There Are Stranger Things......

[fabianfred]

I have been a fan and student of Luang Por Jaran, the abbot of Wat Ampawan, Singhburi for about 15 years now.

The series of books about his life in Thai by Thai author Suddassa Onkom สุทัสสา อ่อนค้อม has long been a favorite of mine.

Comprising the titles..... Makaliphon มักกะลีผล ..... Nariphon นารีผล .... Sat Lok Yoom pen pay taam kam สัตวโลกย่อมเป็นไปตามกรรม (the first quarter translated into English as 'Fruit of Karma' then including the next quarter as 'Views through a temple window' now renamed 'Fruit of karma' vol.1)..... wat cakr chiiwit วัฏจักรชีวิต .... kwaam long nai songsaan ความหลงในสงสาร ....

The word phon in both Makaliphon and Nariphon comes from the thai word for fruit. These two names are for the same thing....a mystical tree bearing fruit shaped like a young girl.... existing only in the equally mystical Himaphana forest.... somewhere in the region of the Himalayas....but not of this earth....therefore only reachable by yogis who have mastered meditation to certain levels and have the ability to fly.

In the first book, which covers his life from the time he is a teenager living with his grandmother, he doesn't believe they really exist, but is assured that in his future he will meet them. This book ends with him having been ordained as a monk for the rains-retreat, but then unable to leave and destined to remain a monk for life. He gets teachings in many arts and styles from various ajarns ...... Luang por Derm ..... Luang Por Sod (Pak Nam) ...and then learning Vipassana at wat Mahathat in Bangkok where he attains to Sotapanna.

The second book starts as he is given the position of Abbot of wat Ampawan in the year 2500....and he eventually meet a real ripe Makaliphon in a cave when he visits Sri Lankha...then later is given two shrivelled ones to look after upon his return to Thailand....but they are still inhabited by their spirits and can sing and dance and allow themselves to be seen as if alive and are real people...selectively. Because of his powers of telepathy and other things Luang Por is able to communicate with them.

A poor old photo was in the second book ...but they still exist...and can be seen here....

http://waynedhamma.blogspot.com/search?q=Jaran

http://waynedhamma.blogspot.com/2008/11/or...makaliporn.html

...and maybe this is one too.....

[camerata]

A poor old photo was in the second book ...but they still exist...and can be seen here....

http://waynedhamma.blogspot.com/search?q=Jaran

Very interesting. I wonder if the Lersi/Reusee (yogis) really were such lusty characters? And after they carried off the Makkaliporn and presumably had their way with them, did they bring them back to the tree?

"What was even more amazing that although Makaliporn are non-sentient beings created by psychic power, like an illusionary man created by a illusionist, they seemed to have minds of their own. They are "programed" to sing and dance to attract attention, and even after they fall from the tree and die, they still continue to possess that ability."

This reminds me of an incident in Magic and Mystery in Tibet, in which the author Alexandra David Neel uses visualization techniques to "create" a mind-made lama who takes on a rather sinister persona of his own, and who she then can't get rid of for 6 months.

[fabianfred]

The 'spirits' which inhabited the two dried up makaliphon have now gone back to wherever they came from. Whilst they were with Luang Por he could converse with them....sometimes the boys attending him at his guti caught sight of young girls climbing the stairs to his room and became worried that his reputation would be spoiled...sometimes they heard singing or girlish laughter.

Luang Por had the ability to chant a special mantra which would 'shorten a journey'...and the two makaiphon used their powers to do similar one time. They also left him to return home...for a day and night...and returned after seven years of our time.

[fabianfred]

The story in Wayne's blog about when Luang Por took them to a visit to a lay follower's home, and many villagers and some monks there listened to them singing for some time, enchanted by their heavenly sound. They agreed to allow the head monk there to converse with them, although nobody else but Luang por could hear them. He wanted to be able to see them but they refused...when he got annoyed and asked why they allowed Luang por to see them they replied that Luang por was free of all the defilements (Arahant)...but the monk was not, and was still not even very good at keeping his monks rules and precepts.... so they knew that if they allowed ordinary beings to see them, then lust would arise and cause those persons to create bad karma for themselves.