Photo of Luangta paying respect to Luang Phor Mun's statue

Below is a photo that I have taken from a free distribution book- the book is written in Thai language and distributed during Luangta's birthday last year:



Luangta has such deep respect for his teacher, Luang Phor Mun that it shows up in his writings. In many of his books and talks, Luangta often praised Luang Phor Mun and from Luangta, we get insight into Luang Phor Mun's life. When I first saw the picture, it really touched my heart- Luangta had mentioned in one of his books that he would gladly trade his life in exchange for his dear teacher.

Luangta dedicated his entire life to be of example and continue the teachings of Luang Phor Mun. He has his share of challenges and encountered many obstacles along the way, and yet, he never give up. Let that serve as an inspiration for us all- most of the time, when we want to accomplish good things in life, do not give up with the road gets tough.

Happy Birthday, Luangta

Today, 12 August 2009, is Luangta Maha Boowa's 96th birthday.

My deepest and sincerest gratitude to Luangta, whose book, the Spiritual Autobiography of Ajahn Mun had changed my life forever and made me travelled to Wat Baan Taad to see him personally. I had to go through a series of obstacles, including not being able to see him the first time- in fact, a week before I was due to travel to see him, I had a strange dream. In the dream, I cycled to a temple with my heart wanting to see Luangta. As I arrived in full anticipation, I opened the door to see a number of old monks sitting together. But in the dream, I knew in my heart that Luangta was not there. In the dream I felt so disappointed.

The dream came true. A week later when I travelled to Wat Baan Taad in Udon Thani to see him, he had went to Bangkok. In that trip to Thailand, we have visited other temples and yes, as the dream had foretold, I've met a number of elderly monks. But as I walked into his temple, feeling so disappointed that I was not able to see him, I felt in my heart that if I am sincere and come back the second time, I will see him.

I did, and I came back the second time. I remember as I carried my bags towards the hall- it was morning and he was having his morning meal. The first time I saw him, I knew- I knew... all the effort, everything.... it was all worth it. That was year 2005. I've never looked back since.

Everything in life that we want to do, there will be naysayers to discourage us. If I had listened to what others had say or go with the flow of the world, I would not be the person I am today.

Thank you, Luangta, for inspiring me to practice the Dhamma through your writings. I am a better and more peaceful person because your teachings has touched my heart. We are indeed fortunate that we live at this age and time when we can still see you in person. A living proof of someone who had undergone tough dhutanga (astetic) practices of the Thai Forest Tradition. It is true that one is able to live in this world and be a good person practicing the Dhamma, even amongst others who doesn't practice.

Note: Ajahn Mun (Luangta's teacher) passed away when Luangta was in his early thirties. The legancy Ajahn Mun lives on through Luangta's teachings. When Ajahn Mun passed away in 1949 at the age of 79, most of his close disciples were about late 50s or older. If Luangta had been around the same age as his teacher, we would not be as fortunate as we are now.

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.

Where to get a Buddha statue in Bangkok

If you are looking to buy a genuine Buddha statue or amulet in Bangkok, one place I can suggest is at Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok. Wat Phra Kaew is normally in the agenda to those who are travelling to Bangkok. For normal tourist, the impression is that the temple is majestic and you can see the beautiful structures from far far away.

The entrance fee is a bit steep: 350 baht for foreigners (previously it was 250 baht). The temple opens early- I think before 9am and closes at about 5pm. Please take heart that the entrance fee you pay goes in as part of the donation to the temple- if you visit Wat Phra Kaew, you will soon realise that a temple of such great magnificence is not easy to maintain.

There is an office within the perimeters of Wat Phra Kaew, located near the washrooms. The office is painted in white colour and is located near an exit/entrance directly facing the hall entrance door to the Emerald Buddha. If you are not sure, you can ask the guards or workers as most of them should be able to speak basic English, given the number of foreigners visiting the area. It is also the same office that visitors will be directed to to report lost and found.

In the office, replicas of the Emerald Buddha amulets and statues are sold in a few designs. There is a statue of the Buddha according to three different seasons in Thailand- hot, rainy and cold weather. Few foreigners know about them- even few Thai people are aware of that. These Buddha amulets/statues are blessed and their designs have been seen and approved by the King himself.

Please note that I am not writing this for commercial reasons. I am writting this because I and a few others have personally benefited from buying and paying daily reverence to the Emerald Buddha. If you are a foreigner and began to embrace Buddhism, naturally you may want to buy a Buddha statue.

I bought one for about 1000 plus baht- it is a design of 3 Emerald Buddhas in a glass case wearing clothes of the 3 different seasons. It is placed in my home altar. Normally I do morning and evening chanting (total twice a day). Sometimes, unexpected solutions will come to some problems doing chanting. It may not be the same case for everyone- but having the Buddha statue had maintained peace in my home. My Thai spiritual teacher had advised me and other Malaysians/Singaporeans about this and they have also bought amulets and statues from the office at Wat Phra Kaew.

When you buy it, the office will issue you with an official receipt of purchase. All purchases made are recorded and accounted for. After buying it, take it to the hall of the actual Emerald Buddha (the main building). In front of the Emerald Buddha, make an aspiration that you (your full name) have purchased the Buddha and would want to take it home (state your full house address). Treat the Emerald Buddha with respect- ensure that it is not placed at a low area or anyone going over it.

Caution: There are a number of nearby shops located outside the temple selling replicas or you may find people promoting these statues/amulets. Don't buy from them but buy directly from the office at the temple. The office is not a gift shop which is located at the entrance where you pay for your entrance ticket. It is located more inside- the best thing is to ask the staff for the office or the place to go to report any lost and found- they will bring you to an office whereby the moment you open the white door, you will see display of different designs of Emerald Buddhas and behind the counter, you can see that it is an office.

Another word of advise is don't buy any Buddha statues or amulets from the amulet peddlers around- you will never know what is inside the amulet- such as if it's been blessed or cursed.

Also, always treat any Buddha statues and amulets with respect- that means

• do not place them on the floor or any low place- put in an altar or a high place
• do not place Buddha statues or amulets in places like the bathroom or toilet- even Buddha decorated pieces

Wat Thong Samadhi- Suphan Buri

Luang Phor Sangwan Kremmako was the abbot of this temple located in Suphan Buri. Luang Phor passed away in May 2004.


He built the dwelling place in a shape of a boat: you literally climb on the stairs of the boat to reach the hall.

Above: The ship shaped structure. Sadly, the place is quite deserted after Luang Phor had passed away- there are still monks and nuns staying there.

The boat shaped structure- the place is located at the back from the main entrance

Above: This hall is located on top of the boat shaped structured. We spoke to his driver, an elderly man who drove Luang Phor for about 20 years (if I am not mistaken). From the look in his eyes, one could see that he misses Luang Phor dearly.

Luang Phor's body is still being kept at this hall.

Note: Luang Phor's physical body is placed in the coffin at the back of the picture above. The Thai forest tradition acknowledges that a body of an arahant will not rot like the body of an ordinary person. Some teachers who have passed away are cremated and their remains turned to relics.

Small Humble Forest Monastery in Mae Hong Son, Thailand

There is a very small forest monastery located near Tham Lod. Tham Nam Lod is actually a cave where one can go to see bats and crystals. If you taken the van from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son, you will need to tell the driver to stop you at Tham Lod, then you will need to find your transport to go to Tham Lod. We actually stop at one of the shops by the main road and paid someone to drive us into the Tham Lod.






If you ask the locals there about the forest monastery, they will be able to point to you a forest route leading on to there. This forest monastery is very basic:

• it does not have any tar road leading to it. It's a jungle trail. The monks go for their morning almsround via pindapat
• there is no electricity. Water supply source is via rain water
• currently there are no nuns staying there- only about 5 monks. If you cannot speak Thai, ensure you bring along a Thai translator
  
  Above: Path leading to the forest monastery

Above: Name of the forest monastery is on the board above. Sorry, I can't read Thai. But if you mention "Wat Tham Lod" when you are at the area, perhaps the locals will know

Above: Monks kuti- it is located away from the sala hall (can't be seen from the entrance). Notice that there is only cloth covering the kuti. This is how a typical forest monk's kuti is.

If you happen to be in the area, it will be good to drop by this monastery for a visit and help the monastery- we arrived about 3pm which incidentally, is the time where the monks are out sweeping the area. If you arrive at any other time, you may find the monastery being appearently deserted- reason being is that every monk is practicing quietly in his kuti. And the kutis are located away from the main monastery.

Daily Schedule of Luang Phor

Here is the schedule taken from a Dhamma book in Thai language of an abbot of a temple:

2- 4am : Wake up and prepare for pindapat (alms round)

4-5am : Assemble the monks. Some monks have to walk a distance from their dwelling place to the sala to prepare

6am : Go for pindapat (alms round)

7.30am : Partake in the daily meal (only one solid meal a day)

11am : Self practice doing walking and/or sitting meditation

3pm : Sweep the monastery area

4 - 5pm : Take a bath and freshen up

6pm : Chanting and teaching Dhamma to the laypeople

10.30pm: Short sitting or walking meditation

11pm-12am: Sleep

My apologies, I do not know the name of the abbot. The information above was translated to me by a Thai Buddhist friend.

However, most abbots in forest monasteries spent very little time on sleep- on average it is between 2 to 4 hours.