connected to the source of pure transcendental energy embedded in the
Buddha amulet. When your mind calms down
and becomes completely still, you can stop repeating the mantra. You may gain various inner meditation
experiences as your meditation develops.
But remember that stillness of mind is the key to success in your
meditation practice. Do not worry about
what you see or experience in your meditation.
Simply continue to rest your mind stilly at the seventh base. As meditation experience develops, you will
gain more and more of insight, intuition, wisdom, super-knowledge, and
brightness as the fruits of your practice.
These qualities will coexist with purity, happiness, peace, and joy.
