How to get to Wat Pa Baan Taad

The following information is obtained from http://www.luangta.com/resume/map.php (the website is in Thai, but if you install the Google Toolbar, you can translate the site to English)

Refer earlier article How to get to Wat Baan Taad (Luangta's temple)

Note: Please verify the flight, train and bus information prior to booking.

Getting to Wat Pa Ban Tat.
1. Aircraft
- The flight between Bangkok - Udon Thani per day following the third flight.
1) at 6:50 pm
2) at 12.30 am
3) at 18:15 pm

- With flights between Udon Thani - Bangkok 3 per day flight following.
A) at 8:40 pm
2) at 14:25 pm
3) at 20:05 pm

2. Train(Note: Please check with the State Railway of Thailand prior to departure because some of the train are cargo trains and is very uncomfortable- the journey is overnight).
- Between the bus Bangkok - Udon Thani every day from Bangkok Railway Station.Time as follows.
1) at 6:00 pm train speed Bangkok - Nong Khai
2) at 8:20 pm passenger air-conditioned Bangkok - Udon Thani
3) From 18:30 hrs train speed Bangkok - Nong Khai
4) at 20:00 am conditioned passenger Bangkok - Nong Khai
5) Time 20.45 pm express train Bangkok - Nong Khai

- A bus between Udon Thani - Bangkok every day from the train station, Udon Thani
Time as follows.
1) at 7:26 pm Air passenger Khai - Bangkok
2) From 09:15 hrs train speed Khai - Bangkok
3) at 18:35 am conditioned passenger Udon Thani - Bangkok
4) From 19:04 hrs train soon Nong Khai - Bangkok
5) at 20.02 pm express train Nong Khai - Bangkok

3. Coach
- A bus from the North Eastern Tour several companies. Mo Chit bus terminal to Kamphaeng Phet Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900.

Around Wat Ban Taad

The picture below is taken in 2007- during the rains retreat. The last time I was there was in 2008- it still look the same.

Luangta will have his morning meals at the sala behind. On the left is the picture of Luang Phor Mun, Luangta's teacher. On the right, is King Bhumibol, the current King of Thailand.

The picture above is taken from the more right side of the front view of Wat Baan Taad. Do you see a small entrance market with small wood fence (right side)? It is the entrance to Luangta's kuti. Luangta's kuti is still located in the middle of the forest but the kuti is not far inside. Luangta used to walk out on his own- taking morning and evening walks. But now, he needs to be taken around on a golf cart because his legs would give way when he was walking.

Below: basically I turn 180 degrees from the first picture to take this. It is little stalls set up and run by 8 preceptors- there are Luangta's pictures and CDs given away. Visitors can also choose to donate there. At the end is the gate entrance. The gate is closed at about 4 or 5pm, if I am not mistaken. You will not be able to enter through the gate if you come late but you can always sleep at the sala outside:

Bring along something that can help you to curb mosquitos like a tent or the mosquito tents like below (they are sold in some part of Thailand):




With just a cloth or mat, a person can sleep lengthwise in the tent. Since I do not know how to describe the type of tent, I enclose a picture here- this was the tent I slept in one of a cave. It's effective to ward off mosquitos but during the cold weather (around October to early February), it's cold. So using the normal camping tent that time would be more suitable:

Path to Arahantship by Luangta Maha Boowa

Following is the book, Path to Arahantship, taken from a transcribed talk delivered by Luangta Maha Bua and translated to English from Thai.
To read the book online, you can visit http://forestdhammabooks.com/ and scroll down to the book and click read online. Please note that you need Acrobat reader in order to read it.

As I have the physical book given to me by Ajahn Dick, I scan the picture taken from the book to share with you:

Please note that Luangta Maha Bua writes all his books as a gift of Dhamma. None of his books are ever sold for money as according to Luangta:
"The Dhamma should not be sold like goods in the market place. Permission to reproduce in any way for free distribution, as a gift of Dhamma, is hereby granted and no further permission need be obtained. Reproduction in any way for commercial gain is prohibited."

Sadly, I have seen books like the Autobiography being sold online. Luangta's books are all distributed free- if you are not able to obtain it online, you can go to forestdhammabooks.com or accesstoinsight.org under Thai Forest Tradition sections.

Luangta plans to build a hospital to aid the less fortunate

It has been a few years that Luangta has initiated the efforts to build a hospital to provide aid for the needy. A certain floor has been allocated (I can't remember if it is the 3rd or 5th floor) for the member of the Sangha. Treatment is to be given free of charge.

All the projects initiated by Luangta is made transparent to the people. You can view more pictures via the link below but it is written in Thai language:

http://www.luangta.com/info/news_text.php?cginews_id=282&type=

View Luangta Maha Boowa on TV wherever you are via your PC

Visitors from overseas may not be aware that there is a special network channel dedicated to Luangta Maha Boowa. The channel is available via Star cable TV in Thailand.


However, even if you are not from Thailand, you can view Luangta Maha Boowa from wherever you all via his official website. I have known this for quite sometime but today, it suddenly occurred to me that many people who have read and heard about Luangta Maha Boowa may not know that they can actually view him from the internet. I sincerely apologise- I should have thought of this earlier.


Here's how:

Go to http://www.luangta.com/. The website is in Thai language:



Click on the TV icon as shown on the picture above.


Run the script and you will be able to view him.

Every morning via the TV, in Thailand time, about 7 to 9am, you will be able to view him live- you can see him taking his morning meal. As for the website, I am not sure if there is any delayed time. Then, the same show in the morning is generally repeated at night about 8 or 9pm if I remember correctly. The rest of the time, there may be life appearance, eg when Luangta decided to give an impromptu talk. Else, it will be a replay of previous events.

The date of the recording is normally shown on the screen- but again, it is in Thai. This , 2009 is 2552 in the Thai calendar. The date is normally not displayed as 1999 but it is in Thai calendar. Therefore if you see a date that indicates the year 2550 for instance, you will know that the show was recorded about 2 years ago. By taking note of the year, at least you will know if it is a recent recording of him. If you want to know the exact date, here's the Thai month:

January มกราคม ---- February กุมภาพันธ์ ----- March มีนาคม ----- April เมษายน ----- May พฤษภาคม ----- June มิถุนายน ----- July กรกฎาคม ---- August สิงหาคม -----September กันยายน ---- October ตุลาคม ---- November พฤศจิกายน -----December ธันวาคม -----
eg, 25 ธันวาคม 2550 means 25 December 2007.

There is also a dedicated radio channel, FM103.25. You can listen too by clicking on the FM icon on the website. Please note that the English website is not updated, as such, you need to access to the newest updates via luangta.com.

Train Ticket to Udon Thani

If you wish to visit Wat Baan Taad, you can either buy bus or train ticket to Udon Thani from Hualampong station.

You can get to Hualampong station which is Bangkok's central railway station by taking the AE4 airport bus from Suvarnabhumi airport for 150baht (note: the ticket counter is located near the Magic foodcourt in the airport. Don't respond to touts. Instead, go straight to take the elevator down).


Here's a picture of how the train ticket looks like (found these tickets while doing some housecleaning):

P/S: Notice the ticket indicates from "Don Muang"- this is because when I initially travelled to Wat Baan Taad, the new airport is not ready yet. All I did was to take a flight to the old airport, Don Meung, get down and take the overhead bridge to the adjoining train station. Now Don Meung does not handle international flights anymore. So your train ticket will have to originate from Hualampong instead of Don Meung.

Pictures of Luangta at various age

The photo above is taken from a poster at Wat Baan Taad on Kathina showing Luangta at various stages of his life. He is now ordained for about 73 years.

Kathina Wat Baan Taad 18 October 2008

Here are some of the photos of the Kathina held in Wat Baan Taad, Udon Thani on 18 October 2008:

Above: Morning pindapat on 18 October 08- Monks going on alms round. There are a lot of people there for the annual event.

Above: Luangta sitting at the hall.

Offerings for the kathina.

A Short Autobiography of Venerable Acharn Pannavaddho Thera (1925- 2004)

The following are writen by Venerable Acharn Pannavaddho Thera (Peter J Morgan) about his background. I came across this from a poster in Wat Baan Taad:

My father, J W Morgan and my mother, V M Morgan both came from South Wales in the United Kingdom. My father was a mining engineer and went to work in South India in the Kolar Gold fields in Mysore state (now called Karnataka).

I was born in this gold mining area on the 19th of October 1925 (2468) and stayed there for about 7 years after which I went to the UK for education. My primary education was at a school in Malvern Wells in the English midlands. When I left this school the second world war started and I went to a secondary school in Tonbridge Kent in the South East corner of the UK. After about a year I moved from this school because of the war and went to Cheltenham in the midlands. When I left Cheltenham I went to an electrical training college in London, called Faraday House. The war ended at about the time I left Faraday House and got my degree.

After this I spent 2 years in India working as an Electrical Engineer on the mine and then returned to the UK and got a job as an "application engineer" in Stafford where I stayed for about five years. I then got another job working for the Canadian Standards Association in London. Then after eighteen months I was ordained as a Samanera in London.

My samanera ordination (pabbaja) took place in the London Buddhist Vihara which was set up by the government of Sri Lanka, and it took place on the 31st of October 1955 (2498). The uppajjhaya was Bhikkhu Kapilavaddho who had been ordained in Thailand.

On the 15th of December 1955, Bhikkhu Kapilavaddho, two other Samaneras and I flew to Bangkok and went to stay at at Paknam. On the 27th of January 1956 (2499), three of us were ordained as Bhikkhus with Mangalajamuni (Luang Poh Soth) as the Upajjhaya.

We did not stay long in Thailand and returned to London on the 16th of July 1956 to stay in a Vihara that was set up in London by a Buddhist organisation. In due course the others all returned to lay life and I was left to look after the Vihara.

I remained in England looking after the Vihara for five years, then another Bhikkhu came and took over. Then I came to Thailand again on the 22nd of November 1961 (2504) and went to stay at Wat Cholapratan under Acharn Pannananda. My purpose in returning to Thailand was to find and stay with a Teacher who was skilled in ways of practising the Teaching of the Buddha. Fortunately a Thai friend took me to meet the Venerable Acariya Maha Bua who had come to Bangkok on business.

After meeting Venerable Acariya Maha Bua two or three times, I asked if I may go and stay at Wat Pa Baan Taad. He accepted me and I went to stay in Wat Pa Baan Taad on the 16th of February 1963 (2506). I was reordained in the Dhammayuta Nikaya on the 22nd of April 1965 (2508). My upajjhaya was Somdet Phra Yanasamwara (then abbot of Wat Bovorniwet and the present Sangharaja). My kammavacariya was Phra Thepyanakavi and my anusasanacariya was Phra Acariya Maha Bua Yanasampano. I have remained in Wat Pa Baan Taad since I first came here.

Bhikkhu Pannavaddho
Wat Pa Baan Taad
May 1999 (2542).

Note: Venerable Acharn Pannavaddho Thera passed away at Wat Pa Baan Taad at 8.30am on August 18, 2004. He died of internal cancer. He was 78 years old and had been a Buddhist monk for 39 years.

Morning Desana on 1 Nov 08

In case you are not aware, Luangta's daily morning meals and the desana that he gives after that is published live on a special Thai channel. I had the chance to watch it when I am in Thailand.

On 1 November 08, the Thailand Princess Chulabhorn Walailak, came to visit Luangta at Wat Baan Taad. She sat and waited for Luangta to take his morning meals. After the morning meal, Luangta gave a desana and then blessing. After blessing, the Princess presented offerings to Luangta, spoke for a while, with Luangta giving some guidance. After that, the Princess took leave and left- it was raining quite heavily that morning. The Princess has faith in Luangta and do come and visit Luangta on several occassions.

There are also some visitors from Sri Lanka. They were dressed in white- and sat around the front roll. Their demeanour were inspirational- how they paid respect (anjali) to Luangta- especially the elderly ladies. One can't help but feel glad that Luangta's teachings had reached and touched the hearts of many all over the world, thanks to translations of his teachings in English by the English speaking bhikkhus residing there. Of course, they were probably not aware that they actually had appeared on national television :)

For those who are not aware, every morning after his meals and desana, Luangta will give blessings. And after the blessings, the dogs residing in the monastery (I think about 7 or 8 of them) will be released to the area where Luangta is sitting. Frequent visitors are well aware of that but not the Sri Lanka visitors. So, as the first dog was released and came barging through the area that Luangta is sitting, one Sri Lanka man got very concerned- he must have thought that the dog was going to disturb Luangta and had tried to shoo away the dog. The camera man actually cheekily direct the camera at the man.

But after a while, these visitors got the idea and even smiled in amusement at the dogs' antics.

In the morning desana hall, at any given time, you will be able to find many foreigners who came to the temple and observe 8 precepts. If there are Asians (like from Malaysia, Indonesia or Singapore), you will almost could not tell any difference between them and the local native. But the giveaway is when Luangta tells a joke and everyone laugh except them because they do not understand Thai. Still, it is an inspiration to go and practice there. The kutis may not have electricity (only the main hall has) but many people had came from all over the world into the small town of Udon Thani just to be able to see this great Master.

Luangta had indicated a few times in his morning desanas that his body had bee unwell lately. As such, if you want to see Luangta, it will be good to make the trip to see him. Previously, he goes for morning pindapat (alms round) with other monks and he had been too weak to walk (he is already 95 this year). When he previously had taken his evening walks by foot, he has to go around in a golf cart because his disciples are too worried- since he had walked a few times and suffered a fall (because his legs suddenly gave way).

For me, I had not gotten the chance to see other great disciples of Ajahn Mun- but I am glad I have been able to see Luangta. I had missed the chance to see Ajahn Pannavaddho as he had passed away in August 2004 (I only began to visit Wat Baan Taad a few months later). I would feel if one had the chance and kept finding excuses, one would suffer great regret when the teacher is no longer around. There is no use in regret.

Sleeping arrangements

There are 4 major celebrations that you will expect to have lots and lots of people:

1. Makha Puja day
-the date for Makha Puja is not fixed. It follows the Thai calendar

2. Anniversary of the passing away of Luangta's mother- 31 May

3. Luangta's Birthday- 12 August

4. Kathina (normally end of Oct or first/second week of Nov). For year 2008, it will be on 18 October 08.

Therefore, if you are there, do expect there will be a bit of problems with the sleeping arrangements. You may want to consider booking a hotel/inn in advance- because accomodations may be fully booked since many many people come to participate in Kathina. For instance, a friend of mine had booked 6 buses from Bangkok to Udon Thani- they arrive on Saturday morning and go back on Sunday afternoon. And many others are doing that.



Normally, others will be sleeping at the halls. Female quarters will be expected to be full because places are very limited.

Still, kathina is a very auspicious time- to perform offering and dedicate merits, especially for your parents, a sick family member, etc.

How to Get to Wat Ban Taad

Kathina at Wat Baan Taad will be happening on 18 October 2008 (Saturday). It is estimated that many many people will be attending the event- to perform kathina.

How to get to Wat Baan Taad:

1. Take a flight to Bangkok airport (Suvarnabhumi airport).

2. From there, take the airport bus (go down one level) AE4 that goes to Hualampong train station. The last I used the bus, it was 150 baht- the bus takes the highway. Taxi- much more expensive unless there are 4 of you travelling- then it will be worth it.

3. At Hualampong station, get a ticket to Udon Thani. The train normally departs at about 7 or 8pm at night and arrive Udon Thani the next morning.
I strongly recommend you buy the lower bunk air con second class seat. The upper bunk is too unsteady and narrow- you may not get a good night's sleep.
The ticket (second class air con lower bunk) will cost about 700+ baht.
Note: Normally, you may find that all the sleeping bunk tickets are sold out- I noticed more and more people are opting to travel by train. So, it is not a good idea to travel on the same day as you buy the ticket. Try to get it days ahead
Thai airway will allow advance booking for the maximum duration of 2 months.

4. If you get the train tickets, you will arrive Udon Thani station about 8am in the morning. Please take note- once the train past stations like Sakorn Nakhon, you will have to be on the alert. Udon Thani is not the last stop- the train only stop for a while.

5. Once you get out of the station, there are many motorbike tuks tuks waiting. Negotiate the price and tell the driver you want to go to Wat Ban Taad. The distance is about 15km, if I am not mistaken, so they should not charge you more than 200 baht.


Pictures above: Udon Thani train station



Address:
Wat Pa Barn Tard, Barn Tard,Ampher Meuang, Udorn Thani, 41000 Thailand

Most locals know where is the place- however, I have met a driver who do not know and also illiterate. So he end up asking around where is the place- we finally arrived (have faith, friend, have faith :) )

I have a book from Luangta that is in Thai with a map at the back. I have taken 2 photos and included the copy of the map as per below. Please click to enlarge the picture and see which one is easier for you to print out. You will find it useful because many people are not fluent in English- so it will be useful for you to show to the drivers who can't read or speak English. But once you reach Wat Ban Taad, you can easily find English speaking monks, nuns and laypeople.

Another option is to take the overnight bus. Udon Thani is about 6oo+ km from Bangkok.

But please note there are about 3 or 4 bus major bus stations in Bangkok- each going to a different direction. Ask the airport staff which bus station has bus tickets to Udon Thani.

Hope the above helps.

My quote:

"Sometimes, limitation is what we set out to be... I used to have fear about going to look for Luangta, even though I really want to meet this great monk. Finally I summoned my courage and go there. But when I got there, I found so many others- especially foreigners -who flew on the other side of the globe just to see him. "

Luangta is doing less walking now

Luangta used to walk back to his kuti after the morning meals. He also have been seen walking morning and evening walks by himself- and we look always look forward to catch a glimpse of him. That was the previous years when I go to Thailand to visit him.

Recently, when I was in Thailand, I noticed from the live broadcast that once Luangta finished his morning meal, he will be escorted back to his kuti via a small goft cart. I asked my teacher why Luangta is no longer walking back to the kuti by himself. She told me that he had fell down twice- he will be walking and suddenly his legs do not have energy and give way.



I am grimly reminded that year after year, Luangta, due to his advanced age, will be physically weaker. Even though during the time when he walked out for almsround, I have not started going to the monastery, at least I have been fortunate enough to see him during his evening walks. The vision of him walking slowly back to his dwelling from the morning meal will forever be in my mind. In October, I will be making the trip back to Udon to pay respect to Luangta.

Cute doggie at Wat Ban Taad

I am very fond of the doggie that you see in the picture on your right. I've developed this photo and kept it with me, always looking at the photo.

During my first two stays in Wat Ban Taad, this doggie was still around. He's a old fella and also happened to be one of Luangta's favorite. Every morning after the morning dana and talk by Luangta, this doggie would walk and parade around the place where Luangta is sitting. Luangta will give him a playful pat, and sometimes, other doggies like the Dalmation and bulldog will join in too. Once, Luangta went to Bangkok and when he came back, the doggie was waiting and pounched right into the van to welcome Luangta.

Personally, I got to pat the doggie a few times - he is quite an impersonal fella and does not seemed to attach to anyone. He has lots of fur and they used to shave his body, leaving only the hair around his head. It's cute and he looks like a mini lion. Really cute and adorable. I've even a photo of him on my workdesk.

During my last trip to Wat Ban Taad last year, I did not see the cute doggie, so I inquired as to what had happened to him. I was told that he was pinned down by a lorry and died. I felt so sad that I will never see him anymore.

Luangta's 94th Birthday- 12th Aug 07

Luangta’s (Ajahn Maha Boowa) 94th Birthday
To view the photos in webshots, click HERE
Here are the photos of Luangta's 94th Birthday taken at his monastery, Wat Ban Taad:
On his birthday, many people came to pay respects and perform dana. Luangta sat at the main sala- the stream of devotees came non stop to pay homage and it went on for a few hours. For any normal human being, it would be tiring. But Luangta sat there, without any signs of tiredness. Luangta is so compassionate.... and his acts truly touches the heart of others. I do not speak Thai and yet, the language of heart and kindness transcends the need of any conventional language or words.