Saturday, November 24, 2012
Booklet in Thai distributed during Luangta Maha Bua's funeral
Herein is the booklet copy written in Thai language. It was distributed during Luangta's funeral. The copy below which I received were reprinted through the generous donations:
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The translated book that was published during Luangta's funeral
Dear all,
Sorry for not posting for a long time (a year exactly).
I was fortunate to have received a physical copy of the English translation of book "Paying Our Last Respects", the book published in commemoration of Venerable Ajahn Maha Boowa's funeral.
The book is published by Forest Dhamma of Wat Pa Baan Taad. I tried to search for the online pdf copy but found the links to that ebook was not working. Therefore, I thought of scanning and then converting into editable text to upload to this site- for the benefit of everyone.
There are many books and publications written based on transcribed teachings of Luangta- but in Thai language. This book was one of the transcribed from the Thai version and contains a lot of content that was previously unavailable. I find this book to be very meaningful and it gave insight to the life of Luangta and on how he had met Ajahn Mun.
The book is about 178 pages long. I would do the scanning and posting the words in stages.
So far, the completed sections are:
Sorry for not posting for a long time (a year exactly).
I was fortunate to have received a physical copy of the English translation of book "Paying Our Last Respects", the book published in commemoration of Venerable Ajahn Maha Boowa's funeral.
The book is published by Forest Dhamma of Wat Pa Baan Taad. I tried to search for the online pdf copy but found the links to that ebook was not working. Therefore, I thought of scanning and then converting into editable text to upload to this site- for the benefit of everyone.
There are many books and publications written based on transcribed teachings of Luangta- but in Thai language. This book was one of the transcribed from the Thai version and contains a lot of content that was previously unavailable. I find this book to be very meaningful and it gave insight to the life of Luangta and on how he had met Ajahn Mun.
The book is about 178 pages long. I would do the scanning and posting the words in stages.
So far, the completed sections are:
- Cover and photos of the first few pages of the book
- Introduction (written by Bhikkhu Martin)
- A Biography of Luangta Maha Bua Nanasampanno
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Articles on Luang Phor Fan
Even though I have not known Luang Phor Fan หลวงปู่ฝั้น อาจาโร (of Sakon Nakhon) who had passed away in 1977, I have been deeply impressed by him.
Herein are resources I've obtained from other blogs that contained information on Ajahn Fan Ajaro which all currently all in Thai language except for the 1st link:
Herein are resources I've obtained from other blogs that contained information on Ajahn Fan Ajaro which all currently all in Thai language except for the 1st link:
- Ajahn Fan Ajaro from Isaan Life- it is hard to find translations of his life in English and was glad this site had provided the information.
- Ajahn Fan in Wikipedia Thai- using the google English translate page (not accurate)
- Life History of Luang Phor Fan in Thai
- Facebook page (in Thai language)
Videos
- Video of Luang Phor Fan about his background
- List of audio recordings in Dhammathai.org (in Thai)
- The funeral
10 Series of Documentary on Luang Phor Fan (in Thai language) in YouTube:
Friday, April 1, 2011
An article about Luangta Maha Bua's early life
Recently I came across an article about the early life of Luangta Maha Bua. The following is an excerpt of the article that mentioned about Luangta's early life:
Luangta Maha Boowa, the abbot of Wan Pa Baan Taad in Udon Thani’s Muang district, came into the limelight when he initiated a fund-raising campaign to help the country recover from the effects of the 1997 financial crisis.
As of Jan 9 last year, he had handed over 967 gold bars weighing 12 tonnes and US$10.2mil in cash to the Bank of Thailand. “When the economic crisis hit in 1997, I stepped in to help lift the nation from the depths of darkness, that is, from greed on one level of society and from poverty on the other. I wanted Thais to focus on the causes of the crisis so that, by knowing the causes, they could change their behaviour to prevent such an event from recurring. So I used the Help the Nation campaign not only to raise gold for the national treasury, but more importantly as a means to spread Buddha’s teachings to a broader section of Thai society in an age when many Thai people are losing touch with Buddhist principles,” said Luangta Maha Boowa in the booklet, Samana – Maha Boowa Memorial Book, which was distributed after his death.
Luangta Maha Boowa was born on Aug 12, 1913, as Bua Lohitdee to a wealthy farming family. He said he was told by his mother that of the 16 babies she had carried in her womb, he was the one who gave her the most to worry about. “I was either so still in her womb that she thought I must have died, or I was kicking so hard she thought I must have been on the verge of death.
The closer to my birth, the worse those extremes became. Just before I was born, my mother and my father each had an auspicious dream. My father dreamt that he had received a very sharp knife, pointed at the tip with an elephant tusk handle and encased in a silver sheath. My father felt very pleased.
“My mother, on the other hand, dreamed that she had received a pair of gold earrings which were so lovely that she couldn’t resist the temptation to put them on and admire herself in the mirror. The more she looked, the more they impressed her.”
He said his grandfather interpreted the two dreams to mean that the course of his life would follow one of two extremes. “If I chose the way of evil, I would be the most feared criminal of my time. My character would be so fearsome that I was bound to end up being an infamous crime boss who’d never allow himself to be captured alive and imprisoned, but would hide in the jungle and fight the authorities to the death.
“At the other extreme, if I chose the way of virtue, my goodness would be unequalled,” he said in the memorial book. He became a monk at the age of 21 and was a student of Luangpu Man Phurithatto, one of the most renowned Buddhist meditation masters in Thailand’s Buddhism of the Forest Tradition. His followers believe that he was an arahant, a living Buddhist saint.
It is well-known that Luangta Maha Boowa would always go without food as he said it helped with his meditation.
His thousands of disciples and followers see him as a diminutive, simple and humble monk who did not seek personal gain. To them Luangta Maha Boowa was also an arahant – one who has perfected wisdom and compassion like Buddha and is no longer subject to rebirth.
In the memorial book, Luanga Maha Boowa said he had tried his utmost to help society: “Within my heart, I have no sense of courage and no sense of fear; no such thing as gain or loss, victory or defeat. My attempts to assist people stem entirely from loving compassion. I sacrificed everything to attain the Supreme Dhamma that I now teach. I nearly lost my life in search of Dhamma, crossing the threshold of death before I could proclaim to the world the Dhamma that I realised. Sometimes I talk boldly, as if I were a conquering hero. But the Supreme Dhamma in my heart is neither bold nor fearful. It has neither gain nor loss, neither victory nor defeat. Consequently, my teaching emanates from the purest form of compassion.”
Luangta Maha Boowa forbade his followers from spending extravagantly at his funeral. In the interview with Nanfa – The Tiger Temple Magazine (produced by Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno Tiger Temple, Kanchanaburi Province) in 2009, he said he did not want gifts donated to him for merit while his body was in a casket.
To read the full article, please go to The Star Online> Thai monk revered in life, remembered in death by Foong Thim Leng
Luangta Maha Boowa, the abbot of Wan Pa Baan Taad in Udon Thani’s Muang district, came into the limelight when he initiated a fund-raising campaign to help the country recover from the effects of the 1997 financial crisis.
As of Jan 9 last year, he had handed over 967 gold bars weighing 12 tonnes and US$10.2mil in cash to the Bank of Thailand. “When the economic crisis hit in 1997, I stepped in to help lift the nation from the depths of darkness, that is, from greed on one level of society and from poverty on the other. I wanted Thais to focus on the causes of the crisis so that, by knowing the causes, they could change their behaviour to prevent such an event from recurring. So I used the Help the Nation campaign not only to raise gold for the national treasury, but more importantly as a means to spread Buddha’s teachings to a broader section of Thai society in an age when many Thai people are losing touch with Buddhist principles,” said Luangta Maha Boowa in the booklet, Samana – Maha Boowa Memorial Book, which was distributed after his death.
Luangta Maha Boowa was born on Aug 12, 1913, as Bua Lohitdee to a wealthy farming family. He said he was told by his mother that of the 16 babies she had carried in her womb, he was the one who gave her the most to worry about. “I was either so still in her womb that she thought I must have died, or I was kicking so hard she thought I must have been on the verge of death.
The closer to my birth, the worse those extremes became. Just before I was born, my mother and my father each had an auspicious dream. My father dreamt that he had received a very sharp knife, pointed at the tip with an elephant tusk handle and encased in a silver sheath. My father felt very pleased.
“My mother, on the other hand, dreamed that she had received a pair of gold earrings which were so lovely that she couldn’t resist the temptation to put them on and admire herself in the mirror. The more she looked, the more they impressed her.”
He said his grandfather interpreted the two dreams to mean that the course of his life would follow one of two extremes. “If I chose the way of evil, I would be the most feared criminal of my time. My character would be so fearsome that I was bound to end up being an infamous crime boss who’d never allow himself to be captured alive and imprisoned, but would hide in the jungle and fight the authorities to the death.
“At the other extreme, if I chose the way of virtue, my goodness would be unequalled,” he said in the memorial book. He became a monk at the age of 21 and was a student of Luangpu Man Phurithatto, one of the most renowned Buddhist meditation masters in Thailand’s Buddhism of the Forest Tradition. His followers believe that he was an arahant, a living Buddhist saint.
It is well-known that Luangta Maha Boowa would always go without food as he said it helped with his meditation.
In the memorial book, Luanga Maha Boowa said he had tried his utmost to help society: “Within my heart, I have no sense of courage and no sense of fear; no such thing as gain or loss, victory or defeat. My attempts to assist people stem entirely from loving compassion. I sacrificed everything to attain the Supreme Dhamma that I now teach. I nearly lost my life in search of Dhamma, crossing the threshold of death before I could proclaim to the world the Dhamma that I realised. Sometimes I talk boldly, as if I were a conquering hero. But the Supreme Dhamma in my heart is neither bold nor fearful. It has neither gain nor loss, neither victory nor defeat. Consequently, my teaching emanates from the purest form of compassion.”
Luangta Maha Boowa forbade his followers from spending extravagantly at his funeral. In the interview with Nanfa – The Tiger Temple Magazine (produced by Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno Tiger Temple, Kanchanaburi Province) in 2009, he said he did not want gifts donated to him for merit while his body was in a casket.
To read the full article, please go to The Star Online> Thai monk revered in life, remembered in death by Foong Thim Leng
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Luangta Maha Boowa Passed Away on 30 January 2011
It is with great sadness to inform that Luangta Maha Boowa (or known as Luangta Maha Bua) passed away today on 30 January 2011 at the age of 97.
Luangta Maha Boowa was one of the last surviving disciple of Acariya Mun (who passed away in 1949).
Today, it rained the entire day without stop at the area where I am staying- as if the skys are crying over the loss of this great Teacher.
The photos below are taken by me during my visit to Wat Pa Baan Taad:
Below: 11 August 2007- on the eve of his 94th birthday, he gave a short talk to those who were present:
Below: On 12 August 2007, Luangta's birthday:
On 17 Oct 2008- Kathina ceremony:
Luangta was travelling on the golf cart because he could not walk well.
A Great Teacher has very sadly left us- and while his memories still linger fresh in our minds, let us all make the firm determination to start and continue our path, little by little and day by day. Time wait for no ones and one day, the law of anicca would come. In this lifetime, we have been very blessed and fortunate to come in contact with the teachings of this Great Teacher.
Luangta Maha Boowa was one of the last surviving disciple of Acariya Mun (who passed away in 1949).
Today, it rained the entire day without stop at the area where I am staying- as if the skys are crying over the loss of this great Teacher.
The photos below are taken by me during my visit to Wat Pa Baan Taad:
Below: 11 August 2007- on the eve of his 94th birthday, he gave a short talk to those who were present:
Below: On 12 August 2007, Luangta's birthday:
On 17 Oct 2008- Kathina ceremony:
Luangta was travelling on the golf cart because he could not walk well.
It remains now that the most important is for us to practice and apply his teachings to heart. He had dedicated decades of his life towards teaching us with the best of his ability. My life changed afer discovering his teachings and I am grateful that I had the chance to meet him while he was alive.
Let us all not forsake our practice- one of the best way we can do to honor the Buddha and our teacher is to practice the teachings in our daily live, every moment in our day-to-day life, regardless of what we do.
We do not need wait or plan for some time in future to practice. What's the point of practicing in future if we cannot even do it now. Regardless of whether we are working, studying, retired....living at home or in the monastery, we can still put the teachings to practice day by day. Have mindfulness (sati) and don't let other things intrude into our hearts. Find time to do meditation and chanting- there is no need to 'plan' and do it only at retreats. And in our walking moments, be mindful of our thoughts, words and deeds. Need not go out to search for flaws of others or analyze external things. Deep within each and every one of our hearts, there lies deep immense wisdom that can only be realised in the quiet stillness of the mind.
A Great Teacher has very sadly left us- and while his memories still linger fresh in our minds, let us all make the firm determination to start and continue our path, little by little and day by day. Time wait for no ones and one day, the law of anicca would come. In this lifetime, we have been very blessed and fortunate to come in contact with the teachings of this Great Teacher.
Let us pay our humblest tribute to him through not forsaking our daily practice.
Friday, December 17, 2010
About Luang Phor Desaka
Phra Nirdoha Rangsi Kambhira Pannacara (Luang Phor Desaka)
Wat Hin Mark Peng, Sri Chiengmai District, Nongkhai Province
Ordained as a novice at sixteen and as a monk at the age of twenty two. A disciple of Phra Acharn Mun Bhuridatto, he resided in all major regions of the country. At present, he resides at Wat Hin Mark Peng, Nongkhai Province.
(Click on the picture above to read the version in Thai, Mandarin and Japanese language. )
Friday, December 3, 2010
About Luang Phor Sook
Wat Pak Klong Makham ThaoWat Singh District,
Chainat Province.
Born in the reign of His majesty King Rama IV. Ordained at the age of twenty. He was revered as having great spiritual power and was the royal teacher of H.R.H Krom Luang Choomporn Khet Udomsak. He passed away from old age in B.E 2460 (1917 A.D)
(Click on the picture above to read the version in Thai, Mandarin and Japanese language. )
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