A 97 year old southern Isaan monk blessed 301 registration plates for pick-up trucks. The ceremony took place at Wat Phattanathammaram, also known as Wat Ban Dan Chong Chom, in Surin Province. The event aimed to bring luck and prosperity to the winning bidders.

 

The ceremony, held yesterday, saw Sahachai Kampoon from the Surin Transport Office, along with other officials from the transport office, participate in the Buddhist consecration ceremony. These 301 registration plates, bearing the letters บษ, a phrase meaning completed with property, receiving the fortune of a millionaire, were blessed by Luang Phu Heng Paphaso, the revered abbot of Wat Phattanathammaram.

 

Luang Phu Heng Paphaso, a revered figure in southern Isaan, has been dubbed the God of Fortune. He was born in August 1927, during the Year of the Rabbit. His parents were Cambodian but moved to Thailand during the French colonial era. They settled in Ban Prasat Village, Ta Ong Subdistrict, Mueang District, Surin Province, where they farmed and raised their 13 children, with Luang Phu Heng being the seventh, reported Sanook.

 

by Samantha Rose

Picture courtesy of Sanook

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2024-01-22

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

301 people you MUST avoid on the roads, bet none of them wear a  seatbelt. I despair at people and their "beliefs" a  sad  world when science had saved so many to have this aboslute drivel spread. And they question Thai education.

What a truck load of 🐎 💩 and my gf totally buys into it❗ Most Thais do. 🤣

There’s your lottery numbers. Thanks Mr monk. 

In Europe it is common to claim that buddhism is NOT a religion. 555

I think there are many good ideas in the Buddhist philosophy.

It's sad what some monks do and it's sad that some people demand such stupid actions.

3 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I think there are many good ideas in the Buddhist philosophy.

It's sad what some monks do and it's sad that some people demand such stupid actions.

??? some ???

8 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I think there are many good ideas in the Buddhist philosophy.

It's sad what some monks do and it's sad that some people demand such stupid actions.

Monks today in Thailand are enjoying their lives like everyone else...money, whiskey and women....saw a bunch of them in Cha Am, all having the regulation iced coffee in Amazon sprawled all over the seating!

8 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

Monks today in Thailand are enjoying their lives like everyone else...money, whiskey and women....saw a bunch of them in Cha Am, all having the regulation iced coffee in Amazon sprawled all over the seating!

I guess there should be some of them out there who follow Buddhism the way they should. 

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I think there are many good ideas in the Buddhist philosophy.

It's sad what some monks do and it's sad that some people demand such stupid actions.

In Thailand (and no doubt elsewhere in Asia) Buddhism is about 90% endless superstitions. 'Philosophy' comes a distant second.

 

Much like Christianity in most countries. Or Islam. Or Hinduism ...

1 hour ago, mfd101 said:

In Thailand (and no doubt elsewhere in Asia) Buddhism is about 90% endless superstitions. 'Philosophy' comes a distant second.

 

Much like Christianity in most countries. Or Islam. Or Hinduism ...

Buddhism is still Buddhism. But Thais mix it with lots of other ideas and still call it Buddhism.

I remember I read a whole chapter about that in travel book when I arrived in Thailand. 

18 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Buddhism is still Buddhism. But Thais mix it with lots of other ideas and still call it Buddhism.

I remember I read a whole chapter about that in travel book when I arrived in Thailand. 

Yes, just as they do in every other Asian country ... The 'Western' version of Buddhism - as pedalled by eg the Dalai Lama - has practically nothing to do with Buddhism as actually practised in Asian countries (including no doubt by the Dalai Lama himself), alongside animism and local traditions.

 

Here in Surin my Khmer family has a different superstition for every occasion including every day of the week. Took me a long time after I arrived on the scene before I was allowed to get my hair cut on a Wednesday ("People DIE!") ...

''....The winning bidders will also have the opportunity to make merit''. LMHO.

For a monk it looks like he does alright for himself.

 

Omg

I can’t tell you how many times my family repeats these plate numbers on

each and every trip to the Grocery stores.

So if you are not driving one of the blessed plates....what are you looking at?......Brake failure, wet roads, sharp bends......seems a tad unfair.

It's not my personal taste, but I do appreciate the song and lyrics. Fare well with those plates. Shock dee. Science might help a bit too much, no? ;-)

2 hours ago, mfd101 said:

Yes, just as they do in every other Asian country ... The 'Western' version of Buddhism - as pedalled by eg the Dalai Lama - has practically nothing to do with Buddhism as actually practised in Asian countries (including no doubt by the Dalai Lama himself), alongside animism and local traditions.

 

Here in Surin my Khmer family has a different superstition for every occasion including every day of the week. Took me a long time after I arrived on the scene before I was allowed to get my hair cut on a Wednesday ("People DIE!") ...

All that doesn't change the fact that what many Thais do is a mixture of many believes. If they call it Buddhism that doesn't make it Buddhism.

12 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

All that doesn't change the fact that what many Thais do is a mixture of many believes. If they call it Buddhism that doesn't make it Buddhism.

So where is this wunnerful superstition-free, animism-free, local traditions-free Buddhism to be found?

 

I suspect only between the leaves of a 'Western' textbook.

6 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I think there are many good ideas in the Buddhist philosophy.

It's sad what some monks do and it's sad that some people demand such stupid actions.

It's priests and monks that do a disservice to religion and philosophy although at 97 this monk probably has dementia and can be used for all sorts of nonsense, a nice little earner these number plates. I also note with dismay the large number of rubbish podcasts concerning spirituality on youtube, the serious ones are buried under a multitude of money making schemes for the gullible or the 'would be' enlightened, one trip to an Ashram in India and they are 'enlightened' youtubers.

3 hours ago, soalbundy said:

It's priests and monks that do a disservice to religion and philosophy although at 97 this monk probably has dementia and can be used for all sorts of nonsense, a nice little earner these number plates. I also note with dismay the large number of rubbish podcasts concerning spirituality on youtube, the serious ones are buried under a multitude of money making schemes for the gullible or the 'would be' enlightened, one trip to an Ashram in India and they are 'enlightened' youtubers.

I read this book a long time ago. Interesting. It seems he was really committed.

 

 

3 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I read this book a long time ago. Interesting. It seems he was really committed.

 

 

Yes, I saw a BBC program about him, he seems very honest in his beliefs.

10 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I think there are many good ideas in the Buddhist philosophy.

It's sad what some monks do and it's sad that some people demand such stupid actions.

In Isaan at least, animism is mixed with Buddhism. I have studied Buddhism and Hinduism as well as reading about such mystics as Ramana Maharshi and Papa Ji for around 30 years. The psychologist Carl Jung's synchronicity's had a flavour of the mystics teachings. It is about synchronicity that I am writing now. Sometime ago I had a worrying email from my ex German company concerning my company pension and taxation, it was complicated and here there was no German tax consultant, it was also years end so trying to find a German tax consultant online was almost impossible as everyone was filing their tax claims. I eventually found a firm who gave me one of their students. She asked me to email various documents which I did, she told me this could take several weeks (I needed help ASAP). I idly went on to youtube and there was a serious spiritual teacher that I was familiar with talking about giving up a particular problem to the cosmos. One must meditate, calmly explain the problem, give it up to the cosmos, it is no longer your problem, one must have faith and definitely no longer worry, you don't have this problem. I meditate daily so I went to the temple lake, sat down, cleared my mind, explained the problem and told the cosmos I am giving the problem to you to solve. I walked back home, for a few seconds the worry came up but I banished it immediately. When I got home (I had left the computer running) there was an email from the consulting firm, she wrote that my company was mistaken, a new law that year had taken the responsibility from me to the company I need do nothing, the info was free of charge. yeay cosmos.

Quite the payday for this monk.