Jatukam Ramathep

Show Jatukam-Ramtep

2007-12-02T17:53:00.001-08:00

Jatukam Ramathep BundanChok 2546

Jatukam Ramathep Perdfa Perdsawan Terdtiongrachun

San Phra Phrom or Erawan Shrine

2007-11-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

San Phra Phrom or Erawan Shrine was created as a spirit house connected to the Erawan Hotel, which has now made way for the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel. The forces of the typical Thai spirit house didn't seem effective enough during the building of the hotel, so spiritual persons advised that it should be replaced with the four-headed image of Brahma or Phra Phrom in Thai. There have been no further hitches since then, and the shrine has became famous for bringing good fortune. The name Erawan comes from Brahma's thirty-three headed elephant.

People offer colourful flower garlands, lotus, incense and candles. Often, if a wish has been granted, people thank the spirits by donating teak elephants or commissioning the classical Thai dancers and live orchestra.

The Brahma History: According to the bible of the Brahma religion there are three gods each possessing differing moral principles, greatness, and miracles. The three gods are directly responsible for human welfare; they are collectively called "Tree Murati" and consists of Vishnu,Siva, and Brahma. Brahma is believed to be the Creator of all things of the world. He is the "Sayampoo" meaning one who originates himself. He is cool-tempered and possess the highest moral principles. He is full of kindness, mercy, sympathy, and impartiality. These four precepts comprise the "Conscientious Behaviour" corresponding to Buddhist teaching which instructs Buddhist of the four Dharma. Besides creating the world, Brahma also creates heaven and human beings.

The origin of Brahma is a rather complicated story because each legend has its own version. Some say that Brahma originated inside a golden egg; some say that He originated inside a lotus sprouting up from Vishnu's navel while the latter was sleeping on the back of the Naga King at Kasean Ocean; some say that Brahma is the split-up person of Vishnu at the time he was to create the world. Brahma has a red torso; is four-headed or four-faced. However, according to one Hindu book initially Brahma has five faces but He once enraged Siva by making an insulting speech. Siva, using miracle, opened his third eye (Siva has three eyes; Whenever his third eye opens, an event of great magnitude is bound to happen) and started at the first head of Brahma and thus flamed it to tiny particles. That is why Brahma has only four faces. Brahma has four hands (some say eight); one hand carries a walking stick, one carries two spoons, another carries a pot, and the last one carries a bible. A bead string hangs from His neck. He is armed with a bow called Paraweeta and has a hansa (a while horse in the version of the Lama sect story) as the beast of burden. The abode of Brahma is called Brohmbharuenatha situated that the Brahma abode is higher than heaven and Brahma is divided into many types viz Material Brahma and Non-material Brahma. The Material Brahma has 16 levels. The 16 levels Brahma has only men and no women. The Brahma himself sits forever still.

The Non-material Brahma is even higher. It has no matter but has only mind. There are all together 4 levels. Those who are to be born to be Brahma must have practised basic meditation from Primary Chaan till Panjama Chaan. Who is to live in which Brahma level depends on his/her Chaan practised in each activity.

The Brahma wife is Sarasawadee who has created by Brahma himself. Brahma has good disposition: cool-tempered and gives blessing to whoever asks for it. He is full of the four Dharma viz kindness, mercy, sympathy, and impartiality and extends his benevolence to all animals. At the time the Lord Buddha rose to heaven to preach his mother who lived in the second level heaven, it was Indra and Brahma wife is held by brahmins as the goddess of the intellect and technical matters. She is the mother of Phravet and invented the Thevanakree alphabets. Sarasawadeeis a beautiful woman with soft-white torso. She has four hands: on her right she carries a bouquet for worshipping Brahma in one hand and a palm-leaved bible in another, on her left is a pearl necklace called Sivamala in one hand and a harp in another. She is usually enthroned on a lotus dais or a peacock back and sometimes uses the hansa as her beast of burden.

Brahma together with Sarasawadee helped create everything on this earth and Sarasawadee was the creator of the Thevanakree alphabets and Sanskrit language. She also loves and supports the Arts and Sciences.
http://www.thailandguidebook.com/erawanshrine.html

Jatukham - Ramathep and Tourism Industry of Nakhon Si Thammarat

2007-11-14T05:36:00.000-08:00

he trend of "Jatukham-Ramathep" is the new occurrence of Thai society. Though the definition and meaning of Jatukham-Ramathep are still puzzled and lure to find out the answer. Many chronicles and theories have been trying to sort out the solution but still there is no conclusion for the case. Some said thatJatukham-Ramathep are the protecting Theva of Nakhon Si Thammarat, some said Jatukham-Ramathep are the gods of war in Hindu and are the sons of Siva that Tamil people have been respecting for thousand years. Some also said thatJatukham-Ramathep are King Jantharapanu who declared independence of Nakhon Si Thammarat from both Lawo and Srivichaya realms.

However, Nakhon Si Thammarat that is known as the source of Jatukham-Ramathep is promptly flourishing. All roads are heading to Nakhon Si Thammarat unceasingly. It is also believed that the genuine Jatukham-Ramathep medals must get through the virtue functions of Buddhist and Deva at Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihara and the City Shrine. Such trend makes tourists and believers from all four peninsulas everyday until Nakhon Si Thammarat becomes surprisingly agile and colorful. Flights to Nakhon Si Thammarat are increased in response to the unceasing number of tourists. According to the trend, hotels, restaurants, souvenirs shops, photo shops, publishers, frame shops, as well as herbal grounding shops are taking advantages of it. It can be said that the trend ofJatukham-Ramathep has been over turning tourist situation of Nakhon Si Thammarat to be unexpectedly thrived. The stories and believes about Jatukham-Ramathep are varied as same as variety models of Jatukham-Ramathep that have been made. Only sharing the same practice of worshiping the Jatukham-Ramathep , must behave itself to be in complete Five Precepts, Moral Fears, and working with full effort for the success. In response to thetrand, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) produced the Aor Sor Thor magazine, May 2007 issue, introduced the civilization of Nakhon Si Thammarat and tour programs introducing connecting routes in between responsible areas of TAT Southern Office Region 2 with the intentions to provide earnings to locals and extend length of tourist stays.
http://www.tat.or.th/south02/hotnewsdet.asp?id=304&dept_id=4

จตุคาม รามเทพ รุ่นแรก ปี 30 เนื้อขาว ปัดเงิน - 2530 (1987) Jatukam first model (white, silver gliding)

2007-11-06T05:24:00.000-08:00

1987 Jatukam first model (white, silver gliding) จตุคาม รามเทพ รุ่นแรก ปี 2530 เนื้อขาว ปัดเงิน

Photo from: Mr. Somkid Tantrakul คุณสมคิด ตันตระกูล

http://classified.sanook.com/collectible/item.php?id=2483623

A revered monk who had the ear of the people

2007-11-02T07:19:00.001-07:00

The death on Wednesday of 96-year-old Phra Panyanandha Bhikkhu, one of Thailand's most revered monks, reminded me of a recent incident.

About two weeks ago I had a brief conversation with the coffee shop manager near my office. She told me she had just received a Jatukham Ramathep amulet. But she was not very excited about it.

"How did you get it?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I went to place an order for one at a booth over there. The guy told me, 'Just bring me a cup of ice tea and you may take this Jatukham in exchange'," she said.

What a big fall from grace for the Jatukham amulet after all the craze and rumours over the past two years about its miracle ability to create instant supernatural power. Some of them used to sell for several hundred thousand baht, others tens of thousands of baht. Now, apparently, one is worth the price of a cup of tea.

Throughout his long and active life in the monk-hood, Phra Panyanandha witnessed, and fought against, all kinds of claims about supernatural powers, sacred amulets, auspicious stars, spirit houses and fortune-telling. Although he could not remove all the ignorance and the superstitious beliefs from Thai society, he helped revive wisdom among millions of Thais through his basic Dhamma teaching.

Unlike his mentor the late Phra Buddhadhas Bhikkhu, who focused on Dhamma teaching at the metaphysical level, Phra Panyanandha sought to educate common Thais about Buddhism at a community level through his oral teaching. He used easy language and his exceptional wit to both edify and enliven his audience.

Phra Buddhadhas, who passed away in 1993, was a reformist who interpreted Buddhism in its strictest and purest form. He studied thoroughly the Pali text of the Buddhist canon, the Tripitaka, and based his Buddhist teaching on its real essence. He advised Phra Panyanandha to follow suit by studying Pali and approaching the Buddhist canon in its original text.

While Phra Buddhadhas taught Buddhism at the highest level, Phra Panyanandha elected to focus on Buddhism as a community service. One needs to rely on the highest wisdom to understand Phra Buddhadhas's metaphysical teaching. But Phra Panyanandha's teaching was always straight to the point, easy to understand and never ambiguous.

He was the first monk to break the tradition of preaching on an elevated chair. He preferred to stand on a bench to preach before his audience and get closer to them.

Traditionally, a sermon is conducted with rich rituals. A monk will climb up to sit on a huge, beautifully crafted chair, which looks like a throne. He will hold a leaf, on which Buddhist texts are written, with both hands. A Thai orchestra will perform an overture. Before the real sermon takes place, a leader from the audience will say a prayer in Pali. Then the monk will start his sermon, beginning with several phrases or sentences in Pali. The monk will not hesitate to use a lot of difficult Pali words during the sermon.

Phra Panyanandha did away with all of this ritual. During the early period of his monkhood in Nakhon Si Thammarat, he organised a sermon behind the railway station there. He stood on a bench, dispensed with special rituals and spoke out loud to his audience in the ordinary language that they immediately understood. He continued this style of preaching and he quickly gained fame.

Phra Buddhadhas and Phra Panyanandha were not interested in rituals or traditional practices associated with Buddhism. They went right to the heart of Buddhism, interpreted the original text in its pure form and practised the Buddha's teaching with the highest discipline.

Phra Panyanandha had a unique style of preaching that at times offended some of his audience. When he preached to a village where there were a lot of owners of fighting bulls, he said: "They look after the bulls much better than they take care of their parents. They take the bulls for a bath and give them everything. But to their parents they never give anything at all."

Some of his audience was offended. They felt that Phra Panyanandha had lambasted them and did not spare their face. Yet Phra Panyanandha preached in line with Buddhism, which teaches people to look after their parents.

Phra Panyanandha's aim was not to lead Thais to redemption or nirvana. That would be too ambitious as well as impractical. While Phra Buddhadhas spoke to the learned, Phra Panyanandha spoke to the common people. Throughout his life he concentrated on restoring peace to society through the Buddha's teaching and correcting misunderstanding about Buddhism. Most important of all, he wanted to eradicate ignorance and superstition among Thais.

For this reason, Phra Panyanandha was a popular monk, who aimed for community service. His death has left a big vacuum in Buddhism in Thai society as Thais appear to be moving away from the essence of Buddhism to embrace superstitious beliefs and icons they believe will provide them with a quick fix to their present problems.

Thanong Khanthong

The Nation

Unlucky charms : Temples in debt as craze for Jatukham amulets fades

2007-10-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

Waning public enthusiasm for Jatukham Rammathep amulets has left many Chiang Mai temples in deep financial trouble.

Sales of the talismans are too small to cover what temples spent to have them made.

Some temples have incurred debts in the millions of baht after they borrowed to produce the amulets, unaware their popularity would slump so soon.

Their predicament prompted the Chiang Mai Buddhism Office to organise a fair just for local temples to sell their amulets and earn money to repay their debts.

The one-week amulet bazaar opened last Friday at Lokmolee Temple in Chiang Mai's Muang district with more than 20 temples putting up stalls.

Abbot of Wat Phratat Doikoeng, Luangpor Boonsri, said his temple borrowed Bt5 million to make 200,000 amulets in August. It has sold just 1,000.

Before joining the amulet fair, the temple sought help from private sellers to market the talismans, he said.

"I have talked to abbots of other temples and they have the same problem. Some of them have debts of up to Bt10 million each," he said.

Phra Narin Khampipanyo of Wat Sanpaliang said it spent Bt2.5 million on making amulets five months ago.

Sales were especially good to start with. "But volume suddenly dropped as many other temples had amulets, too. Now the temple is more than Bt1 million in debt," he said.

Phra Narin said the Jatukham fair did not help boost sales. "We pay Bt4,000 a day to rent a stall but today we have sold five and made Bt500," he said.

The Nation

Jatukam/Chatukam Amulet

2007-10-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

I observed that Chatukam/Jatukam Amulet is a big hit in Malaysia right now. The are many people that have obtain this amulet.

Personally I didn’t have any of this amulet and don’t know much about it, however, here is some information from the web about the Jatukarm:

Once upon a time, many centuries ago (about 1700 years ago), it was a time of war and trouble. There lived a king and his princes. The elder prince named Jatukam and the other named Ramathep. After many years of war, the King finally conquered and managed to secure Sri Lanka into part of his Kingdom. There was a saying that the King possessed a sacred treasure, this was none other than the Holy relics of Lord Buddha. Before the King began his journey to the newly conquered land, he tasked the protection of the Relics to his two princes. And ordered them to guard it with their lives.

Some time later, the princes received information of plan by the enemy to capture the Relics. They immediately informed the King in Sri Lanka. The King instruction was to quickly bring the Relics via sea and head to Sri Lanka. Halfway through the journey, a thunderstorm stroke and their ships were sunken. Except the two princes, the rest of the crews did not survive.

The two princes were washed ashore, but well. Without the sea transport, they could no longer bring the Relics to Sri Lanka. They started praying sincerely to the Relics “Dear Enlighten One! If this land we step upon is a holy piece of land, then please guide us let us live a new life here. With our people, we shall guard and protected your Relics forever.”

Later the two princes built a temple on this holy land and with much hardwork, they also establish a wealthy and strong city. They brought new hope and peace to all the people. In remembrance to the great deeds by the two princes, they named this place Nakon Si Thammarat in their honour. This is now located at Southern of Thailand at present time. The temple that the two princes built for the Relics is Wat Mahathat, as it is known now.

Ever since then, after a few century, many people had travelled to Wat Mahathat to locate the Relics that were buried by the princes. Finally, they found a stone craving and the Relics buried at the Wat. The stories of the two princes were found engraved on this stone.

The two princes had done many great deeds and the greatest is by erecting the temple to house the Relics. And they promised to guard the Relics with their lives. They had earned respect from both the heavenly and earthly beings. Later, the people combined the two princes into one and named Tao Jatukam Ramathep, when praying to him. Tao Jatukam Ramathep becomes one of the most respected and popular deity in the South of Thailand. In olden days, Tao was used to address the noble one. It is believed that those that pray to Tao Jatukam Ramathep will be blessed with fulfilling life and better in all aspects in everyday work.

In Malaysia, there are many place that someone can get the Jatukam amulet. One of the place is the Chetawan Temple . I went there and saw there are some that avaiable… If anyone like to have a look, you may try to go there.

Here is some photo of the Chatukam that I take during the visit:

http://malaysia.mycheaptravelguides.com/jatukamchatukam-amulet/

Jatukam LuakMeung MahaMongkon 2550

2007-10-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

This batch is called Jatukam roon Luak Meung MahaMongkon 2550. This is one of the most stunning Jatukam amulets created in year 2550. This is from Wat Pra Boromatat in Narkon SiTamarrat. The creator for this batch is Mr. Nasan Puntarukrachdech son of Khun Phan. The batch of Jatukam had gone thru 16 times of Chanting Ceremony. One of the ingrediant for this batch is the sacred powder from famous Burana LuakMeung 2547. A worth collection.

The Legend Of Luang Poh To In Thailand

2007-10-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

By Jared Lee
The Legend of Luang Poh To is about three images of Buddha. It was said that a thousand years ago three statues appeared floating on the Bang Pakong river. Though the statues were called three brothers, it is believed that they were not made by mere mortals. No one knew the origins of the statues.

The local people tried to stop the statues and get them ashore but they failed in their attempts. The largest of the three statues floated down the river to the sea, where he followed the upper coastline of the Gulf of Siam, finishing his journey in the Mae Klong River at Samut Songkhram. In Samut Songkhram, the local people invited the statue to come ashore and dwell in the temple of Wat Ban Laem. The statue accepted the invitation and came ashore.

The second statue followed a similar path like the first statue but it floated up the Chao Phraya river towards Bangkok. The second brother floated past Bangkok and then along Klong Bang Phli. The first temple along the canal was Wat Nam Daeng, also known as Red Thorn Temple. The local villagers tried to get the statue to enter the temple. They used all possible means of persuasion. They worshipped the second brother and lit joss sticks but the statue did not stop and continued on its way. The villagers were completely powerless to stop the statue.

The second brother then reach Wat Bang Phli Yai, the next temple along the canal. The locals immediately started worshipping him and they used a sacred white thread to draw the statue to the shore. This time the villagers were successful and the second brother was housed in Wat Bang Phli Yai and it is known as Luang Por Tor.

The third statue came to rest on the banks of Bang Pakong river in exactly the same spot where the Wat Sothorn now stands. Legend has it that the locals initially tried to persuade the third brother to come ashore but failed in their attempts. So, they worshiped him and used the sacred thread to pull him ashore. Now, the third brother is housed in Wat Sothorn.

http://www.thailandbuddy.com/

Blooming with imagination

2007-10-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

Armed with her Jatukam amulet, Arianna Caroli travels around the world capturing blossoms and angels on her canvasses. This month, she's sharing them at Central Chidlom
is no stranger to Thailand, but this time she's not in the Land of Smiles for a vacation.

The New York-based Italian artist will be showing her latest creations at Central department store's Chidlom branch from October 19 to 23 as part of the chain's 60th anniversary celebrations. She'll also be taking part in a live painting show from October 19 to 21, inviting shoppers to watch her canvases come alive with colour.

The Orvieto-born Caroli, who divides her time between New York and Florida, has always been fascinated by the spirit and the art of the East, attracted by its elegance, exoticism, sensuality and mysticism. Long sojourns in Thailand, Bali, Laos, Burma, Cambodia and India, along with periods spent in Europe and the US, have made her a citizen of the world. Her paintings combine eastern mysticism with western expression.

Her work is represented in the public collection of Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts and the Museum of XXI Century Art in St Petersburg, Florida, as well as in private collections of prominent people like Ronald Lauder, Summer Redstone and Ralph Lauren.

But Caroli has worked hard for her success.

"I've been painting since I was 13. I had to fight to make it my career because when I told my family I wanted to be an artist, they said okay … that's a hobby. How can you earn a living?" she recalls.

Caroli compromised, graduated from the University of Rome with a doctorate in Ancient Literature and Archaeology, before completing her art studies at Sotheby's Institute of Art in London, the New York Studio School, the Art Students League of New York and with master iconographer Vladislav Andrejev.

"Everything I've studied has proved to be very important. It makes me to look at things with different eyes.

"Recently, I launched my first book about my life and work entitled 'On the Way - In Cammio'. The book is dedicated to my family and friends. I thought they were making my life difficult, but in fact they forced me to learn about faith, determination and courage and perseverance. I have to thank them."

Though many of Caroli's paintings feature angels, offering movement, colour, light and beauty, it's her depiction of flowers that hold the viewer's attention.

"The reason I paint flowers is because they are between human creations and divine work. They come out of the darkness of the earth and go toward the light. They are nourished by the sun and the earth. It's like black and white, yin and yang.

"A flower itself is a work of art and it's a big challenge to paint one. I also believe that a flower has healing power and amazing energy. So, I try to share and give back that energy through my paintings."

Caroli enjoys sharing her inspiration and imagination with people, especially underprivileged children. Her luggage is always overweight when she travels, as she stuffs her suitcases with canvases, colours and papers, "the materials children need for their imaginations to travel", she explains.

She spends a few months each year on the road and is particularly attracted to the Buddhist nations of Southeast and East Asia. She learned about Buddhism as a 20-year-old while practising yoga.

"The Eastern philosophy opened up a different world to me. As a Catholic, I was raised to think that life is about suffering and you have to be punished. Then you come to the other side of the world and they say life is joy; life is here and now.

"I learned that the past didn't exist anymore, nor did the future. The only thing we have is the here and now ... that nothing is sure and nothing is forever. Everything changes," says Caroli, who has taken to wearing a Jatukam Ramathep amulet that she was given during a Songkran visit to Nakhon Si Thammarat.

She says she was unaware at the time of the supernatural powers associated with the amulet, but later read that a man had credited his survival in an accident to the talisman. She also wears a smaller Somdej Wat Rakhang amulet.

"I believe the amulets will protect me," she smiles.

Tanaporn Tangcharoenmankong

The Nation

Jatukham Ramathep: Buddhist Amulets?

2007-10-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

All over Thailand there’s a craze going on surrounding amulets called Jatukham Ramathep (one is pictured above). These lucky charms are rather large, cumbersome looking objects seen dangling in front of the wearer’s chest, apparently as some kind of display of the protective power that these things are believed to posses. At the school in which I work here in Ubon Ratchathani, both pupils and teachers exhibit their Jatukham Ramathep talismans over their uniforms for all to see. I’m sure that if you live in Thailand and mix with Thais on a daily basis, you’ll have seen these amulets – I even know Westerners that wear them: perhaps you’re wearing one as you read this!

But what are the origins of these extremely popular idols? Well, the original Jatukham Ramathep amulets were made back in 1987 by a Thai policeman who believed that the spirit of the same name had assisted him in solving a difficult case he was investigating. In 2006, after the policeman’s death, the amulets began to become wildly popular amongst Thais who believed that they granted good fortune and solved the wearer’s problems. Today, the amulets will generally sell for anything between 200 Baht for a basic version to 1, 000 Baht for limited editions, but the highest price paid for one has been reported at 1.2 million Baht!

So, who or what is this Jatukham Ramathep that allegedly bestows such magical power? Well, nobody’s exactly sure! Two theories are that Jatukham Ramathep is a fusion of the names of two ancient princes from Southern Thailand, or that it’s an alternative name of the Mahayana Buddhist deity Avalokiteshvara. (The significance of the latter is that Thai Buddhism is of the Theravada school, not part of the Mahayana movement, and therefore does not recognize Avalokiteshvara.)

Whatever the genesis of these amulets, the fact remains that they are very popular nowadays: so popular that there was a stampede when some people attempted to reserve talismans in the South of the country where they are produced and blessed, killing one woman. (She obviously wasn’t on Jatukham Ramathep’s friendship list!) A similar story in the news related to a driver of a Mercedes that thought he might be invincible due to the supposed protection of the Jatukham Ramathep talisman that he was wearing. Apparently, he tried to get across a level crossing while a train approached, but the magical power of the train must have been stronger – the guy was crushed to death!

As you might have guessed by now, I’m pretty skeptical about the efficacy of these things: you’re right! It’s not just my cynical Western upbringing that’s to blame for this lack of faith, nor such (amusing?!) stories as the two cited above. It’s the fact that as a Theravada Buddhist, I know that the Buddha taught against the superstitious use of such objects. I also know that roughly 95% of all Thais are said to be Buddhist, but that doesn’t seem to translate into all of them following the guidance of the Awakened One. (Most Thais that I know drink alcohol for instance, despite the fact that the fifth precept that Buddhists undertake is to refrain from drink and drugs.)

In the upasakadhamma, a set of five qualities that all Buddhists should aspire to, the use of amulets and lucky charms is discouraged, with the belief in (and comprehension of) kamma (action) and the results of action being encouraged instead. Buddhism, despite what one might think observing popular religion in Thailand, is not superstitious or fanciful in nature. But the use of Jatukham Rammathep amulets and their like distract their users away from the true teachings of the Buddha, and lead to an increase in worldly delusion rather than its ending as promoted in the Buddha Dhamma (Buddhist Teachings).
http://forestwisdom.thaipulse.com/2007/07/buddhist-amulets.html

Thailand’s Jatukam Rammathep amulet craze

2007-10-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

Fads are everywhere in Thailand. Remember Mr Bun and Roti Boy? (Does anybody still eat at those places?) You’d be forgiven for thinking that Thailand was a country full of people wearing replica Olympic medals. Everybody seems to have these great big medallions – a sort of combination between Mr T and Derek Trotter. These medallions are, of course, Thailand’s bizarrely popular Jatukam Rammathep amulets.

The idea is that these things bring you luck. They come in different flavours: money, work, love – whatever you want, there’s a Jatukam out there for it. I’m always keen to try new things, so I bought my own Jatukam Amulet. Actually, I got a friend of a friend to buy me one.

The cost for eternal good fortune? A mere 500 baht, which I’m told is cheap for Jatukam Amulets. I decided against wearing my Jatukam as a medallion and instead keep it in its little plastic container. Although it wasn’t my choice, my amulet will apparently bring me great wealth. I’ve been putting it to the test and carrying the Jatukam with me everywhere I go. So far, no good luck.

Jatukam Rammathep amulets are sold across Thailand. The story goes that a Thai policeman received some guidance from Jatukam Rammathep in solving a murder case 20 years ago. When the policeman died last year, the Jatukam craze began.

The amulet originate from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, which is where mine comes from, although now you can buy them almost anywhere now. The Jatukam I have was blessed three times by monks. If I don’t get rich by the end of the year then those monks will have some explaining to do.

You may be wondering who Jatukam Rammathep is. According to The Nation, it’s actually two people:

Jatukam Rammathep is two people, not one. The names are the aliases of brother princes Inthara Sairen and Inthara Khao Kheo, sons of King Jantharaphanu, who ruled the Sri Thammasoke realm, the capital of the Krung Srivijaya Kingdom (757-1257) in southern Thailand, after his father who founded it.

The first Jatukam amulets cost just 39 baht. How times have changed, with some amulets fetching more than a million baht now. It’s such a strange trend because it really has nothing to do with religion; it’s entirely superstitious. It’s not even Buddhist, and yet these amulets are sold by Buddhist monks. Jatukam Rammathep is a Hindu character.

Most of the people wearing these amulets are not Hindu. Having an amulet is like owning a rabbit’s foot or a four-leaf clover. I never had a lucky charm as a child except for a compass that I broke and then lost.

Time to make up for lost time.
http://whatismatt.com/thailands-jatukam-rammathep-amulet-craze/

Jatukam Ramathep Amulets

2007-10-10T22:38:00.001-07:00

A man uses a magnifying glass to inspect a plasticine "Jatukam Ramathep" amulet at a Bangkok market June 28, 2007. A craze for plasticine amulets that promise to make their owners "Super Rich" or "Rich without Reason" is sweeping across Thailand to the dismay of traditionalists in the predominantly Buddhist nation. Picture taken June 28, 2007. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

A Thai monk uses a magnifying glass to inspect a plasticine 'Jatukam Ramathep' amulet at a Bangkok market June 28, 2007. (Sukree Sukplang/Reuters)
http://www.thaiphotoblogs.com/index.php?blog=5&title=jatukam_ramathep_amulets&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Jatukam 2530 (จตุคาม 2530)

2007-10-05T20:50:00.001-07:00

Jatukam Rama Thep (year 2530)

Photo from: Mr. AAR (somsap@hutch.co.th)

http://www.212cafe.com/freewebboard/view.php?user=banphra2&id=326

1 Million Baht house robbery in Nongprue.

2007-09-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

Police Lieutenant Choosak from Banglamung Police Station was called to house number 49 in Soi Nong Hin in Nongprue in the early hours of Friday Morning after a robbery at the house was reported. Police were met by Khun Sompop aged 42, the house owner, who explained that Buddhist Amulet’s known in Thai as “Jatukum” were stolen along with a DVD Player. The stolen Amulet’s included a number from 1979 which are considered as extremely valuable. The estimated value of the stolen items is over 1 Million Baht. The point of entry for the thief or thieves was a ground floor window. No prints were found and no witnesses came forward. Police are now on the lookout for anyone selling these valuable items.

http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_01_06_50_3.htm

Jatukam and other amulets

2007-09-26T18:43:00.001-07:00

Jatukam are a relatively new amulet to Thailand. They are, first and foremost protection amulets, secondly they are wealth amulets. They were first created in 1987 in Nakhon Si Thammarat, a province in the south. Jatukam's were originally introduced to raise money for a Chedi and the smaller buildings which surround it in Jokjakarta, Indonesia. (Nakhon was the spiritual centre of an ancient realm of 9,000km2 that included India and Indonesia). The Jatukam include at least two of three depictions, one is the monkey type figures (Rao Hu), second is the Ramathep figure, and third is the monkey with face covered by his hands (less popular). The Jatukam pictured is a Chedi Rai (pronounced Jay-dee-rai). It is instantly recognisable, even to people with very limited knowledge of JTK. It was designed in Thai year 2530 (1987). For more complete information, check my Nakhorn Si Thammarat page travelogue. *** I have just returned to Phuket after being away for 3 months. You would not believe the change! When I bought my first Jatukam piece in January for 20,000 baht, only a few Thai people were wearing them. Now, my main Jatukam piece is worth about 100,000 baht (in May) and I've heard that it could be worth up to 200,000 baht. There are Jatukam shops everywhere, probably 10 at each main shopping centre, but be warned, as much as they will try to convince you that the pieces are real, I can almost guarantee you that they're a copy. There have been newspaper reports recently where Jatukam figures have shown up in photos, even digital pictures and ones that were taken by farangs (westerners). This has added to the hysteria and popularity of the Jatukam. The Jatukam in the picture, as worn by my friend, is my main piece. I have a blue one, because I was born on a Friday. Every day of the week is represented by a different colour.
www.virtualtourist.com

Bangkok temples the seat of spiritual strength

2007-09-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

There are about 887 Bangkok temples and it would take more than a lifetime to see them all. Some of the better-known and interesting temples associated with the Chakri kings are listed here in the order in which they were built.

Bangkok temples in the pre-Rattanakosin era

On the Thonburi bank of the Chao Phraya is the glittering Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn, an old temple in the Pre- Rattanakosin era, showered with thousands of porcelain fragments. King Taksin passed the old temple at dawn and vowed to restore it. The Emerald Buddha was kept here until the reign of King Rama I when the Temple of the Emerald Buddha was built.

The Temple of the Reclining Buddha, Wat Pho or Wat Potoram, is one of the Bangkok temples dating back to the 17th century. King Rama I expanded the temple when Bangkok was established as capital of Thailand. The centerpiece of Wat Pho is the huge statue of the reclining Buddha, almost 50 m in length.

Wat Mahathat dates back to the Ayutthaya days and has an interesting history. Prince Mongkut, who later became King Rama IV, was ordained as a monk here in 1824.

Bangkok Temples in the Rattanakosin era

When Bangkok was established as the capital, starting what is known as the Rattanakosin era, several temples were built by the Chakri kings.

The most famous of the Bangkok temples is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Phra Kaew.

This was the first temple to be built during the Rattanakosin era.

The temple was built from 1782 – 1784 during the reign of King Rama I to house the Emerald Buddha.

This much-revered statue with a long history has traversed more than 1,000 km across half of Thailand before it was finally installed in this temple in 1784.

In 1807, King Rama I started the construction of Wat Suthat. The construction of this temple spanned three reigns of the Chakri Kings and was only completed in 1843.

One of the more famous temples is Wat Bowornniwet built during the reign of King Rama III. Prince Mongkut, future King Rama IV, was abbot here in 1832 and started a long royal tradition.

Wat Rachanatdaram a royal temple built in 1846 by King Rama III, is renowned for the Loha Prasat or Metal Castle within which the relics of Buddha are stored.

Wat Thepthidaram in Mahachai Road opposite the old Fort Mahakarn community, was built by Rama III in 1836.

Sunthorn Phu, the famous Thai poet, considered the Shakespeare of the Thai literature, was ordained as a monk here.

On an artificial hill almost 100 m high stands Wat Saket or Temple on the Golden Mount towering over the old city.

Building of this temple started during the reign of King Rama III. Owing to difficulties in firming the artificial mount, the temple wasn't completed until the reign of King Rama IV.

Wat Rachanatdaram, Wat Thepthidaram and Wat Saket are in the same vicinity. To visit these wats, please see map to the Royal Temples.

The magnificent Marble Temple or Wat Benjamabophit was built by King Rama V in 1899 near Dusit Garden to replace two older temples pulled down to construct the new palace.

These Bangkok temples are not only places of worship and spiritual retreat but are also steeped in the rich history of the Rattanakosin era and the Chakri kings.

For a Bangkok temple that's not famous for its regal connections, history or old architecture but for a legendary female ghost, visit Wat Mahabut in Phra Khanong. To visit this unusual temple, please see the map to Wat Mahabut. I would visit the place in broad daylight.
http://www.tour-bangkok-legacies.com/bangkok-temples.html

Prapongwan Udomchoke 8 Arahun Suwanna Bhumi

2007-09-21T07:42:00.001-07:00

Details:

This is one of the most popular (and expensive) series of Jatukam Ramthep amulets created in recent years and is known as the "Chedi Rai batch", or official named was "Prapongwan Udomchoke 8 Arahun Suwanna Bhumi". It was recorded that although as many 50,000 pieces were originally created, all of them were sold out within a few months.
The green ceramic version is without doubt the most stunning Jatukam amulet ever created. You simply cannot buy these amulets, and we are so lucky to have an entirely genuine piece.
The amulets were created by Major Police General Khunpunta rakrachdech, (Khun Pan) . He created this version to help Wat Pra Mahatat of Nakon Si Tamarat province gain funds towards the support the various renovation projects being carried out at the temple.
It was said that after the landslide success of the "Chedi Rai Version", many senior monks had asked the famous police general to help their temples create new series of the sacred amulets to assist in their own renovation projects.
Though Major Police General Khunpuntarakrachdech had promised to help them create new sacred amulets, he could not complete this task due to his death at the end of last year (B.E.2549).
Therefore all the burden of this work was transferred to other accomplished associates, and in particular his son.
Indeed a new series was later created and was called "Prapongwan Udomchoke Pathom Arahun Suwanna Bhumi", and although was designed differently from the old "Chedi Rai" version, it was still created with the same sacred materials.
Prapongwan Udomchoke Pathom Arahun Suwanna Bhumi amulets would be given to 20 temples, and all of them had passed the 4 sacred ceremonies, which were strictly organized according to the belief of Jatukam Ramthep and the 12 Naksat of Srivichai Suwanna Bhumi Kingdom as follows:
1st ceremony, at 06.16 am., on November 10th, B.E.2547, at Khao Ngoo, Rachburi province, in order to worship the Hindu gods.
2nd ceremony, at 18.30 pm., on November 12, B.E.2547, at Viharn Soong Maha Ued, Nakornsridharmarach province, in order to transfer magic power into the amulets.
3rd ceremony, at 18.30 pm., on November 17, B.E.2547, at the deep sea of Nakon Si Tamarat province, in order to transfer magic power into the amulets.
4th ceremony, at 15.31 pm., on December 10, B.E.2547, at Wat Pra Mahatat, Nakon Si Tamarat province, in order to transfer magic power into the amulets.
Sacred materials
Several kinds of sacred materials were used to create these sacred amulets such as the sacred powder of Nakon Si Tamarat province's sacred chedi of Wat Pra Mahatat (from the renovation in B.E.2538), sacred powder from Jatukam Ramthep (since renovation in B.E.2544), sacred powder of many sacred amulets from several temples, including, sacred powder of Pra Yodkhunpol amulets B.E.2497, sacred powder of Pra Putaravadi amulets B.E.2505, sacred powder of Pra Mahawan of Wat Khao Or amulets B.E.2485, several kinds of sacred powder that were collected by Major Police General Khunpuntarakrachdech during his life time.
Furthermore, sacred soils and powder from many sacred premises were also used in the mixture, including,
• Sacred soils and powder from Wat Punnaram, Rachburi province,
• Sacred soils and powder from Sajjapunt Mountain, Saraburi province,
• Sacred soils and powder from Wat Pribplee, Petchburi province,
• Sacred soils and powder from Wat Pra Buddha Chai, Rachburi province,
• Sacred soils and powder from Wat Tum Khao-ngoo, Rachburi province,
• Sacred soils and powder from Wat Sri Buddha Ram, which was built by Prince Duen Denfa in B.E.300,
• Sacred soils and powder from Wat Khao Bundai-it, Petchburi province,
• Sacred soils and powder from Wat Kong, an ancient temple which was built in B.E.200.
Lastly, several kinds of powder from sacred Thai plants and trees were also added into the mixtures such as Mai Takian, Mai Krabok, Mai Kraton, Mai Makham.

SUPPLIED WITH ORIGINAL TEMPLE BOX AND CASE AND IN 100% MINT CONDITION
price xxxx Bath
If you want to buy
you go to http://www.siam-amulets.com/amulet_details1.php?id=484&page=9&lower=32&PHPSESSID=e602ec12e45dfcb93eefdef4b4ab0768

Hundreds of Buddhist monks to spend Buddhist Lent in violence-wrecked southern Thailand

2007-09-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Hundreds of yellow-robed Buddhist monks arrived in Muslim-dominated southern Thailand on Wednesday at the start of Buddhist Lent in the hope their presence will promote peace in the insurgency-wracked region.

Buddhist Lent — a three-month period — marks the beginning of the rainy season in Thailand, a time when villagers present offerings of food and flowers to monks who must remain on temple grounds. The age-old practice is traditionally to prevent them from trampling new plants and insects.

"The 346 monks will spend this time in various temples in the area to boost morale among the Buddhist population there and to bring a message of peace to a place torn apart by the insurgency," said Air Force Commander Chalit Pukbhasuk who saw the monks off from Bangkok.

The monks traveled by air force plane to the south and will be spending their time at temples in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, Thailand's three southernmost provinces where 2,300 have been killed since an Islamic insurgency flared in January 2004.

Bombings and drive-by shootings are a near-daily occurrence in the region, and while initially Buddhists were the main targets, Muslims are also coming under attack.

Authorities will provide security for the monks with 24-hour patrolling of temple grounds and surrounding areas, said army spokesman Col. Akara Thiprote.

Last year, Buddhist monks in Narathiwat halted their alms-seeking rituals after coming under fire, and some Buddhist temples became military barracks and heavily guarded fortresses.

However, military authorities said Buddhist monks have become less of a target in recent months.

"The assailants seem to have been targeting more strategically, attacking security authorities more ... there are fewer attacks on symbolic targets like Buddhist monks and public school teachers," said Akara.

He also said that recent arrests of suspected insurgents have limited the area of attacks and restored confidence among minority Buddhists in the area.

Up to 10 percent of Thailand's 65 million people are Muslims, most of whom live in the three southern provinces where they are a majority. Muslims have long complained they are treated as second-class citizens in predominantly Buddhist Thailand.
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=52,4542,0,0,1,0

The Lord Buddha works

2007-09-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

The latest celebrity to discover that these Jatukam amulets are, you know, popular, is … wait for it … Ad Carabao! Not the holiest entertainer we can think of, but the new model he's come up with - the "Don Sethi" - is a fund-raiser for charity.
And everyone's favourite songs-for-life singer isn't actually late getting into the talisman stream of things, either.

Ad has long collected amulets, which is why he's so gosh-darned lucky all the time, and he figured out early on that a Jatukam would be a great way to raise some hefty baht for Don Jedi district in his native Suphan Buri province. He even got Dhanin Chearavanont, the big boss at the Charoen Pokphand Group, to preside over the amulet-minting ceremony, which means you'll be able to buy them at every single CP retail outlet, which means everywhere.

But first, Ad had to be reminded that he'd thought up the idea. He'd told the abbot of Wat Thakum in Don Jedi ages ago about this great notion, but he was, you know, drunk at the time. He always gets great ideas when he's, you know, drunk.

Months went by, and then one day the abbot called him and said, "So?"

Ad, who had fallen asleep under the latest Harry Potter book, replied, "So what?"

"What about the amulet?"

"What amulet?"To put this story out of its misery, Ad found himself last week onstage with his old band Carabao at a free concert, as part of the ceremonial casting of the talisman, which he had somehow remembered to design himself. The fans enjoyed the music and Ad got yet another message across.

He swears this is a one-off deal, though. "It'll only be this model - I won't be creating any more Jatukam amulets."

So, if you do happen to come across another new model being sold in Ad's name, either someone's pulling a fast one - or he's been pissed again and back to see the abbot.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/10/entertainment/entertainment_30048338.php

Erawan Shrine

2007-09-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

by Malinda Wood
Built in 1956 to ease the mishaps that plagued the construction of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, the Erawan shrine has become a popular place of worshippers who seek spiritual power to help them achieve their goals in life and business. The notion of the shrine is similar to spirit shrines erected in houses and in front of commercial buildings in Thailand. Obviously influenced by Hinduism, the shrines are believed to bring good lucks to worshippers. Located at the intersection of Bangkok's famous shopping street in front of the Grand Hyatt hotel, Erawan Shrine is perhaps the most respected and visited shrine in Thailand.
The shrine consists of a gold leaf plated statue of 4- headed 8-armed Hindu god Brahma seated inside a shrine that is richly decorated with small glasses and tiles. Beside the shrine is a group of classical dance performers available on hand for hire. Each day hundreds of Thais and foreign visitors, particularly Asian tourists, can be seen offering colorful flower garlands, lotus, incense and candles. At the same time they make a wish. If the wish comes true, they will come back to donate small teak elephants or provide a classical Thai dance show or whatever they promise to do or to offer as a grateful note to Brahma. Erawan Shrine is surrounded by some famous Hindu shrines.
For example, the Trimurti shrine and the Genesha Shrine are two revered Hindu deities situated in front of the high-end shopping mall of Central World Plaza while the Lakshmi Shrine can be found inside Gaysorn shopping Plaza. Just across the road from Erawan Shrine in front of the Intercontinental Hotel is a black statue of Vishnu (Narayana) riding a garuda. All of them are easily accessible by sky train (Chidlom Station) and worth a short visit.
www.circleofasia.com

Revered Thai monk flogs sarcastic fortune cookies

2007-09-16T00:35:00.000-07:00

Bangkok, Thailand -- One of Thailand's most revered Buddhist monks has branched out into the fortune cookie trade to mock the "Jatukham fever" currently seizing the nation, news reports said Saturday.
Monk Payom Kalayano, abbot of the Suan Kaew Temple and a crusader against superstitious beliefs, on Friday launched a line of "Jatukham" cookies, modelled after the Jatukham amulet that has made a fortune for other Buddhist monks and temples nationwide.

Payom Kalayano's cookies promise to make the buyer "super rich" by following the four steps to wealth prescribed by the Lord Buddha - diligence, thriftiness, associating with moral people and leading a life of simplicity, reported the Bangkok Post newspaper.

The fortune cookies, four to a pack, sell for a modest 60 baht (1.70 dollars).

The monk said he was inspired to produce the cookies to mock the frenzied trade in Jatukham talismans, which are expected to gross 20 billion baht (571 million dollars) in sales this year.

Jatukham fever started last year when the Mahathat Woramahawiharn Buddhist temple in Nakorn Si Thammarat, 550 kilometres south of Bangkok, began to attract thousands of visitors a day to buy Jatukham Rammathep talismans, named after two princes of the Krung Srivijaya Kingdom in southern Thailand (757-1257).

The special amulets, which were first produced in 1987, have seen a surge in popularity after the death at age 110 of well-known policeman Phantharak Rajjadej, who helped create the 50 centimetre amulet. Original models of the amulet that sold for 100 baht (2.80 dollars) now fetch up to 600,000 (17,143 dollars).

Sales of the amulets, which are anointed by Buddhist monks at Mahathat Woramahawiharnj temple, have sparked such a frenzy that a 51-year-old woman was trampled to death on April 9 in the crush to get reservation coupons for the talismans.

Other Buddhist temples nationwide are now producing their own Jatukham amulets to cash in on the craze, but the Suan Kaew temple is the first to offer Jatukham fortune cookies.

Buddhism does not officially support the use and trade in lucky amulets, which are more in keeping with Brahmanical beliefs than Buddhism, but Thai temples and monks have been actively involved in the multi-million dollar industry for decades.
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=52,4317,0,0,1,0

Thailand's frenzy for amulets

2007-09-14T23:23:00.001-07:00

By Jonathan Head, BBC News
"Monks are supposed to renounce money. The teachings of the Buddha have been killed by the demonic religion of consumerism" - Sulak Sivaraksa, Buddhist scholar
Bangkok, Thailand -- For advertisers in Thailand, the most spectacular location to promote their products is on the side of the country's tallest building, the Baiyoke Tower in Bangkok.
<< Jatukam Ramathep is depicted on the Baiyoke Tower, Bangkok's tallest skyscraper

But the image that appeared there a few weeks ago was not the usual logo for shampoo or a mobile phone company.

It depicted the statuesque head of a mythical Hindu figure, Jatukam Ramathep - actually a combination of two ancient deities, the guardians of some of Thailand's holiest Buddhist relics.

So what was it doing on a Bangkok skyscraper? The answer is that was selling itself, and doing a whole lot better than the rest of the Thai economy.

Thais have always been keen on amulets. Usually bearing the likeness of the Buddha or other religious figures, they are worn round the neck to bring good fortune.

But no amulet has ever been as popular as the Jatukam Ramathep.

Royal connection

These amulets have been made for about 20 years, and were promoted without much success by Police Major-General Phantarak Rajadej, a police chief in Nakhon Si Thammarat, the town where the relics are thought to be located.

Phantarak Rajadej's death last year changed everything.

A larger-than-life character who was reputed to possess magical powers, his funeral was attended by tens of thousands of people, including Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, the heir to the Thai throne.

Copies of the amulet were given out at the funeral - many of them not authentic, complained his family - and belief in their mystical powers began to spread, pushing up the value of older versions.

On Sunday mornings, crowds build around the main temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Wat Mahathat, one of Thailand's most revered Buddhist temples.

They file between the heavy white-washed walls into a small room, filled floor-to-ceiling with an array of statues depicting giants and mythical animals, all bedecked with flowers.

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=52,4803,0,0,1,0

Believing the unbelievable.

2007-09-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

In tune with the wave of anti-religious publications; most notably by authors Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens, I will attack the subject here.

The three names above might not ring many bells with Thais, except those interested in biology, a field in which Richard Dawkins is a prominent figure. However, they are the spearhead of an international movement fed-up with irrationality. Maybe the largest offspring of irrationality and superstition is religion.

One can debate why people in southern Thailand are being blown up and decapitated, but I doubt that even the slimiest of politicians would deny outright that it has something to do with religion. People are quick to blame this on Islam, and they are partly right to do so. But the people killing innocents and the people buying Jatukam Ramathep amulets because they believe they are magic have something in common; an irrational belief. Although the beliefs are different, they are utterly groundless and deserve no respect whatsoever.

Yes that's right, NO respect. And this goes for all groundless claims; be them nazi ideology, horoscopes or a preacher that says condoms are immoral and so forth.

Why are we so prone to accept the ridiculous claims of such things as horoscopes, spells and a belief in invisible gods? And why on earth are we so afraid of the people that accept these things that it is practically considered disrespectful to question them? If someone walked up to you and said he could summon monsters you would probably tell him he was crazy or demand proof. If you are a man of faith, and someone comes up to you and says he spoke to jesus last night you would probably say congratulations. Buddhism is different in the way that in its essence (but not in it’s entirety) it encourages using rationale and critical thinking. But I am sure that all but the most confused individual will agree that this is far from what is the commoners view and practice of buddhism in Thailand. How many cars have you been in without a blessing in the ceiling? And what are the odds that the guy you stop on the street believes in all sorts of spirits or ghosts; I would say fairly high.

I ask again, why are people so easily persuaded into such irrational thought? Smarter people than me have tried to come up with answers and I won't recite their various conclusions. However, one thing is for certain and that is that it has never been beneficial for a society to cultivate irrationality.

If you indulge in astrology, spirit guides, magic amulets and other irrational and baseless activities or respect such things you act as a fertilizer for the next extremist that thinks; 'I feel that hurting this person in the name of my belief is ok and that is enough evidence for me.'

We tell our kids stories about santa claus, magic and wizards, when they grow up we tell them that it's not true; don't forget to remind yourself of that as well.

http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/narcisuss/2007/08/17/entry-1

Vendors earn more than they dreamed of in Nakhon Si Thammarat

2007-09-10T03:36:00.001-07:00

Sales of Jatukarm Ramathep amulets are thriving in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Muang district, with many sellers earning more money than they ever dreamed of.
Duangchanok Amornsak closed down her traditional dance school in August last year and began trading Jatukarm Ramathep talismans.
She admits to making a good profit as demand for the amulets _ which are priced from 199 to 150,000 baht _ has surged. She also sells T-shirts bearing the image of the talisman, and books and pictures.
"I used to get about 10,000 baht a month as a dance teacher. Now I earn from 100,000 to 200,000 baht a month from selling the amulets," she said.
Stalls selling the amulets are on almost every road in downtown Muang district. Although the amulets were introduced in the province 20 years ago, Ms Duangchanok believes their popularity jumped only recently, with the funeral of Pol Maj-Gen Khun Phantharak Rajadej, a well-respected local aristocrat.
Thousands of people flocked to the cremation of Khun Phantharak to obtain the amulets, which were distributed by his children as keepsakes.
Sales of the amulets have stimulated the local economy, putting an estimated 100 million baht into circulation.
Pailin Arunjit also quit her job to become a talisman vendor.
Ms Pailin said she invested 30,000 baht to open her business three months ago. Now she earns about 100,000 baht a month.
"I had never thought that I would have what I have today. My monthly salary as a department store worker was a few thousand baht," she said, adding that she is now able to pay off her debts.
Ms Duangchanok said she believed the talisman would sell well for the next two to three years before dying down, as was "the law of nature".
She personally believed in the magical powers of Jatukarm Ramathep and had various versions of the amulets in stock.
"I don't try to persuade anyone to believe me or to buy the talismans from me. There is no point in owning the amulet but not behaving well. Jatukarm Ramathep will only protect decent people, bringing them good luck," she said.
The amulets comprise a group of talismans with images of a deity and symbols dating back to the ancient Malay kingdom of Srivijaya, of which Nakhon Si Thammarat was a part.
http://pages.citebite.com/i1q4n3r4y7eho

What's after the cookie?

2007-09-07T22:03:00.001-07:00

After Phra Payom of Wat Suan Kaew gained success with his initiative to launch special Jatukam cookies, to remind people to perform good deeds instead becoming too obsessed with the famous amulets, the well-known monk yesterday had another product to offer.

The Suan Kaew Foundation yesterday released a T-shirt with the logo "Wear This T-Shirt and Follow the Teachings", featuring the pattern of a necklace with a big round Jatukam amulet around the neckline for those who don't have an actual amulet to wear.

"After I introduced the cookies into the market, I was thinking what to do to make people become better aware of the teachings of the Lord Buddha," Phra Payom said. "So, we designed a T-shirt with a special stylised drawing that should promote the Lord Buddha's teachings."

People tend to wear Jatukam Ramathep amulets in a visible position. However, the pattern of the Jatukam amulet will be seen as part of the T-shirt design.

"I believe this T-shirt will be popular, because it's like you're wearing the Lord Buddha's teachings all the time," Phra Payom said.

Two months ago, the Suan Kaew Foundation launched its special cookies, which proved to be so popular that the Foundation still receives orders for 800-1,000 tins a day.

The new T-shirt comes in different colours - pink/yellow, pink and blue green - and sales for Bt180. The first lot of T-shirts is a limited edition, with only 999 available for sale.

Phra Payom said that after the T-shirts, he plans to launch more products as part of the Jatukam series. But he refused to disclose any details yet. Stay tuned and wait for next month.

Thai temple makes lucky charms of infants' ashes

2007-09-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai Buddhist temple has been reprimanded by religious authorities for selling amulets containing the ashes of cremated infants to raise money for a plot of land and a crematorium, an official said on Tuesday.

The bodies of 28 foetuses or infants who died of natural causes were cremated legally at the temple's aging incinerator, they said, as Thailand's craze for Jatukam Ramathep amulets promising wealth showed no signs of easing.

"It is not illegal, but it is inappropriate," an official of the local office of Buddhism told Reuters.

"The chief provincial monk has submitted a formal reprimand letter to the temple's abbot," said the official, who declined to be identified.

The Thawee Kara Anant temple in a northern Bangkok suburb was taking advantage of a craze for the amulets that promise to make their owners "super rich" or "rich without reason" sweeping across predominantly Buddhist Thailand.

In July, it made 140,000 disc-shaped amulets about the size of a coffee-cup lid from a variety of herbs and human ashes and had sold most of them, a monk at the temple said.

The idea of mixing the human ashes into the "Multiple Rich" amulets came after neighbours told the abbot they saw spirits of dead infants buried in the temple graveyard in their dreams asking to be freed, monk Lertsak Thitayano told Reuters.

"The abbot wanted to set them free so he decided to cremate them and make merit for them by mixing their ashes into the amulets to empower them in helping the people," he said.

To gain maximum "power", the Jatukam Ramathep amulets, named after two Hindu gods, have to be prayed over by monks for days.

A top-of-the-range gold-leaf edition from a well-respected temple costs 10,000 baht ($300) or more -- more than a month's wages for many Thais.

Some monks have come out swinging against the frenzy, saying it has turned the Buddhist priesthood into an "amulet-blessing industry" despite the religion's shunning of earthly possessions and materialism.

The nation of 65 million people, most of whom remain deeply superstitious despite the rapid modernisation of places such as Bangkok, has spent more than 20 billion baht on the amulets this year, newspapers say.

http://africa.reuters.com/odd/news/usnBKK51983.html

Jatukarm craze on the wane, but faith intact

2007-09-05T18:52:00.000-07:00

Nakhon Si Thammarat _ The demand for Jatukarm Ramathep amulets has faded with few requests now being made to a temple to perform rituals for the talismans. Phra Rajthammasuthee, abbot of Wat Phra Mahathat Voramahaviharn in Nakhon Si Thammarat and provincial chief monk, attributes the declining demand for Jatukarm Ramathep talismans to oversupply. However, public faith in the amulets remains high, he said.

During the Jatukarm amulet craze, the temple, where the talismans originated, had been fully booked for rituals, said the abbot. Now only a few amulet makers made requests for his temple to perform rites for new models of the talisman. Previously, the temple received 700-800 requests a month.

The oversupply of amulets including the sale of the fake ones caused prices to drop sharply. Some fake amulets sell for just five baht each.

A source said the atmosphere at the temple was quiet. Owners of amulet stalls in the temple compound had to sell other products just to survive. Over the past few months, crowds of people from all regions flocked to this temple to buy amulets, which brought quick riches to the makers and retailers. Some company employees quit their jobs to enter the business which yielded handsome profits during the boom.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/13Aug2007_news03.php

Learning political lessons from the runaway Jatukam train

2007-09-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

Published on September 5, 2007
Makers of Jatukam Ramathep amulets may be getting a bit too inventive for their own health.

As the multi-billion-baht bubble is about to burst, we could foresee using cosmic dust as a key component in new amulets, as well as making them candy-coloured and conducting blessings at zero gravity. But dead infants' ashes?

Religious authorities initial reaction to this latest Jatukam innovation was predictable: they said there's "nothing illegal" about it. It may not have occurred to these officials, though, that mixing infants' ashes in amulets is not unlawful probably because no lawmakers in the past, here or anywhere else on earth, had anticipated something that bizarre. In other words, just because there's no law prohibiting people from crossing the street on their hands does not necessarily mean you have the right to try it.

The Jatukam phenomenon and Thai politics are giving us great food for thought, with the superstitious craze in Thailand going a long way in explaining our political predicament. Matters sound familiar indeed: first there was a little hype, then it turned into something pervasive, and once the "masses" are hooked, a semblance of legitimacy begins to build. Instead of strengthening principles, this "legitimacy" weakens them.

One may be tempted to think that ardent Jatukam believers are operating on blind faith, but they are not much different from people adoring a politician or political party. In a society that is supposed to value simplicity and modesty but has gone wild with amulets, which its producers boast will deliver unimaginable wealth and invincibility to the wearer, a distorted political system is anything but a surprise.

Anyone who has studied the Jatukam boom closely should be able to write a manual on "How to Win Elections". Go overboard with promises and full-blown marketing efforts because people will love them. And the names of the different types of Jatukam amulets teach us that there ought to be no sense of shame when it comes to bluffing your opponents. After an "Incredibly Rich" model was issued, rival versions popped up including the "Immediately Rich" model, the "Rich Without Reason" model, and the "Exploding Sky Rich" model, to name just a few.

More importantly, only cowards and losers stop at the line. You cross it, back and forth, until it's no longer there. Jatukam makers have managed to get the best of both worlds through this strategy. On one hand, they successfully sell the amulets as spiritual recourse; on the other hand, they tell their customers that being ridiculously rich is life's main purpose. And don't forget to claim credit by saying that you're doing it for the poor, like the producers of the baby ashes model did when they argued that some of the proceeds from the amulets would go to building a crematorium for the destitute.

Once you step over the line, you not only help yourself, but also both your customers and competitors. Putting babies' ashes in amulets in a Buddhist nation may be hardly acceptable initially, but it will only take like two days. If your ends win over the masses, they won't question your means that much. It's even easier for your competition, whose hypocritical side can't wait to rear its head. They will embrace your initiative, but hate you for getting there first.

Once you manage to make everyone believe that dead infants' ashes can be the essence of something spiritual and sacred, everything else is all yours. You can even proclaim that you truly represent the religion. After all, it's "you" who bring millions of people back to the temples like nobody had ever done before. How good will it feel to associate your name with the highest and most valuable doctrine, which you actually smear, and have those who question your means labelled heretics?

Just be careful about the bubble. You will be thriving on a shaky foundation that you yourself undermine. When it crumbles, you may feel like blaming your enemies, who force you to come up with weirder and weirder plans like the baby ashes in order to stay afloat, but remember it's you who crossed the line first. Now you may want to redraw the line, to get back to the principles that you once showed contempt for, but it's already gone forever.

No, making dead babies' ashes a component of amulets for people to worship is not illegal. A lot of your "customers" may still love it and you may argue that some of your competitors have even done nastier things. But the point is Jatukam is big and the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Just because there is no law specifically against it doesn't mean that such a practice cannot bring the whole industry down.

Tulsathit Taptim

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/05/opinion/opinion_30047779.php

Cookie shortage: Jatukam T-shirt, anyone?

2007-09-03T00:17:00.000-07:00

The overwhelming success in marketing Jatukam cookies as an antidote to amulet fever has resulted in inspired outspoken Buddhist monk Phra Payom Kalyano to extend his production line to Jatukam T-shirts to combat superstition and magical thinking about money with clothing instead of munchies.

Indicating that orders for Jatukam cookies had exceeded his production capacity, Phra Payorm, abbot of Wat Suan Kaew in Bangkok's north suburban province of Nonthaburi, said Tuesday the pure reason behind the distribution of Jatukam cookies was to urge people to stick to good deeds and hold on to the Lord Buddha's teachings.

The cookies were made almost the same shape and design as Jatukarm amulets which have been produced in mass and sold in great volumes. The nationwide marketing of Jatukarm amulets has sparked off criticism among some people who strongly disagreed with what they termed "Buddhist commercialism."

Phra Payorm said a limited collector's edition of 999 Jatukam T-shirts will be produced and sold for 180 baht each. The front of the T-shirt is printed with a Jatukam logo and carries a short statement encouraging people to work hard and save money.

Wearing the Jatukam T-shirt is almost equivalent to possessing the Lord Buddha's teachings, according to the renowned abbot. He did not deny that the sale of the T-shirt was more or less "Buddhist commercialism" but he asserted that the "revenue from the sales will go to help the poor and develop temples." (TNA)

the Nation

Officials sued for fraud over amulets

2007-09-02T00:19:00.000-07:00

Angry buyers say they were duped by ads

In a dispute over the "Ruay Lon Fa" series of Jatukham Rammathep amulets, Nakhon Si Thammarat residents yesterday filed a lawsuit against a kamnan, a court official, a military officer, an attorney, a bank clerk and a state official.

Muang Nakhon Si Thammarat-based lawyer Wisanu Saowapa and 15 other residents sued Chian Yai district's Tambon Khao Phrabath kamnan Yongyos Kaewkhiew and five other people for fraud.

The five were Ratchaburi Provincial Court official Arun Khaosaeng, Lt-General Chatri Thatti from the Defence Finance Department, public prosecutor Wichet Musikrangsi from the Attorney-General Office's special case division, Krung Thai Bank clerk Surat Srimai and Nakhon Si Thammarat Educational Area 1 official Nipa Thongnok.

The plaintiffs have accused the six defendants and unnamed accomplices of providing false advertising and using the provincial court's office to make reservations for the amulets in February, leading the public to believe the court had made the amulets.

Besides producing leaflets with different information regarding patterns, the amount of Jatukhams made and the price, the group was also accused of promising the public it would produce the amulets exactly as advertised, when the actual amulets were found to be quite different.

The plaintiffs filed a compliant with Muang Nakhon Si Thammarat police station.

Yongyos then promised to refund the locals on June 30. However, no refund was paid on the day or the rescheduled date of July 16 - leading to the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Yongyos declined to comment on the case, saying he would let justice run its course and he did not want this to be a conflict in the province.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/08/22/national/national_30046004.php

A wing and a prayer for Jatukham craze

2007-09-01T00:45:00.000-07:00

The Jatukham Rammathep craze has literally gone sky-high. The Royal Thai Air Force took some much-sought-after amulets on routine flights on F-16 and F-5 fighters in the hope of boosting their supernatural powers and market value.

Air Chief Marshal Paisal Sitabutr, the Air Force's deputy commander, could not explain the logic behind his reasoning but maintained the jets' supersonic speed would quicken one's good fortune, protection and prosperity. The unprecedented height would make the amulets stand out above the rest, literally and figuratively. Moreover, Paisal told The Nation yesterday, the fact that such a "dignified" institution as the Air Force was behind the making of this series of amulets would boost its reputation and sales.

On Monday, the Air Force organised incantation rites for its amulets in Prachuab Khiri Khan. Paisal said the Air Force decided to join the Jatukham Rammathep fever because it wanted to collect huge sums of money for renovation of Wat Mahathat in Bangkok and the twin pagodas, Phra Mahathat Napha Methanidon and Phra Mahathat Naphaphon Phumisiri, on Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai. The renovation projects costing about Bt100 million are to commemorate the 80th birthday of His Majesty the King in December, he said. "During these days, what else can be done to generate huge money better than Jatukham?" he said. [Indeed!] Paisal saw nothing wrong in the Air Force generating money by producing amulets and using the fighter jets in the incantation. "We have fighters that fly regularly. We just asked the pilots to take the materials [to produce the amulets] with them. We did not hold any special flights for this thing," he said.

The Air Force's action bemused respected archaeologist Srisakara Vallibhotama. "Why didn't they take them up to Mars?" he asked sarcastically. Srisakara questioned the attitude of the Air Force, which is a security-related institution, towards the Jatukham hype and said the process by which these amulets were created lacked moral authority. "You are doing something against nature. How can things produced by an unnatural process contain Dharma of the Buddha, as Dharma means nature?" he asked.

Since last year, Jatukham fever has spread throughout the country, grabbing the attention of celebrities, politicians and ordinary people. The Kasikorn Research Centre estimated that from late last year more than Bt20 billion had been generated by the Jatukham craze. The Revenue Department was considering whether to tax enterprises related to the soaring sales of Jatukham items. The Air Force's incantation rites took place just a few days after the outspoken abbot of Wat Suan Kaew in Nonthaburi, Phra Payom Kalayano, one of the country's most revered Buddhist monks, launched an edible Jatukham cookie to mock the craze for the popular talisman.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/20/headlines/headlines_30037352.php

More suits loom over amulets

2007-08-31T03:05:00.000-07:00

Two more people involved in allegedly fake production of a Jatukham Rammathep amulet are set to face fraud charges, a lawyer representing a group of dissatisfied buyers said yesterday.

Chor Chuaphen Phetphasit said the two had been targeted after another three customers sought to get their money back after receiving amulets different from what they were shown on advertisements.

A group of 15 people filed lawsuits against six people on Monday for their role in production of a large number of "Ruay Lon Fa" amulets, which claimed to have been approved by the provincial court in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

But the court never gave such permission and is suing them for using its name.

The lawyer Chor said he may file a new criminal suit against the two unidentified people today.

Both lawsuits have also demanded around Bt5 million be returned to the plaintiffs, who made payments to reserve the "Ruay Lon Fa" model.

Chor said some of the six defendants in the first lawsuit had contacted him to negotiate certain terms, including returning money to the plaintiffs, in return for withdrawal of the lawsuit.

Lawan Wetchasarn, a senior official with the provincial hall, said the amulets were actually silver-coated but the advertising said they were made entirely of silver.

She said she had received three other complaints over the Jatukham Rammathep amulets, but had ordered only one to be investigated.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/08/23/regional/regional_30046172.php

Experts fear Jatukham fever may endanger dugongs

2007-08-30T02:08:00.000-07:00

PHUKET (Gazette/Kom Chad Luek): Conservation experts fear that fierce competition in the promotion of Jatukham Ramathep amulets may have sparked renewed interesting in the hunting of dugong, whose teardrops are believed by some to have magical powers.

Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) biologist Kanjana Adulyankosol told the Gazette that fears stemmed from promotional material used by one Jatukham seller coupled with the February 14 discovery of a dead baby dugong with unexplained trauma to the eyes.

“There is a belief that dugong teardrops possess special powers because mother dugong are known to become obsessed when searching for their lost young,” she said.

“Dugong are easy for people to hunt down, and the method used to extract the teardrops is extremely cruel. It involves removing the animal from the water, waiting for the eyes to dry up and then hitting the tear ducts to induce tears,” she said.

The amount of tear liquid that can be extracted in this way is very limited, she added.

K. Kanjana said that the carcass of the baby dugong was found in Phang Nga Bay.

“It had a wound from a sharp object on its left eye and the cornea in right eye was missing, but we don’t know for sure what the cause was,” she said.

“I don’t know whether the sales pitch used to promote the amulets is true or not, but if it is, it is absolutely illegal,” she added.

“There are only about 250 dugong left in Thai waters. Sale of their body parts, including tusks or other tissues, is completely prohibited,” said K. Kanjana, who has undertaken several population estimates of the population from a two-seat microlight aircraft.

K. Kanjana estimated said the annual death rate in the population is relatively stable at around 10 animals annually, but that even a small rise in that rate could quickly push the local population towards extinction because of the dugong’s slow breeding rate.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Kasem Sanitwong na Ayuthaya said anyone caught hunting dugong or whales for use in amulet production would face prosecution to the fullest extent possible under the law.

Whale blubber is another material that has been advertised in promotions for some series of the Jatukham talisman.

Nisakorn Kositrat, Director General of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department, said his agency was being particularly vigilant in investigating any reports of dead dugong, especially in Trang province, home to about half of the known population in Thai waters.

He asked for cooperation from local organizations to prevent hunting of dugong, the local population of which is listed as “vulnerable to extinction if trade in them is not halted” under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

http://www.phuketgazette.com/news/index.asp?id=5868

Losing its charm

2007-08-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

The bottom seems at last to have fallen out of the Jatukam market

Demand for Jatukam Ramathep amulets will taper off next year and sales ease to about Bt10 billion, just a quarter of what has been quoted for 2007.

The Jatukam Ramathep bubble may have burst, but it was a craze that ran hot for more than seven years.

In 2000, the combined market value of the amulets, perceived to be sacred, especially if they are anointed at Wat Phramahathat Worrawiharn in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, was around Bt5 billion.

According to Kasikorn Research Centre, the market doubled every two to three years, rising to an estimated Bt10 billion in 2003 and Bt20 billion in 2005.

The sales figure being tossed about for this year is a whopping Bt40 billion.

Now that could be history, and another boom is unlikely any time soon, according to those knowledgeable about auspicious objects.

The reversal of fortune can be attributed to overheated demand forcing up prices. Jatukam Ramathep amulets skyrocketed from just Bt50-Bt100 each to more than Bt2,000 for an "average" example.

In addition, the boom led to mass production of sub-standard amulets. There was frenzied speculation for quick profits, too.

Bang Lamphu amulet-trader Thep, who asked that his family name be withheld, said the boom was "really incredible".

"You only needed a tiny shop here to make tens of thousands of baht a day. The place was overcrowded most of the time.

"Now that's a thing of the past. Today less than 10 customers a day visit a big Jatukam shop. Making money is difficult."

And you can pick up an amulet over the Internet for as little as Bt5. That is a market collapse.

Kasikorn researcher Phaka-on Thipayadecha said the popularity had died.

"The bubble has burst. Demand for amulets is returning to normal, with only those who really have faith wanting them," she said.

The Jatukam Ramathep charms were created at Wat Phramahathat to pay respect to Nakhon Si Thammarat's guardian god and former ruler. The province was at the centre of the former Srivichai kingdom. Jatukam Ramathep was the name of one of its kings.

Former police officer Phantharak Ratchadej created the first amulets.

They started to gain in popularity after tales of miracles spread by word of mouth and Buddhist-amulet magazines.

"It's difficult to explain scientifically, but miracles did happen. People with the amulets survived accidents and murder attempts.

"I personally believe only in Jatukam Ramathep objects," explained Ton, a fourth-year Thammasat University student.

Their fame reached a peak on July 5, 2006 at the funeral of Phantharak. He died aged 108. More than 100,000 believers attended his funeral.

Deep faith could have been behind the feverish demand, but shrewd marketing helped too.

"With Jatukam, we are talking about faith and auspicious objects on the one hand and business and marketing on the other. Look carefully. The four Ps of marketing are all there: product, price, place and promotion," explained Wattanachai Yaninthorn of marketing magazine Positioning.

"As a product, Jatukam was of the highest quality in terms of historic, spiritual and other values. The key messages were very attractive too: helping people get rich and protecting them from evil.

"In price there was a lot of choice, starting at less than Bt100 to over Bt1 million. In place, it was simple to hire tiny stalls in a busy market or a department store from which to sell them.

"In promotion, ads abounded prior to the Jatukam peak, and makers and the Buddhist-amulet media joined forces to spur demand," he explained.

Phaka-on said amulets were now in recession due to sub-standard production and declining faith among buyers.

"This is no surprise, since what we saw this year and last was in no way sustainable. Things moved at very high speed.

"Businesswise, the boom drew many people into the trade, most of whom were new. Then there was a shortage of craftsmen making new series. Now there are sub-standard products. Many buyers have complained about this," she said.

Kasikorn forecast the market would top Bt40 billion this year. Next year it predicts a sharp fall. "But we cannot say for sure by how much," said Phaka-on.

She forecast demand would return to "a more reasonable level, around Bt10 billion a year".

Only real believers will buy, and only competent craftsmen will make them, she said.

Meanwhile, respected monks warn that the amulets are un-Buddhist. Phaka-on said the warnings were unlikely to have a long-term effect on sales because of people's obsession with amulets and auspicious objects.

She is more concerned about consumers being protected from poorly made charms.

Kamol Sukin
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/08/26/headlines/headlines_30046522.php

Jatukarm amulets good news for papers

2007-08-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

WORANUJ MANEERUNGSEE

The Jatukarm Ramathep craze has brought good fortune to the country's newspapers, which recorded 10.47% growth in advertising spending in July due almost entirely to the amulets. The results for newspapers were among the few bright spots for the ad industry, which recorded total spending growth of just 1.93% in July and a decline of 0.04% year-on-year for the first seven months, said Nielsen Media Research.

Under spending by brand, Nielsen lists ''Wat-Thu-Mong-Kol'' or ''sacred objects'' as having spent 111.54 million baht on advertising in July _ 14 times more than was spent in July last year. For the first seven months of the year, the category accounted for 465.78 million baht, against 69.35 million a year earlier.

The only brand that spent more was Pond's facial skin-care products, at 478.52 million baht. Trailing the amulets were traditional heavyweights including Oil of Olay, Coke, M-150 energy drinks, Toyota, DTAC, AIS, Breeze detergent and Colgate toothpaste.

Mass-market Thai-language papers received the lion's share of the amulet ads but the party appears to be over. The law of supply and demand has caught up with the amulets and their prices have fallen like a stone. Some can now be had for five baht each or even bought in bulk.
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/archive/index.php/t-2296.html

Powerful Wealth Amulet

2007-08-27T02:07:00.000-07:00

Can this amulet make you rich ? Millions of people believe so.

The Jatukham Rammathep amulet is believed by millions Thais and to some extent Malaysians and Singaporeans, to bring wealth to its possessor.

It is reported in the Thai press that during the unprecedented Jatukarm amulet craze just a few months ago, the temple where the talismans originated, had been fully booked for rituals. Now, only a few amulet makers made requests for the temple to perform rites for new models of the talisman. Previously, the temple received nearly a thousand requests a month but now it seems very quiet.

With the craze now being over and the oversupply of amulets for the last few months, including the sale of the fake ones, has caused prices to drop sharply.

Thailand is known as the largest market for amulets. Each year several classes and types of amulets are produced and commercialised by numerous producers and investors, most of whom have links with famous monks and masters of meditation.

Whenever there is a demand for something, even if it is something considered "spiritual", there will always be willing suppliers. First, demand will exceed supply and the price will be high. Then eventually supply will exceed demand and the price will start to drop.

As with anything in life, the law of supply and demand reigns supreme. Remember the Flower Horn fish craze a few years ago ? Mature fish had an average selling price of RM250 each. After the craze, people were releasing their Flower Horns into public lakes or giving them away, for free.

By KEE HUA CHEE

Aside from ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the other hot topic on the Thai people’s lips is Jatukarm, a highly sought-after talisman said to be driving the Thai economy.

I had never heard of the Jatukarm until I visited Thailand last month. Immediately I was bombarded with newspaper articles and TV stories of the Jatukarm craze. It seems all of Thailand is in its grip.

I’m told even academics in universities are writing theses on it.

So who or what is this Jatukarm?

Jatukarm Ramathep is a god associated with wealth, success and happiness. People who wear a Jatukarm talisman believe the deity will help grant their wishes. According to a friend, Krichsakol Khemamnat from Finansa Securities, Jatukarm was an 8th century king.

“He ruled over Nakorn Si Thammarat. When he died, many who worshipped him had their wishes granted. But he was only a secondary deity and not particularly revered. Even I had not really heard of Jatukarm. Jatukarm was not famous until last year when the craze started.

“We believe this is the era of Jatukarm, as he has entered the charts. As this is his golden period, he is now very, very powerful so we are all trying to grab some of his power!” Khemamnat explained.

He likened the ascendancy of Jatukarm to the Chinese animal cycle.

“We are now in the Year of the Pig, so the Boar has more power than the Dog or Horse. Likewise, this is the Year of Jatukarm! Er, actually we don’t know how long this will last but it usually lasts a few years before interest wanes.”

Most Buddhists see no harm in improving their odds in life with a Jatukarm charm, since the cheapest, “entry-level” clay amulet only costs RM3. All the popular malls sell them. Just keep an eye out for any place with heightened activity. If there is a small crowd huddling around a counter, chances are Jatukarm amulets are being sold!

Having succumbed to the craze, I bought not one, not two, but five talismans.

I paid RM200 for my jade Jatukarm at Chatuchak Market. My two flashiest Jatukarms are embellished with Swarovski crystals and cost RM350 each. They have been mistaken for rapper’s medallions or a piece of hip-hop accessory. A particularly lovely golden-hued version set me back only RM40.

The most expensive is from the original Jatukarm Temple in Nakon Si Thammarat. It came in a plastic box with the name of the temple: Wat Phra Mahatat. I was told not to throw the plastic container away for it was proof the amulet was from the temple.

I paid RM550 for this amulet at the Areewan Jewellery Shop in MBK (Mah Bung Krung) Shopping Centre. When I protested that it was scandalously expensive, owner Areewan said indignantly: “We cannot make a profit from the gods. Your Jatukarm comes from the original Jatukarm temple in Nakorn Si Thammarat, and I only make a little money from the gold and ruby locket. I sell you the pendant for the same price I paid the temple. I not make money from Jatukarm!”

Every Thai I met had a Jatukarm – from taxi drivers to the immigration officer who whipped one out of his shirt pocket when he saw mine. The bellboy at swanky Legua Hotel told me his tips had increased dramatically after he started praying to the deity!

Nakorn Veerapravati, president of the Bangkok Critics Assembly and a wealthy businessman, was kind enough to fill me in on Jatukarm Ramathep’s background.

Nakorn Veerapravati believes that the Jatukarm does bring luck.
The guardian angel(s)

“As far as I know,” Veerapravati began, “Jatukarm is the name of a guardian angel, and Ramathep is the name of another. This pair protected the stupa of Wat Phra Mahatat. I don’t know why Ramathep is not worshipped like Jatukarm, but since the name includes both, I guess we are paying homage to both.”

The story has it that 30 years ago, a policeman (or general or monk or layman, depending on who you ask) commissioned the temple to make 300 Jatukarm amulets, and these he gave away as thanksgiving presents for a wish fulfilled. Made of clay, each cost him just a few ringgit but is now worth a small fortune.

“These 300 original amulets are the most sought after! People go mad searching for them. These originals have the most power, and it is said they grant one’s wish within the hour.

“Last year, the newspapers reported that each one costs 500,000 baht (RM50,000). One was sold two weeks ago for 1.2mil baht (RM120,000). A millionaire bought one from the family who gave the originals away for 2mil baht (RM200,000).”

Last year, when his mother fell ill, Veerapravati rang a friend in Nakorn Si Thammarat to buy a Jatukarm amulet and have it delivered to him in Bangkok.

“My friend then told me something which almost gave me a heart attack: he said why should he bother doing that when I already had an original Jatukarm from the temple! He reminded me that he gave me one of the original 300 Jatukarms 17 years ago as a good luck gift when I left Nakorn Si Thammarat for Bangkok.

“Of course, back then it probably cost him only 80 baht (RM8)!

“I dropped my handphone in shock and joy. I rushed home and dust flew as I searched the cupboards and drawers for it. We Thais never throw amulets away, so I knew it was somewhere although I only wore it during my first year in Bangkok and hadn’t seen it in 17 years.

“Finally, to my relief, I found it in a drawer!”

Like David Copperfield, Veerapravati slowly and tantalisingly pulled out the precious Jatukarm from under his shirt to show me. His Jatukarm looked ordinary enough, being made from earth and clay with the embossed image of Jatukarm.

As with all collectibles, there are specialists in Bangkok who say they can verify the authenticity of such 30-year-old amulets.

“I had mine checked and the specialist said he didn’t even need a loupe, magnifying glass or scientific instrument to know that it was in perfect condition. It was hardly worn and never exposed to the sun.”

Alas, Veerapravati’s mother died anyway, though she regained her health briefly and was coherent enough to enjoy her last few months. She told her son she dreamt an angel told her that it was time for her to go since she was meant to be reborn soon.

At her funeral in Nakorn Si Thammarat, Veerapravati commissioned 1,000 Jatukarm talismans to be given away free. Word spread and there was a veritable stampede as 5,000 people queued up for his gift. The police had to be called in to restore order. He was told never to attempt this again.

According to some, this overnight craze started last year when King Bhumibol Adulyadej emerged from hospital following a successful treatment. On His Majesty’s neck, it was said, was a Jatukarm pendant.

The small pendant was assumed to be that of the Buddha but when a picture of it was magnified, it proved to be a Jatukarm. The Jatukarm juggernaut snowballed after that. Stories of its miraculous powers abound. Tales have been told of car crashes where people who wore the pendants survived whereas those who didn’t, died.

So far, sales of the amulets have topped a staggering 20bil baht (RM2bil) from an estimated 600,000 amulets produced so far. Jatukarm sales are said to have pushed up the Thai economy by nearly 0.5%!

Factories producing Jatukarms normally approach the temple in Nakorn Si Thammarat and pay anything from RM1mil to RM2mil for the rights to use the temple’s name.

Does the Jatukarm work?

Armed with my five Jatukarm, I managed to get an airport limousine for 1,000 baht, instead of the usual 2,000 baht. Upon reaching Suvanabhumi Airport, I discovered the airport tax had been done away with, thus saving me RM50! At KLIA, somebody gave me a ride home, thus saving me RM70.

In my letterbox, I found a cheque for RM980. Then out of the blue, a friend rang to offer me a 6ft tall, wooden Buddha statue I was admiring at his home two months back! He even delivered it to my condo the next day! A few days later, a friend sent over a juicer I was so taken with at her home?

Hmmm, maybe there really is something to this Jatukarm craze.

http://themalaysianlife.blogspot.com/2007/08/powerful-wealth-amulet.html

Patriarch ends role in amulets

2007-08-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch will no longer provide materials from his temple, such as ash from incense or powder from bricks, to make the amulets that have sparked a crime wave in Nakhon Si Thammarat, it was announced yesterday.
Jatukham Rammathep amulets, which are believed to have magical powers and cost up to Bt600,000 apiece, can only be made with the permission of the southern province's Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawiharn.

The Supreme Patriarch has provided materials to produce amulets to all temples and individuals that request them but will now stop doing so, the office of his secretary announced yesterday. It did not say why.

However, a source said the announcement was made after revered monk Luang Ta Bua of Wat Pa Ban Tad blessed the Supreme Patriarch to mark his 18th anniversary as head of the country's Buddhists, at Chulalongkorn Hospital yesterday.

Interest in the amulets began in the middle of last year and hit fever pitch this year. Earlier this month a woman was crushed to death when thousands of people rushed into a school in Nakhon Si Thammarat to buy coupons they could exchange for the amulets.

The amulets have become the main target of thieves in Nakhon Si Thammarat, said Colonel Yanaphat Norasing, superintendent of the police in the province's Muang district.

Amulet robberies occur daily, local residents say. Yesterday, 30 amulets worth Bt15,000 were stolen from the residence of Phra Palad Nikom Kamalo, abbot of Wat Nam Song in Muang district.

Recently, a thief broke through the ceiling of an amulet stall in the province and made off with more than Bt200,000 worth of Jatukham Ramathep amulets.

Monks from the province welcomed the Supreme Patriarch's announcement. They said they were concerned the materials he provided were being used to boost the prices of the amulets.

As demand for the amulets sparked surging prices, many Buddhists became concerned that Buddhism was being turned into a commodity. The Supreme Patriarch's announcement was welcomed as it would protect him from being sullied by those seeking to trade on his position for financial gain, said a monk involved in the incantation rites for Jatukham Rammathep amulets.

"Some amulet sellers used photos of the Supreme Patriarch giving them materials [for amulets] to boost sales," he said.

Incantation rites for the amulets can only be performed at Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawiharn. Its abbot has said incantations for more than 30 editions of the amulets have been performed at the temple so far this year. Amulet makers from across the country have set up shop at the temple.

Although welcome, the Supreme patriarch's announcement would not lessen demand for Jatukham Rammathep amulets, a monk said.

Amulet makers have been competing to come up with new and strange materials, he said.

On Saturday night, thousands of people gathered at Wat Muang Talord and Wat Ta Chang because they heard rumours that the temples were being used to store the popular Ngern Lai Ma edition of the amulets.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/04/23/national/national_30032451.php

Amulets to 'help protect' Buddhists in South

2007-08-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

The security forces in the troubled South have announced their intention to produce spiritualist trinkets in a bid to protect the Buddhist minority from harm.
Colonel Manas Khongpan, deputy director of the Internal Security Operation Command (Isoc) in Yala, said yesterday that Jatukham Rammathep talismans would be made for Buddhists in the predominantly Muslim region.

The famous animist amulet is believed to have magical power to protect its holder from violence. Although it has no relation to Buddhism, many Thai Buddhists believe in the talisman's power and are prepared to pay large sums for them.

Isoc in Yala will produce the amulets at a temple in the province by May and then bring them to a blessing at Nakhon Si Thammarat, the original home of the amulet, Manas said.

The Boun Ban Dan amulets, meaning the "power of virtue", will be sold to Buddhists and security officials in the region.

The southern Buddhist population of around 300,000 is often the target of violence carried out by Muslim militants, who are determined to chase them out of the area, Manas said.

"The production of the Jatukham amulets will give moral support to Buddhists and help sustain the religion," the colonel said, as if the amulets were linked with the faith.

Many Thai Buddhists mix animism with their religious worship.

Any profits from amulet sales will be spent containing violence and the money will be managed transparently, he said.

A spate of violence erupted in the deep South at the beginning of 2004 and around 2,000 people have been killed since.

It continued yesterday in Yala's Bannang Sata district as militants sprayed bullets at a passing pickup truck, killing one person and injuring six.

Police said some 10 Buddhists on the truck were attacked while travelling back from a funeral in neighbouring Pattani province. Some of the group briefly returned fire before retreating.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/14/national/national_30029259.php

Jatukham fever shows no sign of breaking

2007-08-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

Panya Ruengsawang (left), owner of a Jatukham amulet shop in Phuket City, discusses amulets with a customer.

PHUKET City: Jatukham Ramathep amulets and shops that sell them seem to be springing up all over Phuket, reflecting the hope that springs eternal among their devotees.

The amulets, priced from 50 baht to several hundred thousand baht, have become the latest craze – not just in Phuket but across the country and even abroad.

Nationwide, the business was estimated to be worth 20 billion baht in 2006, according to research by Kasikorn Research Center.

Shops selling the Jatukham amulets have been operating in Phuket for more than a decade, but it is only in the past several months that the number and visibility of these shops has skyrocketed, following a spate of media reports about the amulets.

In the past two or three months alone, between 10 and 20 new amulet shops and stalls have opened across Phuket, said Panya Ruengsawang, owner of one of the oldest Jatukham shops in Phuket City, on Rassada Rd near the Suriyadet Circle.

He estimates that about one million baht exchanges hands every day in Phuket’s Jatukham trade.

“When I started my shop in 1993 there were no more than three amulet shops in Phuket to serve amulet lovers. However, in the past year Phuket has seen at least 10 new shops. During the most recent Jatukham boom over the past two or three months, another 10 to 20 amulet shops have opened,” said K. Panya, 55.

Originally from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, the amulets are believed to bring good luck and business prosperity, which is why younger people and business owners are buying them, K. Panya said.

“It used to be that our customers were mostly older folks, but now we have more working men and women, along with teenagers, buying amulets. The local interest in Jatukham amulets has definitely been brought on by the national craze,” he said.

“We also have a lot of international business owners who want to take the Jatukham amulets home with them, so they are buying amulets as well. The prices are going up so quickly that sometimes I reserve a top amulet for about 100,000 baht, but before I can even put it in the customers hands the price goes up to 300,000 baht.

“The most sought-after type of Jatukham are of the original Jatukham Hluk Mueng series, produced at Wat Mahatat in 1987. Prices for these generally start at 400,000 to 500,000 per amulet because they are so difficult to find now. The Jatukham Kod Sed Thee (Megarich) is also very popular, especially in Singapore and neighboring countries. Those can fetch between 60,000 and 80,000 baht each.”

The boom in amulet shops in Phuket is helping K Panya’s shop. Although there are fewer customers, they are buying more expensive amulets.

“I don’t have as many customers as I used to because there are so many shops to choose from now,” he said. “I used to turn a profit of 800 to 2,000 baht per day, but since the Jatukham boom started three months ago, my profit jumped to 4,000 to 6,000 baht per day. Some shops have more than 10,000 baht per day profit.”

K. Panya said that he expects the prices, and profits, from Jatukham amulets to continue to increase in Phuket, especially if more miracles are attributed to them in the media.

With so may people getting in on the Jatukham bandwagon, perhaps it should come as little surprise that the government is seeking for ways to get its share of the spoils.

In late April, Revenue Department Director-General Sanit Rangnoi said the department was sending officials to check the estimated income from Jatukham transactions and was considering whether to tax enterprises related to the soaring sales of the amulets.

“There is a tremendous amount of money floating around in the amulet market. If the production of the talismans is for commercial purposes, it should be taxed. If the production is done purely out of faith, it may be exempt,” he said.

Thus far there has been no announcement that the Revenue Department was planning to move forward with the tax.

By Sompratch Saowadhon
http://www.phuketgazette.com/thirdweek/business.asp

Now, Jatukham shadow puppets

2007-08-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

The massive popularity of Jatukham Rammathep amulets has expanded to another famous product from the South - shadow-play puppets - and those involved are making handsome returns.
Images of many popular Jatukham Rammathep series are carved and varicoloured into cowhides and now much sought after by collectors. A standard size - 60cm by 60cm - Jatukham Rammathep cowhide piece is priced at Bt2,500, or higher rates when resold to retail buyers or tourists.

Makers of shadow-play puppets had previously had a hard time selling their products, as the popularity of the traditional performance itself has fallen among young people. To make them sell, all Jatukham Rammathep cowhide pieces must undergo local blessing ceremonies like the amulets that are also blessed by monks.

A maker of shadow-play puppets in Phatthalung, Sirat Sareebutr, said Jatukham Rammathep cowhide pieces made her around Bt70,000 a month - much more than her regular income from selling puppets.

Sirat sells Jatukham Rammathep cowhide pieces for Bt2,500 each to middlemen, who will resell them for around Bt2,900 or Bt3,500. If the cowhide piece is put in a special decorated frame she can earn Bt7,000 to Bt12,000 for one item.

Somphong Choojit, chairman of shadow-play puppets in Phatthalung, said his group would soon begin making Jatukham Rammathep cowhide pieces, as a large number of orders had come from buyers.

He said making Jatukham Rammathep cowhide pieces would double his monthly income of around Bt200,000, which he had earned through carving and decorating the image of Luang Phor Thuad - a late Buddhist monk highly revered among Buddhist southerners - on cowhide pieces.

The extensive sale of Jatukham Rammathep amulets now involves direct-sale techniques employed by housewives, or college students who sell part-time during school breaks. Sellers go around neighbourhoods door-to-door, seeking buyers with catalogues of images of various amulet models.

Many women already involved in direct-selling of cosmetics also include catalogues of Jatukham Rammathep amulets with their list of products. They make about 10 to 15 per cent in profit selling the already popular amulets directly to clients at their homes.

One woman called Katewadee who does direct selling said amulets were only acquired for buyers only after orders were placed, so that saleswoman don't have to carry the cost when going from house-to-house.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/04/19/national/national_30032134.php

Thunder of good fortune

2007-08-20T01:22:00.000-07:00

Booming sales of Jatukham amulets is helping fuel the Thai economy, which otherwise would be at a standstill, say believers.
AT 4am, thunder roused a 40-something Thai businesswoman from sleep. As the sky thundered four times, Sujira Khovitoongij became frightened because when she looked out from her Bangkok apartment there was no rain or lightning.

She calmed down after realising that “Jatukham Rammathep had spoken” to her.

“At first I was very scared, but then I remembered that my business partner told me when there was such thunder it meant Jatukham was giving his blessing to my business venture,” relates Sujira of her experience that June 9 morning.

She and her business partners were to launch a store selling the Jatukham Rammathep amulet later that day.

They are among thousands of Thais cashing in on the Jatukham craze in Thailand that began last year. “In this business, these is no risk, only high returns. (On launch day), your company can make 60 million baht (RM6.3mil). I'm not exaggerating,” she declares.

She was not exaggerating. The Kasikorn Research Centre, a leading Bangkok-based economic think tank, estimates that since late last year Jatukham fever has generated more than 20 billion baht (RM2.1bil).

Jatukham, which is commonly worn in a plastic case around the neck, is so popular that recently a woman was trampled to death in a scramble to buy the amulet.

To explain the Jatukham phenomenon, Sujira narrates her own experience. When she enquired about a vacant store in the Nation Tower in Bangkok, she was told that it was booked. So she prayed to Jatukham.

And when she called the building management again, she was informed the store was available, as the person who booked it had cancelled his booking. “Jatukham performs miracles for those who ask his blessing,” she explains.

Sujira also relates a story about a Thai actor who was involved in a car accident. “He should have died, but he survived because he was wearing the Jatukham amulet,” she says.

Thais are also buying the amulet as a collector's item. “It is not only sacred, but its designs are also artistic,” she explains, adding that she planned to purchase amulets made of gold for her two young sons for them to use as dowry in the future.

When asked why Thailand is in turmoil although Thais believe in Jatukham, Sujira responded: “The sales of amulets is helping the economy. If there was no Jatukham business, our economy would be at a standstill.”

According to a report in The Nation, there are many legends regarding Jatukham Rammathep. The most credible account is that Jatukham Rammathep are “the aliases” of brother princes Inthara Sairen and Inthara Khao Kheo, sons of King Jantharaphanu, who ruled the Sri Thammasoke realm, the capital of the Krung Srivijaya Kingdom (757-1257) in southern Thailand, after their father founded it.

“The Sri Thammasoke realm began to degenerate as a result of their father’s absence of 20 years during which he expanded his dominion to as far as eastern India. The brothers founded a new capital at Chang Khom Sirithammarat (present-day Nakhon Si Thammarat), and renamed the realm Srivijaya Suvarnabhumi,” The Nation reported.

“(Even) long after their deaths, the two princes continued to be idolised by succeeding generations, and today are remembered by their preferred names of Jatukham and Rammathep.”

In 1987, Jatukham amulets priced at 39 baht (RM4.10), were created in Nakhon Si Thammarat to raise funds to build a Holy Pillar Shrine.

Today, the price has skyrocketed. For example, Sujira's company, Maharajmaharuay, sells amulets at between 199 baht or RM21 (for those made of clay) and 134,000 baht or RM14,100 (gold).

For the record, the most expensive Jatukham was one of the first ever minted, in 1987, which was sold for 1.2 million baht (RM126,000).

In a few months, Maharajmaharuay will export Jatukham amulets to Malaysia. “Apart from Thailand, Malaysia is a big market for Thai amulets as Malaysians, especially Buddhists, believe in them,” notes Sujira.

On the day Sujira launches her product in Malaysia, she hopes to be awakened by drum rolls of thunder.

http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2007/6/30/columnists/thaitakes/18121591&sec=Thai%20Takes

Royal Thai Air Force takes Jatukham amulets on board

2007-08-19T06:34:00.000-07:00

The craziness about Jatukham amulets is literally taking new heights as the RTAF is taking some much-sought-after amulets on routine flights on F-16 fighters in the hope of boosting their supernatural powers and market value.

Jatukham Rammathep is the name of an unusually popular amulet sold by some Buddhist temples in Thailand. The amulet is named for two princes of the Krung Srivijaya kingdom of southern Thailand, and is believed to provide protection and good fortune to the bearer.

Air Chief Marshal Paisal Sitabutr, the Air Force's deputy commander, could not explain the logic behind his reasoning but maintained the F-16's and F-5's supersonic speed would quicken one's good fortune, protection and prosperity. The unprecedented height would make the amulets stand out above the rest, literally and figuratively.

The fact that such a "dignified" institution as the Air Force was behind the making of this series of amulets would boost its reputation and sales, according to Paiasl. To mix business with amulets and the military seems so natural now in Thailand...

On Monday, the Air Force organised incantation rites for its amulets in Prachuab Khiri Khan. Paisal said the Air Force decided to join the Jatukham Rammathep fever because it wanted to collect huge sums of money for renovation of Wat Mahathat in Bangkok and the twin pagodas, Phra Mahathat Napha Methanidon and Phra Mahathat Naphaphon Phumisiri, on Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai.

The renovation projects costing about Bt100 million are to commemorate the 80th birthday of His Majesty the King in December, he said.

Paisal saw nothing wrong in the Air Force generating money by producing amulets and using the fighter jets in the incantation.

"Nowadays, what else can be done to generate huge money better than Jatukham?" he said. "We have fighters that fly regularly. We just asked the pilots to take the materials [to produce the amulets] with them. We did not hold any special flights for this thing," he said.

Since last year, Jatukham fever has spread throughout the country, grabbing the attention of celebrities, politicians and ordinary people.

The Kasikorn Research Centre estimated that from late last year more than Bt20 billion had been generated by the Jatukham craze. The Revenue Department was considering whether to tax enterprises related to the soaring sales of Jatukham items.
http://www.f-16.net/news_article2408.html

Jatukham - Ramathep and Tourism Industry of Nakhon Si Thammarat

2007-08-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

The trend of "Jatukham-Ramathep" is the new occurrence of Thai society. Though the definition and meaning of Jatukham-Ramathep are still puzzled and lure to find out the answer. Many chronicles and theories have been trying to sort out the solution but still there is no conclusion for the case. Some said thatJatukham-Ramathep are the protecting Theva of Nakhon Si Thammarat, some said Jatukham-Ramathep are the gods of war in Hindu and are the sons of Siva that Tamil people have been respecting for thousand years. Some also said thatJatukham-Ramathep are King Jantharapanu who declared independence of Nakhon Si Thammarat from both Lawo and Srivichaya realms.

However, Nakhon Si Thammarat that is known as the source of Jatukham-Ramathep is promptly flourishing. All roads are heading to Nakhon Si Thammarat unceasingly. It is also believed that the genuine Jatukham-Ramathep medals must get through the virtue functions of Buddhist and Deva at Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihara and the City Shrine. Such trend makes tourists and believers from all four peninsulas everyday until Nakhon Si Thammarat becomes surprisingly agile and colorful. Flights to Nakhon Si Thammarat are increased in response to the unceasing number of tourists. According to the trend, hotels, restaurants, souvenirs shops, photo shops, publishers, frame shops, as well as herbal grounding shops are taking advantages of it. It can be said that the trend ofJatukham-Ramathep has been over turning tourist situation of Nakhon Si Thammarat to be unexpectedly thrived. The stories and believes about Jatukham-Ramathep are varied as same as variety models of Jatukham-Ramathep that have been made. Only sharing the same practice of worshiping the Jatukham-Ramathep , must behave itself to be in complete Five Precepts, Moral Fears, and working with full effort for the success. In response to thetrand, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) produced the Aor Sor Thor magazine, May 2007 issue, introduced the civilization of Nakhon Si Thammarat and tour programs introducing connecting routes in between responsible areas of TAT Southern Office Region 2 with the intentions to provide earnings to locals and extend length of tourist stays.
http://www.tat.or.th/south02/hotnewsdet.asp?id=304&dept_id=4

Who is Jatukham Rammathep?

2007-08-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

In light of last week's extraordinary scramble for coupons to buy a fervently desired amulet - which saw a woman crushed in a stampede at a temple in the South - many are asking just what is Jatukham Rammathep? And why does it produce such hysteria?

There are many legends about the origins of Jatukham Rammathep, the name used to identify a certain kind of amulet, but it is generally agreed that it goes way back in the mists of time, long before the northern kingdoms emerged.

Perhaps the most credible account is provided by late crime-buster Phantharak Rajjadej, who helped to create the famous amulets, as described in an almanac authored by Seawrite Award winner Jamlong Fangchollajit, a native of Nakhon Si Thammarat, where the history of it is set.

Jatukham Rammathep is two people, not one. The names are the aliases of brother princes Inthara Sairen and Inthara Khao Kheo, sons of King Jantharaphanu, who ruled the Sri Thammasoke realm, the capital of the Krung Srivijaya Kingdom (757-1257) in southern Thailand, after his father who founded it.

The Sri Thammasoke realm began to degenerate as a result of their father's absence of 20 years during which he expanded his dominion to as far as eastern India. The brothers founded a new capital at Chang Khom Sirithammarat (present day Nakhon Si Thammarat), and renamed the realm Srivijaya Suvarnabhumi.

Some legends say Jatukham Rammathep was another royal person living in a different era altogether, while others suggest it was a name given to King Jantharaphanu himself.

But all legends - under the influence of Mahayana Buddhism which was widely observed during the period - commonly believe that whatever king or royal person the name belongs to, the right holder of the name is an Avalokitesvara, a future Buddha after numerous rebirths committed to intense self-dedication and intense sacrifice.

Long after their deaths, the two princes continue to be idealised by succeeding generations of residents of Nakhon Si Thammarat and today are remembered by their preferred names of Jatukham and Rammathep as guardian angels.

The Jatukham Rammathep amulets were first produced in 1987 as part of the establishment of the province's Holy Pillar Shrine. The circular amulet, with a 5cm diameter, was priced at Bt39.

Today, the amulets sell for between Bt200 and Bt500 for the basic item, and as much as Bt1,000 for amulets produced in a limited edition. The prices can soar sharply by up to 10 times when their popularity peaks after just a few months. For example, the "Arch-Millionaire" series now trades at around Bt10,000 compared to about Bt150 when it was released in May last year.

The reported highest price ever paid for a single amulet is Bt1.2 million - by a mine owner to the original owner of a 1987 charm. An unconfirmed report earlier this year said the owner of a local lingerie store in the province sold a number of the amulets for Bt3.2 million to a buyer based in the United States.

There are more than 150 series of Jatukham Rammathep amulets planned for this year alone. Productions must be approved by the Pillar Shrine committee and the amulets are required to undergo Buddhist and Brahman blessing ceremonies held at the Holy Pillar Shrine or Mahathat Woramaha-wiharn temple in the province.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/04/17/national/national_30032023.php

The Death of Jatukham Fever

2007-08-14T04:44:00.001-07:00

Written by Stephen Cleary
The following is a brief translation of a headline story from Wednesday's Thai language 'Thai Rath' newspaper.

Dozens of Jatukham amulet vendors and customers made another harsh complaint last week to the ‘Office of the Consumer Protection Board’ this time in regards to the latest brand of Jatukham called ‘Super Profit Rich’, which turned out to not be as nice as promised in the original advertisements. In fact, the Board has received more than 200 complaints this year from disgruntled Jatukhum fans. Jatukham Fever is finally coming to its end after countless competitors have flooded the market with low quality unattractive amulets.

Just yesterday, our reporters went to 3 popular Buddhist amulet locations to investigate for themselves whether there had been a demise in interest for the Jatukham amulet. It was found that there was nothing of the enthusiasm and fervor for the Jatukham amulet as the one which took the country by storm earlier in the year. There were far less Jatukham stalls and customers these days. Much of the demise in popularity is due to the market having been stalked by mostly fake amulets. Amulets which were once asking a price of several hundreds can not even be sold for tens of baht now. One shop we saw had placed up a sign stating ‘Business Closed’ and were selling off their amulets for just 5-20 baht. Still, no passer-bys were interested!

One amulet dealer admitted that just too many Jatukham amulets and different brand names had been produced. He went on to say that some vendors had ordered hundreds of thousands of baht’s worth of amulets during the Jatukham fever, but now – they couldn’t knock them off anymore. He blamed the demise on too many brands, unattractive brands and the rampant counterfeit production of popular ones. He said that customers had felt cheated by producers who had promised ‘lovely’ amulets but after receiving theirs, complained that they were just not up to standard.

It certainly looks like the billion baht Jatukham amulet industry will soon be coming to the end of its short life.

http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?blog=8&cat=167

More 'Jatukham' Miracles!

2007-08-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

Written by Stephen Cleary
The Thai newspapers have been full lately of supposed Jatukham amulet miracles. Here below is a brief translation of today's sensational headline story. Courtesy of the Thai Rath newspaper

On the second day of the latest Jatukham ceremony at a temple in Chumphon province the place was heaving with Jatukham followers. Devotees included famous monks and movie stars. Among all these folk were well-known actress ‘Yart Yart-thip’ the ex-girlfriend of Mr Thaksin’s son, Phanthongthae. Her mother also came.

At 2:19pm, just when Miss Yart-thip was taking part (above pic right), an unbelievable thing happened. The sky which had been bright all day suddenly turned dark and through the clouds a holy image of Rahu appeared! Everyone was amazed and most people present believed the miracle was the work of Jatukham.
At the same time, the crowds were so excited by the Jatukham ceremony that there was a huge frenzy to purchase a Jatukham amulet priced 200 - 39,000 baht.
Miss Yart-thip said that she had never before come to Chumphorn province but came this time because of her belief in the super powers of Jatukham.

Besides just the ‘Jatukham Cloud/Yart-thip’ miracle another one also happened the day before. On the first day of the ceremony, the organizers invited lots of important government officials and movie stars including Miss Jui – Woratya (above pic top left). Then, just when Jui was playing with the holy water a Grade 12 student took a photograph with his digital camera. After, when the student inspected the photo he was flabbergasted to see a sign of Jatukham appearing on her head, another miracle! Miss Jui utterly shocked, said that she had only read of such miracles before in the local newspapers and never believed that such a holy thing would happen to her.
The promoters, on seeing the photograph, immediately asked for a copy.

(From yesterday's Thai Rath, another Jatukham cloud miracle!)

On the same day, our reporters went to Kanchanaburi province to meet up with Mr Decha - a very big politician for many decades. Their intent was to ask him about a supposed Jatukham miracle which happened at the funeral of a 72 year-old man he had been present at. The story goes that when a relative of the deceased took a photo of the dead body a sign of Jatukham amazingly appeared on the body’s jacket. Mr Decha told the reporters that the story was absolutely true and called for the photo-taking relative to bring a copy. He also said that Jatukham was really holy and everyone who had one was to ‘think good and do good’.

Mr Chin, the younger brother of the deceased, told our reporters that his elder brother, a devout Buddhist, had always because of his deep faith, blessed his Jatukham amulet. In his will too, he had divided up all his amulets to family and friends.

http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?blog=8&cat=167

Thai Amulet (Jatukam type) Saves Boy in Accident

2007-08-12T21:55:00.001-07:00

A Thai boy had almost unbelievable good fortune, Thai people attribute to the amulet he wore on his neck. The amulet was a round, Jatukam type Thai amulet that was encased in a 18K gold case and worn around his neck religiously.

The boy was riding in a vehicle with his family when there was a horrible accident. Everyone sustained very serious injuries except this boy that came away completely unscathed. The photo is of the boy displaying his magic Thai amulet...

Buddha amulets, revered monk amulets, and even amulets with rulers of the province a Thai person lives in are all considered to have special protection powers. There are countless examples of Thai amulets saving the person that was wearing it.

Right now there is a country-wide craze about the Jatukam amulets that many Thais (most) believe are very powerful. These are recently made amulets and are going for very high prices in Thailand. The starting price for a real, sacred, Thai amulet of this type (Jatukam) is around $300 USD. I don not sell these on my site because frankly Americans and Europeans don't quite get it yet. Foreigners value the old Thai amulets, the antiques. These new Jatukam amulets are more of a Thai thing and probably will last a few more years. The jury is out on how long, but EVERYONE is wearing their new Thai Jatukam amulet (pendant).
http://thaibuddhaamulets.blogspot.com/

Jatukam Ramathep Nakhon Si Thammarat

2007-08-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

Jatukam Ramathep Nakhon Si Thammarat

This jatukam amulet is made in Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. It was mass-chanted by 68 monks during a Holy ceremony. Nowadays, Jatukam amulet is very popular in Thailand. The price and value of jatukam amulets has increase non-stop over the years. This amulet is also popular in many foreign countries too. This is because of supernatural power and miracle from JaTuKam RaMaThep. Jatukam RaMaThep is a holy god who protects Phra BaRomMaThat at Nakhon Si Thammarat province.

According to historians, old Nakhon Si Thammarat was a part of Srivijaya, a coastal kingdom incorporating Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, mainland Indochina and western Borneo that flourished from around 500 CE until the late 11th century.
History also tells us that the Vajrayana sect of Mahayana Buddhism held sway in Srivijaya, and that its ruler considered himself a bodhisattva.
Legend has it that King Chandrabhanu, who was also known as Pangpagan, was a black-skinned warrior who courageously battled evil. This is why amulets of Pangpagan and Rahu (a black deity who inspires terror) are included in the group of Jatukam talismans.

The classic Jatukam is depicted seated, with his right leg slightly lifted; JaTuKam RaMaThep means soul of former king of Sri Vichai Kingdom. He is full of prestige and popularity. Moreover, he is full of ten virtues.

People believe that JaTuKam RaMaThep was a former king of Sri Vichai Kingdom who protects Phra BaRomMa That and Nakorn Sri ThammaRat City. JaTuKam RaMaThep is a symbol of Bodhisattva.

This amulet feature jatukam, sitting on top of pra rahu. People say pra rahu will eat away all the bad luck and evil and jatukam will give you all the good luck and success. This amulet is made of many old holy powder and material.

Suitable for people

1) Who wants success in life

2) Able to ask for any wish to be fulfilled

3) Protection and best of luck everyday

4) Overcome obstacles and hardship in life.

5) Business to boom

6) Sales to boosts up

7) Well-liked and respect by all

8) Get rid of bad luck, evil, bad influences and increase personal luck.

9) Fortune fetching and attract wealth from all four personal direction of life.

10) Power, authority and confidence to carry out any difficult task.

Three rules to keep while making a wish from jatukam,

1. Possible wishing that not contrary with morals

2. After successful wishing needs to act of keeping one’s promise

3. Make merit and good deed dedicate to JaTuKam

There are many more testimonial and different effect, but only when you wear this amulet then you will be able to experience the true power and blessing of jatukam ramathep.

miracle-thaiamulet.com

How to pray

2007-08-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

Some voice of whom praying them
- 'I worship the Jatukam deity in the way I worship the Lord Buddha and Arahants'
-' The Jatukam deity is always gives my blessings and protects me followers from danger'
-'It’s a miracle.I knew that the amulet was created for me'
-“The Jatukam deity won’t help bad people. His worshippers have to at least practise the five Buddhist precepts. And the deity won’t help us if we ask for things that we can’t afford or things that aren’t moral. I hope to buy a small house for my family and I believe the Jatukam deity will help me,”
More information
The talismans are made in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla and Ayutthaya by laymen and Buddhist monks.
According to historians, old Nakhon Si Thammarat was a part of Srivijaya, a coastal kingdom incorporating Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, mainland Indochina and western Borneo that flourished from around 500 CE until the late 11th century.
History also tells us that the Vajrayana sect of Mahayana Buddhism held sway in Srivijaya, and that its ruler considered himself a bodhisattva.
Legend has it that King Chandrabhanu, who was also known as Pangpagan, was a black-skinned warrior who courageously battled evil. This is why amulets of Pangpagan and Rahu (a black deity who inspires terror) are included in the group of Jatukam talismans.
The classic Jatukam is depicted seated, with his right leg slightly lifted; sometimes he has a seven-headed serpent behind him.
The black Pangpagan is shown seated cross-legged with his hands raised to cover his eyes, and flanked by serpents. Rahu can be recognised as a demon’s head.
Other symbols on Jatukam talismans include the sun and the moon, the animal signs representing the 12-year cycle and symbols of old Nakhon Si Thammarat’s 12 cities.
Not everyone agrees, however, that the Jatukam deity’s true identity is the Chandrabhanu bodhisattava. Some locals believe that the Jatukam is the guardian of the Maha That (the remains of Lord Buddha) in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Maha That Temple, built around 854 CE.
According to ancient beliefs, Maha That was the sacred centre of both the city and the universe.
Two statues of the deity, with names engraved at their bases, stand at the entrance of the Maha That pagoda: Tao Jatukam at the west gate and Tao Ramathep at the east gate, while the head of Jatukam decorates the top of the new city pole.

Thailand caught in an amulet craze

2007-08-09T04:10:00.000-07:00

By Todd Crowell

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, Thailand - This city lies at roughly the same latitude as as the internationally renowned resort destination of Phuket, except that it is on the Gulf of Thailand side of the Malay Peninsula, while Phuket is an island in the Andaman Sea.

Nakhon Si Thammarat is an ancient city, tracing its present incarnation to the 13th century. One can easily discern the outlines of the old city in the current layout of streets and in the remnants of the city wall.

Lately, Nakhon Si Thammarat has become a tourist destination, possibly the biggest in Thailand. Four flights a day from Bangkok disgorge visitors. They stream off buses and trains. The city estimates that 1.6 million people visited in 2006, straining its modest accommodations.

Very few of the visitors are foreign tourists - no sun-seeking Europeans, no backpackers, no beachcombers. During the weekend I spent there, I encountered only one other farang (ethnic-European foreigner), a Dane who was attending his brother-in-law's wedding, and he seemed happy enough to get back to Chiang Mai.

The Thai visitors are pilgrims, really. They don't come because of the city's rich history, the Makhalon archeological site to the north or the Phrom Lok Waterfall or any of the other attractions touted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Southern Region. No, they come for just one reason: Jatukam!

All of Thailand is in the grip of Jatukam fever and the supposed magical powers of the talisman, but nowhere else is it so all-consuming as in this city, where it all began. It seems every other citizen is wearing one of the amulets.

They are easy to spot, since they look like Olympic bronze medals suspended by a chain around the neck. Sometimes more than one. (Thai joke: A man goes to the doctor complaining of neck and shoulder pain. The doctor points to the five Jatukam medallions strung around his neck and suggests he lighten the load.)

It is impossible to ignore the phenomenon here. Billboards plastered on the side of buildings display the latest models. Sound trucks that in any other Thai city might be advertising boxing matches or the candidates in local elections broadcast information on new medals.

Along Ratchadamoen Road, the city's main street, whole shops are given over to display cases stocked with the medallions in their little plastic cases, generally priced from 2,000-5,000 baht (US$62-$154). Even stores that sell ordinary household items still have a few cases displaying the latest amulets.

The Jatukam craze has become a huge bonanza for Nakhon Si Thammarat and the Buddhist temples that give the medals their blessing. Of the city's 560 temples, 200 produce the amulets, and more are planning to do so. The sales and visitors have brought in more than 10 billion baht. (Nationally the amulets trade is estimated at 40 billion baht.)

Jatukam fever is bringing in so much money that the Thai Revenue Department is considering whether to tax the amulets, helping to offset loss of tax revenue from the general downturn in the economy. "There's a tremendous amount of money floating around in the amulet market," said department director general Sanit Rangnoi.

What is Jatukam?
The amulet's full name actually refers to two people, Jatukam Rammathep, and their origin is obscure and difficult to understand for someone not steeped in Hindu-Buddhist mythology. By some accounts, they were princes in the 13th-century Srivijay Kingdom of which Nakhon Si Thammarat was the center.

Another theory is that the names are a corruption of Khuttugama and Ramadeva, two Hindu guardians that can be seen alongside the stairway leading into the inner sanctum of the Great Stupa of Wat Pra Mahathat, which is said to be the most important and historic Buddhist wat (temple complex) in southern Thailand.

The first Jatukam amulets were stuck and sold in 1987 (they now fetch prices in excess of a million baht, or nearly $30,000). But only a few of the amulets were sold for many years. The craze only took off last year.

Most Jatukam enthusiasts associate the amulets with a much more contemporary figure, Police Major-General Phantarak Rajadej, the provincial police chief who died last September at age 103. He was said to have magical powers and was instrumental in building the holy site called the City Pillar, now a center of the amulet trade.

His cremation ceremony here in February drew tens of thousands of people, some hoping to obtain one of the talismans distributed to mourners. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn presided.

On a rainy Saturday, I found my way to the City Pillar to observe the consecration of a new Jatukam amulet. The pillar is a golden stele, with the four faces of Buddha at the top enclosed in a white alabaster structure.

In the late morning, the courtyard was already crowded with people. A huge offering table displayed a feast of symbolic offerings: heaps of grapes, bananas, crabs, durians, even two hogs' heads. A loudspeaker blared out constant announcements or prayers. Every now and then one heard the crackling of fireworks.

At 1:30pm, 10 saffron-clad monks took their seats on a long bench on one side of the pillar and began a steady, droning prayer chant that lasted for 40 minutes as people paid their respects by listening respectfully, their hands folded in prayer.

On the far side of the pillar complex, several men were kneading clay that would be pressed into amulets. The chanting came to a close, and a senior monk took his place in front of a press, having the privilege of striking off the first amulet.

Then he stood up, cupping the newly minted medallion in the palm of his hand for all to see. People crowded around to gape and take pictures as if it were some kind of exotic and fabulously expensive rare jewel. Another little Buddha was born.

Hope amid uncertainty
There are plenty of theories to explain the enormous popularity of the Jatukam phenomenon in Thailand at this time in its history. And there are plenty of people happy to testify about motorbike accidents survived, of diseases cured by the miraculous power of the amulet.

Some argue that the phenomenon is symptomatic of the "confused state of Thai Buddhism" - to quote The Nation newspaper - where temples and monks are willing to debase their religion and calling for the enormous profits that can be had from amulet sales, sales that dwarf the traditional temple trinkets by a huge margin.

Some argue that Thais are feeling insecure given the country's political turmoil and the aging of their beloved monarch, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and thus put their faith in objects they think can bring them good fortune, or at least keep away the bad.

One should not discount their sheer collectibility. New amulets are issued almost every day. Glossy, four-color catalogues display the latest models complete with the numbers of each limited edition and their prices.

And there is also the simple excitement of one young woman at the City Pillar as she struggled to convey in her limited English to this unenlightened farang why she was so happy to be present at the consecration of a new Jatukam amulet: "It gives you everything."

Todd Crowell is a Thailand-based correspondent for Asia Times Online.

www.atimes.com

Rules fail to cool Jatukam fever

2007-08-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

Marketing gurus said earlier this year that those involved with the making of Jatukam Ramathep should be honoured for their excellent job.

The market value of this talisman has skyrocketed despite the absence of any evidence that supports the existence of the Hindu god.

Creativity thrives as the market gets saturated. A research study found out that the talisman started to experience a drop in market value in June when it was estimated that nearly 1,000 editions had been produced.

TITV last weekend aired some scenes at temples where new editions of Jatukam were being produced. Each edition needs a new marketing scheme to make sure that the public knows of its supernatural power and will scramble for one of the amulets.

The more they know of the power, the higher the success of the new edition. At one temple, the abbot sliced a blade on the back of a half-naked man, as if to show he could be saved from harm via the power of Jatukam.

More interesting was an interview with an official from the Religious Affairs Department. Asked whether the department would do anything with the temples or abbots involved in such horrible marketing schemes, the official was reluctant to make an outright statement. He simply said the department would look into monks' discipline to see if they violated any rules.

In conclusion, it would take time to see what they can do with monks involved in crazy marketing campaigns.

Bolder was the Consumer Protection Board. Daily News reported on Monday that the board had received more than 100 complaints about Jatukam in the past few months. Initially, the board set out to protect consumers with a regulation that bans the words "luck", "rich" and "invulnerable" in advertisements, as these claims could not be proven. Without those words, the talisman may not attract buyers.

Failing to follow the rules, the makers are liable to fines of Bt30,000 or six-months' imprisonment, or both. Meanwhile, media that run such ads would be subject to half the penalty.

On the same day, when the Buddhist Lent started, many newspapers ran Jatukam ads. Two editions are "Ruay Jing" (Really Rich) and "Mee Tae Ruay" (Richness Only). Needless to say, they violate the consumer board's rule.

The fine may be too low or the makers may not yet be informed of the fine. Whatever, if the rule is really enforced, the board would only become richer and richer.

achara_d@nationgroup.com
The Nation

Jatukam: sense and sensibility

2007-08-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

Marketing gurus said earlier this year that those involved with the making of Jatukam Ramathep should be honoured for their excellent job. The market value of this talisman has skyrocketed despite the absence of any evidence that supports the existence of the Hindu god.
But a research study recently showed that the talisman started to experience a drop in market value in June when it was estimated that nearly 1,000 editions had been produced.

Indeed, I don't quite believe it. Despite the nearly 1,000 editions, I think there are not enough Jatukham for everyone. One of my friends are still happy to pay over Bt30,000 for her favourite edition.

But convincing me of the saturated market was the increasing creativity required in marketing the new editions.

TITV last weekend aired some scenes at temples where new editions of Jatukham were being produced. Each edition needs a new marketing scheme to make sure that the public knows of its supernatural power and will scramble for one of the talismans. The more they know of the power, the higher the success of the new edition. At one temple, the abbot sliced a blade on the back of a halfnaked man, as if to show that he could be saved from harm through the power of Jatukam.

I don't believe that slicing other men, no matter if the men are willing or not, is among the 227 rules that monks are bound to honour.

More interesting was an interview with an official from the Religious Affairs Department. Asked whether the department would do anything with the temples or abbots involved in such horrible marketing schemes, the official was reluctant to make an outright statement. He simply said that the department will look into monks’ discipline to see if they violated any rules. In conclusion, it would take time to see what they can do with monks involved in crazy marketing campaigns.

Bolder was the Consumer Protection Board. Daily News reported on Monday that the board has received over 100 complaints about Jatukam in the past few months. Initially, the board set out to protect consumers with a regulation that bans words “luck”, “rich” and “invulnerable” in advertisements as these words could not be proven. Without those words, the talisman may not attract buyers.

Failing to follow the rules, the makers are liable to fines of Bt30,000 or sixmonths imprisonment or both. Meanwhile, media that runs such advertisements would be subject to half of the penalties.

On the same day, when the Buddhist Lent started, many newspapers ran Jatukam advertisements. Two editions are named “Ruay Jing” (Really Rich) and “Mee Tae Ruay” (Richness Only). Needless to say, they violate the Consumer Protection Board’s rule.

What can be said? The fine may be too low or the makers may not yet be informed of the fine. Whatever, if the rule is really enforced, the board would only become richer and richer.

Not until people realise their own power in changing their destiny will this stop. New editions would certainly come onto the market with bolder and bolder advertising tags. Though they are selling for less money, it seems the products are still wanted, more than ever amid the obscure situation inside our Kingdom.

http://blog.nationmultimedia.com/lin

The message of the Most Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, world-famous Zen master, seems like a quiet whisper amid the current clamour for Jatukam Ramathep a

2007-08-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

But if you listen attentively, you'll find his teaching is very close to the Buddhist heart. He simply says that you too can become an enlightened person if you focus your mind on the present and become mindful or conscious of your daily activities.

To him, nirvana is not something that lies in the future or in the past but something you can experience right now, with every breath you take.

Ironically, the voices of the leaders of Buddhism in this country are nowhere to be heard. In fact, they have not raised any alarm over the spread, like wildfire, of the Jatukam Ramathep amulets, which have become a new source of hope, luck and protection for desperate Thais.

One estimate puts the number of Jatukam Ramathep amulets now on the market at four million, priced from several hundred baht to more than a million each. But soon the prices will burst like a stock-market bubble.

We have moved further and further away from the original Dharma teaching of the Buddha.

We probably needed an outsider like Hanh, who is a Mahayana monk, to remind us, as followers of Theravada Buddhism, how far we have deviated from true Buddhist doctrine.

Eighty-one-year-old Hanh's teaching is similar to the Most Venerable Buddhadasa Bikkhu, who went against the mainstream Buddhism of his time by directing us right to the heart of Dharma without the need for rituals cloaked by orthodox practices.

Buddhadasa said every one of us could attain enlightenment by looking at a flower and by experiencing eternity in the state of the present.

Hanh, who is participating in the Visakha Bucha celebrations as a guest of the Thai government, also tells us to experience Dharma directly by awakening our minds. To him, Buddhism is simply a vehicle to help us attain enlightenment. It is the means, not the goal.

This is similar to a situation when you want to travel to a destination, say, Chiang Mai. Once you have reached Chiang Mai, you forget your comfortable aircraft or your car.

Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen monk who now resides in France and has followers around the globe, further explains that you can apply this concept of mindfulness to all kinds of activities in your daily life such as driving or walking. Most of the time, you find that you allow your normal life to be guided by instinct rather than by consciousness or mindfulness.

Take driving to work as an example. Most often, you are surprised to find that you have arrived at the parking lot of your office without realising how you have done it. In this respect, you are driving your car by instinct, while your mind is wandering everywhere. An accident could occur at any time.

But if you drive with consciousness, you realise every moment, every second. You are thus in firm control of your driving.

More than 2,000 years have passed since the Lord Buddha propounded his concept of space and time. But the state of the present is very tricky. Once you realise it, it has already become the past. And you can't grasp the future because it has not arrived yet.

So what exactly is this very elusive state of the present? It is neither the past nor the future, and it exists in a fraction of a millionth of a second.

Buddhist Dharma explains that our soul exists in a state of the present, similar to the light of a candle, which comes into being and vanishes almost simultaneously. The light comes into being by the burning of the wax before disappearing as the wax burns out. But then new wax gives the light a new lease of life before vanishing again in this life-and-death cycle.

So the candlelight is simply an illusion of this alternate burning and vanishing process. If we understand this very nature of our mind, then we'll realise the way of the world and become enlightened.

Hanh's teaching has the power to motivate people from the West because they can apply it to their lives.

He wants you to focus on the present and then do your best, live your best and then think well, talk well and act well.

But if you are to observe the practice of Theravada Buddhism in Thailand now, you'll have a hard time understanding what Buddhism is all about. This has given rise to the misunderstanding that Buddhism is turning one's back on the world.

Thai monks are no longer role models as they are increasingly involved in worldly scandals.

Do we have to close our eyes to the world, close our ears to the sounds, avoid the taste of food, avoid smells and ignore our senses? This is not necessarily so.

For us, as lay Buddhists, we can live a normal life by simply being aware of our activities every single moment. We can let our conscious mind, instead of instinct, guide us. Then we will have compassion towards our fellow human beings. Then we can love peace, accept differences and have more understanding of others.

This is the essence of Hanh's teaching, which makes him one of the world's most popular Zen monks.

Thanong Khanthong

The Nation

The tourists may be flocking to Nakhon Si Thammarat for Jatukam amulets, but the province has so much more to offer, writes Nattaporn Luangpipat.

2007-08-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

Published on August 4, 2007

The southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat has long been known for its rich jungles and beautiful beaches, but the environment isn't what's drawing the crowds. Over the past couple of years, it's become one of the hottest spots in the Kingdom with visitors flocking to its temples to witness the daily consecration of Jatukam Ramathep amulets.

Introduced in the province with little fanfare 20 years ago, these amulets have gained a huge following among Thais, who believe they bring fortune.

Today, incantation ceremonies are held all over town, with the centuries old Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan a favourite place for consecration.

Not all residents are pleased at the onslaught of visitors, though, fearing that vibrations from trucks carrying the newly minted amulets into temple grounds will damage this important historical site.

The pagoda, which stands 56 metres high, has a distinctive Sri Lankan style and its spire is covered in gold. Stupas and trees surround the pagoda and golden Buddha images are lined up on both sides of the building.

It's hot in the city and we're relieved to leave for Khanom, a small coastal town about 80 kilometres north of the city, where we board a long-tailed boat to try our luck at netting some cuttlefish.

Because of the rocks, even medium-sized fishing boats can't come close to the shore. Night has already fallen as we transfer from the small long-tailed boat to a larger vessel, but within 10 minutes of boarding, the green light and fresh bait on the hook has landed our prey. Our host grins and tells us we are lucky.

"Usually, cuttlefish are best caught when the moon is on the wane. The moon is bright tonight so they are harder to catch," he explains.

"These days, we catch less fish because the trawler owners are greedy. The local people are satisfied with a plain and peaceful life. But the trawler owners try to take advantage of nature. They spread anaesthetic under the sea, wait for a few minutes and catch as much fish as they want."

"It's not fair to the fish. It's a dishonourable fight and really selfish," complains a fisherman.

After a few hours of moving from place to place and no more fish in the net, we sail back to the shore. Other boats, we learn, caught up to 10 cuttlefish and their owners offer to grill the meat for us. We decline and head to the resort to get some sleep.

The next morning, we head out on sparkling aquamarine waters to see the pink dolphins that are unique to the Khanom coastline. Some small fish swim alongside the boat and the helmsman tells us they are called luk pla pan or baby Pan fish, a favourite food of the mullet.

Before long we see the dolphins, said to be the only school left in Thai waters. Not much is known about the dolphin's colouring because of their remoteness and rarity, but it is thought that they turn pink as they get older.

Pink dolphins are also found in small populations off the coast of China and Vietnam and are struggling to survive due to pollution and over-fishing.

We arrive back to Khanom in the evening and head to the weekend market in town, where stalls are selling aromatic fish soup, fried chicken and vermicelli salad. Business is brisk and before long, the stalls kill the lights, signalling that their pots are empty.

A giant colourful playground has been set up in an adjacent lot and the local children are having a great time on the slide. A group of women are taking part in an aerobics class while others, their shopping finished, have gathered around the stage to watch traditional dancing, country folk performances and comedians.

"The market is busy and there are many more people because of the Jatukam ceremonies. The amulets are being made and consecrated every day. It's good for us, we sell more," confides a merchant, gesturing towards the shrine where, despite the late hour, an incantation is just finishing.

Even here, in quiet Khanom, Jatukam fever is raging.

Nattaporn Luangpipat

The Nation

MONK'S COOKIES MAKE THEIR MARK

2007-08-01T20:50:00.001-07:00

Jatukham snack manages to rock amulet craze
Story by PIYAPORN WONGRUANG

Bakery staff press "Jatukham" cookies that mock the public craze for Jatukarm Ramathep talismans.

Revered monk Phra Payom Kalayano, who introduced the "Jatukham" cookies to mock the craze for the Jatukarm Ramathep talismans, has shrugged off the uproar by producers of the highly prized amulets.

The monk said he viewed the angry response positively. It showed the cookies were a success. Otherwise the amulet producers would not be up in arms.

"I learned that there were positive and negative responses to the cookies," said Phra Payom.

"My cookies are intended to bring back people's consciousness. They can have faith in sacred items, but they should also be sensible in leading their lives."

For months, the monk had watched the craze for the talismans with growing concern. He said the talisman worshippers were drifting away from the Lord Buddha's teachings, which accentuate self-reliance and good deeds.

People were coming to believe the talisman had supernatural powers to bring wealth.

"This will lead people to nothing but losing their rationality. It is unhealthy for the religion if we allow this trend to go on like this," the monk said.

He had some help from his followers in launching the cookies, which he called Jatukham, playing on the talisman's name but altering the spelling.

Somboon Ijayavorakul, chief executive officer of the graphic design company Watta, helped design the four-bite biscuits.

Mr Somboon said he appreciated the monk for his attempts to educate Buddhists, particularly through his columns in a newspaper.

He got the idea from a comic strip that featured a character munching a talisman he had mistakenly thought was a cookie.

The thought-provoking cookies resemble the popular talismans, and are the same size. One side bears the word "Jatukham" with a gold leaf, and the other the words Ou Ar Ka Sa, as well as Phra Payom's signature.

The four words are taken from the Lord Buddha's teachings, reminding Buddhists to maintain self reliance, from which everybody can be rich.

The words mean diligence, saving money, association with good and moral people, and being simple and modest.

"If it was not for Phra Payom, this would never happen.

"He is the kind of person who is capable of understanding and embracing new and innovative ideas," said Mr Somboon.

The monk's assistants are also capping the production to prevent any misunderstanding that the cookies are being sold for profit.

Phra Payom does not intend to put the biscuits on supermarket shelves. They come packed in sets, four to an aluminium can. People can buy them by contacting Wat Suan Kaew in Nonthaburi's Bang Yai district. They get a free dharma lecture CD with each purchase.

However, the queue is so long that today's orders will be delivered early next month.

The temple's clerk said orders have gradually eased, not like in the first few weeks. This may reflect the declining popularity of the talisman itself, she said.

"If people were more conscious about the craze for Jatukarm, the cookies' popularity would decline as well," she said.

However, Sataporn Assatarakul, a 47-year-old customer, said she did not believe the biscuit buyers and talisman worshippers were of the same group.

Many purchase the cookies for their friends in the hope of spreading Buddhist teachings.

"We are trying to help. If our friends can think a little more about what is good for their lives, that is good.

"But if not, we just think of the purchase as a chance to make merit, while our friends have nice cookies to eat," said Ms Sataporn.

http://www.readbangkokpost.com

Distinguishing Jatukams

2007-08-01T20:46:00.001-07:00

The Wat Wang Tawan Tok area of NST, long an area for buying and selling amulets, has turned into a paradise for those who want to buy sought-after models of Jatukam priced from 70 to 100 baht each. Priced this low, it is doubtful they have passed through the sacred ritual, which, along with the materials used to produce them, distinguishes the "real from the fake" images. Reportedly, only a skilled eye can tell the difference.

When Perspective visited Wat Wang Tawan Tok last month there was a huge crowd of people, even though it wasn't on the weekend. Most locals know about the place where people can buy Jatukam that have not passed through the sacred ritual. Many people were buying the Jatukam for souvenirs or gifts, others purchased large amounts but declined to say why.
Vendors were also close-mouthed about how and where they obtained the Jatukam.

If only people paid attention to the materials which are purportedly incorporated into certain models of Jatukam, they would likely question how they could be obtained.

Brochures and leaflets promoting various Jatukam models list the components. For example, one model claims to use bits of earth surrounding the burial site of the placental material and umbilical cord of Luang Por Tuod (Wat Chang Hai, Pattani), who is said to have passed away 425 years ago. When Perspective tried to contact persons in charge of the production of this amulet at Wat Mahayong in NST to ask about the claim, a monk deferred the question to some people at a downtown centre. When these people were tracked down, they also failed to provide any information on how they were able to find the place where the placenta was buried.

On reflection, it would seem that many of the materials might be quite hard to secure, such as soils from places mentioned in the chronicle of the Lord Buddha's journeys in India and Nepal. Some Jatukam models are even claimed to contain leaves of Sara trees in Kushinagar, the place where the Lord Buddha attained paranirvana.

The agencies responsible for obtaining the materials claim they are able to get them by sending people to India and Nepal, but they do not want to be named in newspapers.

The sacred rituals are usually performed at various temples. Some models advertise that the ritual is performed on multiple occasions - three, five, seven, up to nine times - on particular Jatukam. Most models perform the ritual, at least once, at Pra Mahathat Voramahaviharn temple, the main temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat, which is fully booked until the end of this year.

The rituals have certainly interrupted the normal schedule of those who wish to study and practise Dharma. One nun and her followers had to move their classes from the main Vihara of the temple to a kitchen. "There are a lot of noises since the temple became the venue of sacred rituals for Jatukam," said the nun.

The rituals for some models are held on mountaintops which are considered sacred, or the "umbilical cord of the sea", reportedly at the mouth of the Nakhon Si Thammarat sea located in Pak Phanang district.

There are a number of monks, shamans and Brahmans whose presence is highly prized at these rituals. Some producers say they have to put a large amount of money into an envelope for each of these holy men.

Bangkok Post

AMULET SENDS MIXED BLESSING

2007-08-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

While Jatukam may have brought fortune to some, the majority of people in Nakhon Si Thammarat are still lacking in basic necessities. — NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
The Jatukam talisman craze and related businesses have injected a stimulant into Nakhon Si Thammarat's economic growth, but at what cost, asks SUPARA JANCHITFAH

On the surface, it seems that the booming trade in Jatukam talismans in Nakhon Si Thammarat (NST) is a completely positive development for the province. When one looks deeper, however, it becomes apparent that there is a downside to being ground zero for the phenomenon that has taken Thailand by storm.

The abrupt success of Jatukam-related businesses has translated into jobs and prosperity for many people. Locals commonly observe that the amphetamine trade in the province is not as widespread as before. This is in line with statistics from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) which reveal that in October of last year there were 121 drug cases in NST province. Six months later, in March, the number of cases had drastically declined to only four (see graphic).

No clear explanation has been given behind the waning of activity, but it seems plausible that it could be due to a switch from amphetamine trafficking to the legal marketing of Jatukam.
On the other hand, reports on crimes such as theft, often involving Jatukam, are on the increase in the province, as a quick glance at local newspapers attests. This might be related to the high demand for some Jatukam models.

Many locals are also worried that some people in the Jatukam trade do their business in dishonest ways. "I met one of my students who purchased imitation Jatukam that cost him around 100 baht for three images. He said he sells them for 800 baht each in Bangkok," said a teacher at a secondary school.

"I asked him, don't you think this is a sinful act? He told me that he was just satisfying the needs of those buyers who want to get special models at a low price," he added.

Moreover, there are a number of reports that some vendors have run away with money from buyers who paid in advance for yet-to-be released models, using forged advance reservation books. The fake agencies do not show up on the appointed days to give buyers the talismans.

www.readbangkokpost.com

Thai amulet craze "unacceptable face of Buddhism"

2007-07-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

By Noppawan Bunluesilp

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A craze for plasticine amulets that promise to make their owners "Super Rich" or "Rich without Reason" is sweeping across Thailand to the dismay of traditionalists in the predominantly Buddhist nation.

Some monks have come out swinging against the so-called Jatukam Ramathep frenzy, saying it has turned the Buddhist priesthood into an "amulet-blessing industry" despite the religion's shunning of earthly possessions and materialism.

Temples across the country are churning out thousands of the disc-shaped amulets, which are about the size of a coffee-cup lid and stamped with anything from images of Hindu deities to former Thai kings to Buddha.

To gain maximum "power", the amulet and its ingredients have to be prayed over by monks for days. A top-of-the-range gold-leaf edition from a well-respected temple costs 10,000 baht (148 pounds) or more -- more than a month's wages for many Thais.

The nation of 65 million people, most of whom remain deeply superstitious despite the rapid modernisation of places such as Bangkok, has spent more than 20 billion baht on the amulets this year, newspapers say.

The scale of the phenomenon is now so large the Revenue Department is looking into ways of taxing amulet sales despite a convention that donations or money going to Buddhist temples are exempt from tax.

EMOTIONAL PROP OR SIMPLE SCAM?

The craze stems from a highly respected policeman called Phantarak Rajadej, who died aged 103 last year in the southern seaside town of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Phantarak, who many Thais believe had magic powers, was said to have made the first amulet.

After his death, the number of amulets exploded, with hundreds of different "product lines" emerging with names such as "Super Rich", "Super Millionaire" and "Rich without Reason".

In the early stages of the craze, a woman was crushed to death in a crowd trying to place amulet orders at a Nakhon Si Thammarat temple.

Rather than wearing their talisman discreetly under their shirts, as Thais have done since time immemorial, Jatukam owners display it proudly on the outside, suspended on a thick gold chain that would be more at home on the neck of a U.S. rap star.

"My life has got better since I bought my first Jatukam," said 45-year-old Somchai Vichitbanjong, who now owns nearly 500 different varieties.

"I usually have a Jatukam with me all the time. Whenever I go out, if I'm not wearing one I have to go back home and get it."

Besides Thais' long-standing belief in luck, some believe the craze is a reflection of the political uncertainty that has gripped the country since last year's military coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"Jatukam supports people and makes them feel strong, as well as giving them clarity of thought," Phra Taweesak, abbot of Bangkok's Wat Srinuan, said after a blessing ceremony for a consignment of several thousand amulets.

Others disagree, saying it is a blatant scam by unscrupulous monks playing upon the superstitions of ordinary people to raise money.

"When some temples want a new building, they just use Jatukam to raise funds," said Phra Payom Kalayano, a high-profile abbot who has launched a range of edible, chocolate-flavoured "Jatukam cookies" to encourage Thais to spend money on essentials such as food rather than trinkets.

The craze is also undermining a religion already under threat from Bangkok's transition into a throbbing international metropolis over the last few decades, he says.

"Recently, materialism and the amulets have diverted people from the core of Buddha's teaching," he told Reuters at his leafy monastic compound on the outskirts of the teeming capital.

"This makes Buddha's teaching fade away."

bswa.org

SALES OF AMULETS ARE THRIVING LIKE CRAZY

2007-07-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

Vendors earn more than they dreamed of in Nakhon Si Thammarat
Sales of Jatukarm Ramathep amulets are thriving in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Muang district, with many sellers earning more money than they ever dreamed of.
Duangchanok Amornsak closed down her traditional dance school in August last year and began trading Jatukarm Ramathep talismans.
She admits to making a good profit as demand for the amulets which are priced from 199 to 150,000 baht has surged. She also sells T-shirts bearing the image of the talisman, and books and pictures.
"I used to get about 10,000 baht a month as a dance teacher. Now I earn from 100,000 to 200,000 baht a month from selling the amulets," she said.
Stalls selling the amulets are on almost every road in downtown Muang district. Although the amulets were introduced in the province 20 years ago, Ms Duangchanok believes their popularity jumped only recently, with the funeral of Pol Maj-Gen Khun Phantharak Rajadej, a well-respected local aristocrat.
Thousands of people flocked to the cremation of Khun Phantharak to obtain the amulets, which were distributed by his children as keepsakes.
Sales of the amulets have stimulated the local economy, putting an estimated 100 million baht into circulation.
Pailin Arunjit also quit her job to become a talisman vendor.
Ms Pailin said she invested 30,000 baht to open her business three months ago. Now she earns about 100,000 baht a month.
"I had never thought that I would have what I have today. My monthly salary as a department store worker was a few thousand baht," she said, adding that she is now able to pay off her debts.
Ms Duangchanok said she believed the talisman would sell well for the next two to three years before dying down, as was "the law of nature".
She personally believed in the magical powers of Jatukarm Ramathep and had various versions of the amulets in stock.
"I don't try to persuade anyone to believe me or to buy the talismans from me. There is no point in owning the amulet but not behaving well. Jatukarm Ramathep will only protect decent people, bringing them good luck," she said.
The amulets comprise a group of talismans with images of a deity and symbols dating back to the ancient Malay kingdom of Srivijaya, of which Nakhon Si Thammarat was a part.

from Bangkok Post
Story by Anucha Charoenpo

Jatukham Rammathep Amulets

2007-07-26T07:14:00.001-07:00

Woman dies in amulet crush

51-year-old trampled, many injured as thousands jostle for Chatukam charms
A 51-year-old woman was crushed to death and dozens injured yesterday when thousands of people forced their way into a technical school here to buy coupons for the sought-after Chatukam Ramthep amulets.

This prompted the Religious Affairs Department to call for safer public distribution of the famous amulets and ask the private sector to postpone distribution to prevent such tragedies re-occurring.

Thousands of people had been waiting since midnight on Sunday at three coupon-selling spots at Nakhon Si Thammarat Technical College, Rama XI Park, and Thanakhonyanwaropasuthit School to get the amulets' special edition produced by Wat Phra Nakhon.

The crowd caused a five-kilometre traffic jam in the city.

Nearly 10,000 forced their way to the coupon desk on the second floor of the technical school at about 8am. Many women and elderly people fainted and were trampled by the crowd.

Officials had to pull out the injured and found that Phuen Khongpetch, 51, had been trampled to death. She had footprints all over her body. Dozens were injured and the college gate and fence were destroyed.

At Rama XI Park, people also broke through the gate to get the coupons.

The chaos overwhelmed the 100 policemen present and caused the coupon selling to be stopped.

Many people were upset and remained at the premises in the hope the selling would resume, while some cried because they could not get coupons.

Nakhon Si Thammarat Commander Pol Maj Gen Sudjai Yanarat, who later visited the injured, said police would look into the death to find out whether Phuen had passed out or was simply knocked down in the stampede.

If it was the latter, the event organiser would be charged with recklessness causing another's death. Sudjai said the authorities would prevent such a tragedy recurring so this death would be "last of its kind".

Wat Phra Nakhon had held a similar coupon-selling event on March 16, but the chaos from people fighting over the coupons forced the temple to suspend the activity. It started selling again yesterday.

Phra Maha Maitri, abbot of Wat Phra Nakhon, said people wanting reservation coupons for the amulets consisted of three groups: those who really worshipped the talisman, those who aimed to re-sell the amulets for profit, and teenagers hired by amulet-selling businessmen at Bt500 to Bt1,000 to get the talismans so they could later boost the price and make a profit.

"The chaos resulted from the third group who were hot-headed and disrespected the rules and pushed their way in," said the monk. He said the temple was now tightly guarded by police for fear of the talismans being stolen.

Meanwhile, Religious Affairs Department director-general Preecha Kantiya, said that following the recent death and injuries, he had contacted the provincial Buddhist authorities in Nakhon Si Thammarat - which made the original Chatukam Ramthep amulets - to seek safer ways to publicly distribute them, and a proper way of making the amulets.

"The department can't stop temples from producing or giving Chatukam Ramthep amulets to the public, but we'll try to find ways of distribution because of concerns for public safety," Preecha said. He urged the private sector and organisations that produce the charms to stop distributing them until it could be done safely.

Kanok Saenprasert, a senior official at the Office of National Buddhism, said officials would oversee that temples and abbots act according to Buddhist monastic disciplines.

He said the Thai Sangha clearly stated that Buddha amulets and talismans could be made and distributed as memorial items to the public. But they should not be involved in commerce or boast about supernatural powers as a selling point.

The famous amulet is believed to have magical power that protects its holder from harm and brings good luck.

Although it has no relation to Buddhism, many Thai Buddhists believe in the amulet's power and are prepared to pay large sums for it.

The Nation

Nakhon Si Thammarat

Jatukam Ramathep .... Lord of the Fortune...the Rama incarnation and the Great Stupa at Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

2007-07-25T22:31:00.001-07:00

In the past month or so, several articles have appeared in the Thai and English media concerning the phenomenal popularity of a magical talisman, promising instant wealth to those who wear one. The talisman features a divine being called Jatukam Ramathep, unknown in Buddhist or Hindu sacred literature. In order to understand, we need to get the god's name right: Jatukam Ramathep is the Thai pronunciation of the Pali Catugamaramadeva, meaning God Rama of the Four Villages. This is near nonsense as no ancient literature, Buddhist or Hindu, connects Rama to "Four Villages".

Thus the name seems to have been created out of thin air. However, the talisman is connected in the popular imagination to the Great Stupa of Nakhon Si Thammarat. According to respectable tradition preserved in an ancient document (see Wyatt, DK, "The Crystal Sands: The Chronicles of Nagara Sri Dharmmaraja", Cornell) the relics enshrined in the Great Stupa there came from Sri Lanka and the stupa was established with the assistance of traders from Sri Lanka, where Buddhism has always been protected by Hindu gods. (The evidence is in the Mahavamsa and in folk religion to this day.)

At the Great Stupa at Nakhon Si Thammarat, the stairs leading up to the circumambulatory terminate in a narrow stage with four images of gods. To the extreme left and right are two gods in brick and plaster with no attributes. However inscribed stone plaques (in apparently old lettering) announce that they are Lord Khattugama and Lord Ramadeva.

Jatukham Rammathep is two people, not one. The names are the aliases of brother princes Inthara Sairen and Inthara Khao Kheo, sons of King Jantharaphanu, who ruled the Sri Thammasokerealm, the capital of the Krung Srivijaya Kingdom (757-1257) in southern Thailand, after his father who founded it. The Sri Thammasoke realm began to degenerate as a result of their father's absence of 20 years during which he expanded his dominion to as far as eastern India. The brothers founded a new capital at Chang Khom Sirithammarat (present day Nakhon Si Thammarat), and renamed the realm Srivijaya Suvarnabhumi. Some legends say Jatukham Rammathep was another royal person living in a different era altogether, while others suggest it was a name given to King Jantharaphanu himself. But all legends - under the influence of Mahayana Buddhism which was widely observed during the period - commonly believe that whatever king or royal person the name belongs to, the right holder of the name is an Avalokitesvara, a future Buddha after numerous rebirths committed to intense self-dedication and intense sacrifice.

Long after their deaths, the two princes continue to be idealised by succeeding generations of residents of Nakhon Si Thammarat and today are remembered by their preferred names of Jatukham and Rammathep as guardian angels. The Jatukham Rammathep amulets were first produced in 1987 as part of the establishment of the province's Holy Pillar Shrine. The circular amulet, with a 5cm diameter, was priced at Bt39. Today, the amulets sell for between Bt200 and Bt500 for the basic item, and as much as Bt1,000 for amulets produced in a limited edition. The prices can soar sharply by up to 10 times when their popularity peaks after just a few months.

For example, the "Arch-Millionaire" series now trades at around Bt10,000 compared to about Bt150 when it was released in May last year. The reported highest price ever paid for a single amulet is Bt1.2 million - by a mine owner to the original owner of a 1987 charm. An unconfirmed report earlier this year said the owner of a local lingerie store in the province sold a number of the amulets for Bt3.2 million to a buyer based in the United States

Jatukham Ramathep is a guardian god of holy relics of Lord Buddha, and was engraved on the doorway at the entrance of Wat Phra Mahathat Temple in 1987 during the celebration of the City Pillar in Nakhon Si Thammarat. The legend of this deity states that he was formerly King Janthara Bhanu, the founder of Si Vijaya Kingdom and the first king of the Si Thamma SokkaratDynasty. After establishing a wealthy and strong city, he was later known as the “Black King of the Southern Sea” or “Phaya Phang Pakan”. Due to his good deeds, he became Bodhisattva, who helped relieve the hardship of mankind. The popularity of collecting Buddhist amulets is set to continue to rise as was seen last year. It is of note that antique amulets have become rarer in the market since the previous year. Among the newly-cast Phra Kruang that has been most sought-after in the market is “Jatukam Ramathep”. It could be said that this amulet series has gained greater popularity - as it is commonly seen on show at amulet trading shops - at the expense of other newly-cast Buddhist amulets. Jatukam Ramathep has been in high demand among amulet aficionados both at home and abroad, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore.

luckyplanner.com

Amulets 'damage pagoda'

2007-07-24T03:57:00.001-07:00

The overwhelming popularity of Jatukam Ramathep amulets may be damaging the Mahathat Woramahawiharn Temple's sacred pagoda.
Locals yesterday complained the pagoda had developed a lean as a result of vehicles arriving at the temple each day with the amulets.

Lorries and pickup vehicles deliver the amulets to the monastery's compound, where they are blessed in consecration rituals. The centuries-old pagoda houses Buddha relics.

"We have to do something before further damage is done," Somchoke Boonwisut, a Nakhon Si Thammarat resident, said yesterday.

Residents will ask provincial governor Wichom Thongsong to take action to halt damage to the pagoda.

Local Fine Arts Department director Banjong Wongwichien said experts were on the way to examine the pagoda. "But, for the time being, everything depends on the temple abbot," he said.

Nakhon Si Thammarat deputy governor Somsak Khamtaweeprom will have talks with abbot Phra Ratchathamsuthee ahead of any action at provincial level.

Revenue officials wanting to know how much the temple was making from the amulets yesterday visited the abbot.

Provincial police chief Maj-General Sudjai Yannarat praised residents' efforts to protect the pagoda. Officers have been sent to the temple for security.

Sudjai said many vehicles "sneak into the temple at around 3am and 4am before traffic officers are present".

Provincial public works chief Chaiyapat Siriprasert said it would be easy to determine if the pagoda was leaning but added his department was too busy to check and suggested an academic institute should help.

Krissana Jutisawaeng

The Nation

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT

Sky is the limit for talismans

2007-07-24T03:55:00.001-07:00

The hype surrounding the Jatukam Ramathep talismans has, literally, gone sky-high.
On June 9, Orient Thai Airlines will conduct a ritual to anoint the popular talismans at altitude.

Airline chief Udom Tantiprasongchai said the ritual would be held in the cabin of Orient Thai's new MD-82 aircraft en route from Bangkok to Nakhon Si Thammarat.

According to popular belief, the higher the annointment ritual takes place, the more the Holy Spirit will be drawn to the talismans.

The expected one million baht from sales of the sky-high editions of the Jatukam amulets will go to charities repairing schools burned down by insurgents in the southern province of Pattani.

The catalogue magazine, Friday, produced by the same company that sells Mistine cosmetics, recently included a number of Jatukam amulets on its stocklist. Friday offers items ranging from household goods to toys, from supplementary foods to lingerie.

Friday also offers 10 Jatukam editions with prices ranging from Bt199 to Bt599 depending on the texture and the materials used in the casting.

So far the company has enjoyed brisk orders for the amulets. Of the Bt150 million in orders that the Friday catalogue receives each month, Jatukam amulets already account for 5 to 6 per cent of the total.

The catalogue would appear to be good news for Jatukam collectors who don't want to go through the stampede to get one of these tremendously popular talismans.

Just a thought: An irrational exuberance for Jatukam Ramathep?

2007-07-22T23:02:00.001-07:00

by Veenarat Laohapakakul

Of course, it's a matter of personal belief if anyone wishes to put on one, two or more Jatukam Ramathep amulets.

In fact, the amulets have been a boon to the current sluggish economy, generating an estimated Bt20 billion, at least, since the craze started last year. But are some of us going way overboard with this?

All editions are believed to bring good luck and enhance wealth. One edition was named "Rich beyond reason", while another was given the name "Super affluent". Believing in supernatural powers has long been an integral part of Thai Buddhism, and amulets provide the faithful with emotional strength and support.

Many organisations have jumped on the bandwagon since it is one of the easiest and quickest ways to raise money at the moment. Even the Royal Thai Air Force joined in by having F-16 and F-5 pilots carry the materials used to make the amulets with them during routine flights, citing the belief that the powers of the material increase due to the height.

Now, we are also witnessing monks who dance and employ weapons as part of the Jatukam Ramathep inaugural ceremony. Despite criticisms, one has already declared that he would carry on as the master of such ceremonies, arguing that he has broken the monks' rules of conduct out of sheer goodwill and a pure heart.

Believe it or not, the endangered dugong might be threatened by this hullabaloo. Their tiny population off the western coast of Thailand is currently under close scrutiny. A baby dugong was recently found dead in Phang Nga province under suspicious circumstances. Its eyes were badly bruised and part of the skin around the eyes was sliced off.

The inclusion of substances believed to be sacred in the mixing of materials used to mould Jatukam amulets has become a new selling point and one advertisement boasted the use of whale fat and dugongs' "teardrops". Yes, teardrops. To squeeze the tiniest drop means torturing the animal to the utmost pain. What in the world have some people come to?

The Jatukam Ramathep amulets have had an effect never before seen and, to an extent, this has been devastating to basic Buddhist teachings. The religion itself is not to blame, but rather the people involved - both obsessive traders and consumers - who reflect excessive gluttony and to a certain point, as in the cases of the dugongs or having the materials flown through the air, complete absurdity.

The hype around the Jatukam amulets is a far cry from what is considered the "middle path", and the names of many editions, instead of stressing hard work and savings, give the false hope of getting rich at lightning speed. The amusing point, though, is that there are people who actually buy into it.

The wealthy are free to spend whatever they want, but as Phra Payom Kalayano, the revered abbot of Wat Suan Kaew, said, "The poor only get poorer, especially if they try to collect many editions".

Phra Payom was threatened when he launched Jatukam-like cookies, called "Rethink - Four words to getting rich". The four words, taken from a Buddhist teaching, translate as diligence, savings, choosing good company and leading a simple life, all of which are valuable principles to consider. Opponents argued he was making fun of the Jatukam Ramathep.

The Jatukam phenomenon reveals that many Thais still don't incorporate Buddhist teachings into their daily lives. Instead, many emphasise the ritual aspect of Buddhism, while others focus on the commercial side. This is true not only for Jatukam Ramathep, but for other amulets as well.

This is a pity given the fact that the Buddhist philosophy is very useful for anyone seeking inner peace. The disproportionate commercialisation of Jatukam Ramathep certainly belittles practical Buddhist teachings, particularly on the point of not being greedy.

Despite all that has been said, at the end of the day the decision of whether to worship Jatukam Ramathep or any other type of mystical power boils down to a personal choice. Just don't forget the saying that "Doing good deeds will bear good results and vice versa".

It all starts from within.

Jatukham Ramathep fever shaking the pagoda

2007-07-20T02:24:00.000-07:00

The overwhelming popularity of Jatukam Ramathep amulets has literally shaken the Mahathat Voramahavihara Temple's sacred pagoda. Local people Tuesday complained that the pagoda was apparently leaning as a result of impacts from many trucks that headed to the temple each day.
These trucks carried Jatukham Ramathep amulets into the royal monastery's compound for a consecration ritual. The centuries-old pagoda houses Buddha relics.

"We have to do something before further damage is done," Somchoke Boonwisut, a native of Nakhon Si Thammarat, said Tuesday.

A group of local people was now planning to petition to Nakhon Si Thammarat Governor Wichom Thongsong for actions that could prevent the pagoda from leaning further.

Banjong Wongwichien, director of a local fine-arts office, said he was now preparing to urgently ask the Fine Arts Department to dispatch experts to examine the pagoda. "But for the time being, everything must depend on the temple's abbot," he said.

Deputy Nakhon Si Thammarat Governor Somsak Khamtaweeprom also said he would have to discuss the issue with Phra Ratchathamsuthee, abbot of Mahathat Voramahavihara Temple, before any action could be taken.

Surrounded by revenue officials, the abbot was yesterday busy clarifying about the temple's income from producing the Jatukam Ramathep amulets.

Nakhon Si Thammarat police chief Maj General Sudjai Yannarat praised local people's effort to protect the pagoda.

"Such effort is good," he said.

Sudjai said he would dispatch more police officers to provide security and convenience at the temple. He said most trucks sneaked into the temple at around 3 am and 4 am before traffic police officers were present at the temple.

Provincial public-works chief Chaiyapat Siriprasert said it would be easy to determine whether the pagoda was really leaning.

However, he said his office was now very busy and suggested that an academic institute should step in to help.

Krissana Jutisawaeng

The Nation

Nakhon Si Thammarat

Nakhon Si Thammarat people call for pagoda to be preserved

2007-07-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

More than 300 people marched on Wednesday to Nakhon Si Thammarat City Hall to demand that the provincial authority preserve the ancient pagoda of the Mahathat Woramahawiharn Temple.

The pagoda is considered one of the best places to consecrate Jatukam Ramathep amulets, as it is said to house Buddha relics.

Locals have complained that the pagoda has started to lean as a result of vehicles arriving at the temple each day with the amulets.

"We have to protect the heritage our ancestors built for us," protest leader Paitoon Intasila said yesterday.

Wichit Chartpaisit, the deputy governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat, met the protesters and explained that the provincial government was tackling the problem.

Meanwhile, Fine Arts Department directorgeneral Arak Sunghitakul yesterday called on the abbot of Mahathat Woramahawiharn Temple to stop allowing trucks near the pagoda.

"Vibration could cause more damage to the pagoda," he said.

However, he said that the pagoda had been leaning since the last time his department inspected the site.

"But we are going to check whether it has leaned further. If so, we have to reinforce the base of the pagoda because its foundation was built on soft soil," Arak said.

Fine Arts Department deputy directorgeneral Khemachat Thepachai said engineers from the Asian Institute of Technology would urgently inspect the pagoda.

"Then, we will be able to compare the latest inspection findings to the information we gathered in our last inspection," Khemachat said.

Former Nakhon Si Thammarat MP Apichart Sakdiseth urged everyone to help preserve the sacred pagoda. "The provincial government, in particular, should take an active role," he said.

The Nation

Unheard of 20 years ago, Jatukam amulets are now selling like hot cakes. Who is this deity?

2007-07-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

At first glance, the middle-aged businessman driving a luxury car seems to have nothing in common with the young gas station worker. On the surface, there are the obvious disparities in age, lifestyle and income, yet both have a similar preoccupation with what the future holds in store.
The businessman – we’ll call him Kamron – dresses smartly in brand-name suits, while Kai, the worker, wears jeans and a T-shirt. But neither would leave home without donning their most treasured accessory – a Jatukam amulet the size of a small coffee cup.
Jatukam is the most popular deity in Thailand today. His full name is Jatukam Ramathep and his image can be seen almost everywhere – on amulets, coins and statuettes, and even on incantation cloths.
His many devotees, ranging from the rich and famous to the poor and voiceless, believe that worshipping Jatukam guarantees them good fortune.
A decade ago, the Kingdom’s most popular deity was King Rama V. Then it became trendy to pray to Trimurati, the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, or the living Arahant (Arahat), an enlightened Buddhist monk. Two years ago, Pi Siew, a Chinese lion-like talisman, was all the rage. Now it’s the Jatukam.
Among Thailand’s Buddhist majority, the practice of dharma involves faith in self-reliance. But as human weakness is a fact of life inevitably leading to problems and stress, Thais need to believe that their fragile sides will be protected by a guardian spirit. So they invoke the help of deities who they regard as strong and benevolent.
In return, they promise to follow the path of the deity they’ve chosen.
Those who have faith in Jatukam don’t regard themselves as superstitious. His worshippers are instructed to offer him candles, joss sticks, flowers, fruits and water every day before chanting and praying for what they want.
“I worship the Jatukam deity in the way I worship the Lord Buddha and Arahants,” Kamron says. “The Jatukam deity is a bodhisattva [an enlightened one dedicated to assisting humanity]. The bodhisattva always gives his blessings and protects his followers from danger.”
Travelling frequently for business, Kamron says he was involved in four car accidents over a five-year period. But since donning the amulet he bought for Bt200,000 two years ago, he hasn’t had so much as a dent.
Kai, on the other hand, found the amulet in a specialist shop on New Year’s Day.
“It’s a miracle. I intended to spend no more than Bt1,000, but on the day I went to the shop, there was only one amulet in stock at Bt700, with the others all more than Bt3,000. I knew that the amulet was created for me.”
Kai had read up on Jatukam in the local newspapers.
“The Jatukam deity won’t help bad people. His worshippers have to at least practise the five Buddhist precepts. And the deity won’t help us if we ask for things that we can’t afford or things that aren’t moral. I hope to buy a small house for my family and I believe the Jatukam deity will help me,” he says.
The 400 or so different Jatukam amulets, coins, statuettes and incantation cloths currently available have prices ranging from Bt40 (for fakes) to Bt2 million. The first amulet, made in 1987, cost less than Bt100 – it’s now worth between Bt500,000 and Bt600,000. Today, the most expensive amulets cost between
Bt1.5 million and
Bt2 million apiece.
The talismans are made in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla and Ayutthaya by laymen and Buddhist monks.
In Nakhon Si Thammarat the Jatukam is big business, with almost every Buddhist temple and even schools purporting to sell amulets for charity. Posters and billboards advertise the talismans and every local is expected to be an expert on the deity.
And while it’s true that the idea to produce Jatukam amulets and coins stems from a group of worshippers in Nakhon Si Thammarat, there are some different views on the deity’s origins.
In 1987, mediums recommended that a new lak muang (city pole) be commissioned as the old pole had lost its protective aura. The late Pol Maj Gen Khun Pantarakrachadej, a veteran police officer famed for his knowledge of the occult, (it’s rumoured he arrested criminals through magical powers), suggested that the warning through the mediums came from the spirit of the former ruler of the Srivijaya kingdom, King Chandrabhanu, otherwise known as Jatukam Ramathep.
According to historians, old Nakhon Si Thammarat was a part of Srivijaya, a coastal kingdom incorporating Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, mainland Indochina and western Borneo that flourished from around 500 CE until the late 11th century.
History also tells us that the Vajrayana sect of Mahayana Buddhism held sway in Srivijaya, and that its ruler considered himself a bodhisattva.
Legend has it that King Chandrabhanu, who was also known as Pangpagan, was a black-skinned warrior who courageously battled evil. This is why amulets of Pangpagan and Rahu (a black deity who inspires terror) are included in the group of Jatukam talismans.
The classic Jatukam is depicted seated, with his right leg slightly lifted; sometimes he has a seven-headed serpent behind him.
The black Pangpagan is shown seated cross-legged with his hands raised to cover his eyes, and flanked by serpents. Rahu can be recognised as a demon’s head.
Other symbols on Jatukam talismans include the sun and the moon, the animal signs representing the 12-year cycle and symbols of old Nakhon Si Thammarat’s 12 cities.
Not everyone agrees, however, that the Jatukam deity’s true identity is the Chandrabhanu bodhisattava. Some locals believe that the Jatukam is the guardian of the Maha That (the remains of Lord Buddha) in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Maha That Temple, built around 854 CE.
According to ancient beliefs, Maha That was the sacred centre of both the city and the universe.
Two statues of the deity, with names engraved at their bases, stand at the entrance of the Maha That pagoda: Tao Katukam at the west gate and Tao Ramathep at the east gate, while the head of Jatukam decorates the top of the new city pole.
Some Nakhon Si Thammarat natives say the Jatukam deity is none other than Tao Katukam and Tao Ramathep, probably the Hindu gods Brahma and Vishnu who were worshipped in the city in ancient times.
But for today’s Jatukam worshippers, the ancient history is probably irrelevant. They’re more interested in the “quick fix” that’s become associated with their chosen deity’s name.
And no doubt they will go on collecting these expensive talismans until Jatukam falls from favour, only to be replaced by a new, trendier deity.

Nithinand Yorsaengrat
The Nation

DON'T SETTLE FOR JUST ANY AMULET : THE JATAKA PROMISES INSTANT RELIEF

2007-07-17T00:08:00.000-07:00

from The Nation
Story by Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn
The Deva amulet, better known as the "Jatukam", is becoming a hot item as it is believed to bring fortune to its owners in the blink of an eye.
While many retail shops selling Buddha amulets and coins are witnessing a drop in sales, those selling Jatukam amulets are experiencing long queues of enthusiastic customers.
One buyer claimed the amulet could immediately answer her wishes, prompting her to start collecting more of them.
Jatukam is named after a prince of the Srivijaya kingdom in southern Thailand who lived around 1,700 years ago. When his kingdom was threatened he managed to defeat his attackers. As a result, people worship Jatukam when they feel insecure or are worried about the economic situation.
Another buyer collects Jatukam amulets not only because of his belief in their magical powers but also for their stylish design.
"The amulet makes buyers feel they have something to hold onto in a volatile situation," said Nattanya Burapakorn, owner of one Jatukam amulet shop in Bangkok. She claimed to sell between 100 and 200 Jatukam amulets per day.
Tor Duangvichai, owner of an antique Buddha amulet shop, said that during this difficult economic and political time, people felt insecure. "So they look for these, which satisfy their wishes in a very short time and at a low investment cost," he said.
But what is the difference between a Jatukam and a Buddha amulet?
Nattanya says customers tell her the Buddha amulet does not answer their wishes immediately and they have to strictly continue to do good deeds, unlike the Jatukam, which customers claim enables them to fulfil their wishes within a short period.
There are over 400 different models of Jatukam amulets on the market. The first model, made in 1987, cost less than Bt100. It is now worth between Bt500,000 and Bt600,000.
Nattanya said the price of a Jatukam had increased due to rising demand. The price of some of the most sought-after models jumped five times within a short period after the launch last year.
Laem Pisalo, editor of the Buddha amulet section of the Thai-language newspaper Kom Chad Luek, said those who worshipped Jatukam amulets ranged from businessmen to merchants and grass-roots people.
The most expensive Jatukam amulets cost between Bt1.5 million and Bt2 million each.
He added that many investors and temples now created Jatukam amulets instead of general Buddha amulets to ensure a quick return on investment. Jatukam-makers spend over Bt100 million a year on advertising in several media channels.
Tor said around 55 temples had plans to make the amulets, while last year more than 90 temples turned out the prized talismans.
"It is a boom era for the Jatukam," said Tor.
Almost 60 per cent of the retail amulet shops at Pantip Plaza Ngamwongwan have now turned to focus on promoting the Jatukam rather than the Buddha amulets, he said.

Jatukham Ramathep fever shaking the pagoda

2007-07-16T07:50:00.001-07:00

Kick amulet trade out of temples

2007-07-15T22:48:00.000-07:00

Places of Buddhist worship should not be used for the crass sale of Jatukam Ramathep and other talismans
The Religious Affairs Department and the Office of the Sangha Supreme Council did what they could to control the damage done to the Jatukam Ramathep amulet trade following the death of a 51-year-old woman who was killed in a stampede set off by an unruly crowd waiting to purchase a "special edition" of the amulets in Nakhon Si Thammarat on Monday. The Religious Affairs Department announced that it planned to regulate the manufacturing, consecration and distribution of the much-sought-after charms as the cult of Jatukam continues to spread among a growing number of wayward Buddhists. Profiteering on the popular amulets has kicked in as monastic and lay administrators of Buddhist temples countrywide, motivated by naked greed, are selling the amulets as fast as they can churn them out.

A large section of Thai society is lapping them up and actively engaging in the frenzied speculation in the charms which has sent the prices of Jatukam skyrocketing. In the meantime, no one is getting any wiser or having any better an understanding of the essence of the Buddha's teachings, which emphasise the search for a sense of detachment from worldly temptations.

Preecha Kantiya, director-general of the Religious Affairs Department, said his department could not stop temples from manufacturing and distributing Jatukam Ramathep amulets to the public. He was being as honest as he was realistic about the entire situation. It is beyond his power to ask the abbots of Buddhist temples throughout the country to give up this lucrative fund-raising gimmick, which has become a big business generating billions of baht every year.

What is happening now is that the fad for amulets bearing the images of Buddha, which used to make tonnes of money for Buddhist temples in this country, has given way to the newer, previously unheard of Hindu deity.

The Sangha Supreme Council, the governing body of Thai Buddhist monks, has clearly stated that Buddha amulets and all other talismans can be produced and distributed as mementoes or tokens of appreciation for merit-making or for cash donations to temples. The Sangha made it clear, however, that Buddhist monks are not supposed to be involved in the business of selling amulets or charms or to boast about the supernatural powers of those items to promote sales.

The Council warned that any Buddhist monk found to have engaged in the commercialisation of amulets or to have made false claims about their supernatural powers, will be subjected to the severest disciplinary action. Despite this, very few Buddhist monks practising black magic or making profits from the sale of amulets have ever been punished.

Even now many Buddhist temples continue to discreetly promote the idea that owning Jatukam amulets brings many benefits. The belief that the amulets have magical powers that protect their owners and bring them good luck is so widely held by so many people that it is no longer necessary for temples to spell it out to them.

The first batch of Jatukam amulets was introduced with little fanfare in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat some 20 years ago. The original creator of the amulets was a highly respected and honest police officer in Nakhon Si Thammarat who was reputed to possess occult knowledge.

With the Religious Affairs Department and the Sangha Supreme Council taking a half-hearted approach, not discouraging the trade but choosing to maintain the status quo, the trade in Jatukam amulets will probably continue unabated. Of course people will choose to believe what they want to believe, but Buddhist temples that are supposed to be devoted to the study of the Buddha's teachings and spreading that wisdom to as many people as possible, should refrain from preying on the impressionable masses.

Anyone with the most rudimentary knowledge of the Buddha's teachings should realise that; we would have thought that learned abbots and Buddhist monks running temples or houses of dharma would know better than to turn them into little more than amulet trading houses.

The Nation

A presenthelp in adversity

2007-07-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

Don't settle for just any amulet: the Jataka promises instant relief
The Deva amulet, better known as the "Jatukam", is becoming a hot item as it is believed to bring fortune to its owners in the blink of an eye.

While many retail shops selling Buddha amulets and coins are witnessing a drop in sales, those selling Jatukam amulets are experiencing long queues of enthusiastic customers.

One buyer claimed the amulet could immediately answer her wishes, prompting her to start collecting more of them.

Jatukam is named after a prince of the Srivijaya kingdom in southern Thailand who lived around 1,700 years ago. When his kingdom was threatened he managed to defeat his attackers. As a result, people worship Jatukam when they feel insecure or are worried about the economic situation.

Another buyer collects Jatukam amulets not only because of his belief in their magical powers but also for their stylish design.

"The amulet makes buyers feel they have something to hold onto in a volatile situation," said Nattanya Burapakorn, owner of one Jatukam amulet shop in Bangkok. She claimed to sell between 100 and 200 Jatukam amulets per day.

Tor Duangvichai, owner of an antique Buddha amulet shop, said that during this difficult economic and political time, people felt insecure. "So they look for these, which satisfy their wishes in a very short time and at a low investment cost," he said.

But what is the difference between a Jatukam and a Buddha amulet?

Nattanya says customers tell her the Buddha amulet does not answer their wishes immediately and they have to strictly continue to do good deeds, unlike the Jatukam, which customers claim enables them to fulfil their wishes within a short period.

There are over 400 different models of Jatukam amulets on the market. The first model, made in 1987, cost less than Bt100. It is now worth between Bt500,000 and Bt600,000.

Nattanya said the price of a Jatukam had increased due to rising demand. The price of some of the most sought-after models jumped five times within a short period after the launch last year.

Laem Pisalo, editor of the Buddha amulet section of the Thai-language newspaper Kom Chad Luek, said those who worshipped Jatukam amulets ranged from businessmen to merchants and grass-roots people.

The most expensive Jatukam amulets cost between Bt1.5 million and Bt2 million each.

He added that many investors and temples now created Jatukam amulets instead of general Buddha amulets to ensure a quick return on investment. Jatukam-makers spend over Bt100 million a year on advertising in several media channels.

Tor said around 55 temples had plans to make the amulets, while last year more than 90 temples turned out the prized talismans.

"It is a boom era for the Jatukam," said Tor.

Almost 60 per cent of the retail amulet shops at Pantip Plaza Ngamwongwan have now turned to focus on promoting the Jatukam rather than the Buddha amulets, he said.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation

Jatukam Craze Damaging Ancient Pagoda In Nakhon Si Thammarat

2007-07-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

Nakhon Si Thammarat people call for pagoda to be preservedMore than 300 people marched on Wednesday to Nakhon Si Thammarat City Hall to demand that the provincial authority preserve the ancient pagoda of the Mahathat Woramahawiharn Temple.The pagoda is considered one of the best places to consecrate Jatukam Ramathep amulets, as it is said to house Buddha relics.Locals have complained that the pagoda has started to lean as a result of vehicles arriving at the temple each day with the amulets."We have to protect the heritage our ancestors built for us," protest leader Paitoon Intasila said yesterday.Wichit Chartpaisit, the deputy governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat, met the protesters and explained that the provincial government was tackling the problem. Meanwhile, Fine Arts Department directorgeneral Arak Sunghitakul yesterday called on the abbot of Mahathat Woramahawiharn Temple to stop allowing trucks near the pagoda."Vibration could cause more damage to the pagoda," he said.However, he said that the pagoda had been leaning since the last time his department inspected the site."But we are going to check whether it has leaned further. If so, we have to reinforce the base of the pagoda because its foundation was built on soft soil," Arak said.Fine Arts Department deputy directorgeneral Khemachat Thepachai said engineers from the Asian Institute of Technology would urgently inspect the pagoda."Then, we will be able to compare the latest inspection findings to the information we gathered in our last inspection," Khemachat said.Former Nakhon Si Thammarat MP Apichart Sakdiseth urged everyone to help preserve the sacred pagoda. "The provincial government, in particular, should take an active role," he said.
article source The Nation

The hottest THAI AMULET - Jatukam

2007-07-12T19:35:00.001-07:00

Now if we talk about JATUKAM RAMATHEP in THAILAND, nobody are not known this name. Now Jatukam has more than 400 models cause Jatukam is a hottest talisman now.Jatukam is the most popular deity in Thailand today. His full name is Jatukam Ramathep and his image can be seen almost everywhere -on amulets, coins and statuettes and on incantation cloths are currently available at prices ranging from Bt40 (for fakes) to Bt2 million. The first amulet, made in 1987, cost less than Bt100. It is now worth between Bt500,000 and Bt600,000. The most expensive amulets cost between Bt1.5 million and Bt2 million apiece. Jatukam was established and made by laymen and Buddhist monks, based in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Songkhla and Ayutthaya. The Jatukam is depicted as a seated deity, with his right leg slightly lifted and sometimes with a seven-head serpent behind him. The black Pangpagan is shown seated cross-legged with his hands raised to cover his eyes and with serpents to his left and right. Rahu appears in a form of demon head. Other symbols in Jatukam talismans include the Sun and the Moon, the 12 animal signs representing the 12-year cycle and symbols of old Nakhon Sri Thammara's 12 subordinate cities in the south of Thailand

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The hottest THAI AMULET - Jatukam

2007-07-12T19:24:00.000-07:00

Now if we talk about JATUKAM RAMATHEP in THAILAND, nobody are not known this name. Now Jatukam has more than 400 models cause Jatukam is a hottest talisman now.Jatukam is the most popular deity in Thailand today. His full name is Jatukam Ramathep and his image can be seen almost everywhere -on amulets, coins and statuettes and on incantation cloths. More than 400 different models of Jatukam amulets, coins, statuettes and incantation cloths are currently available at prices ranging from Bt40 (for fakes) to Bt2 million. The first amulet, made in 1987, cost less than Bt100. It is now worth between Bt500,000 and Bt600,000. The most expensive amulets cost between Bt1.5 million and Bt2 million apiece. Jatukam was established and made by laymen and Buddhist monks, based in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Songkhla and Ayutthaya. The Jatukam is depicted as a seated deity, with his right leg slightly lifted and sometimes with a seven-head serpent behind him. The black Pangpagan is shown seated cross-legged with his hands raised to cover his eyes and with serpents to his left and right. Rahu appears in a form of demon head. Other symbols in Jatukam talismans include the Sun and the Moon, the 12 animal signs representing the 12-year cycle and symbols of old Nakhon Sri Thammara's 12 subordinate cities in the south of Thailand.

The Legend of Jatukam Ramathep

2007-07-11T02:25:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, many centuries ago (about 1700 years ago), it was a time of war and trouble. There lived a king and his princes in Central Siam. The elder prince named Jatukam and the other named Ramathep. After many years of war, the King finally conquered and managed to secure Sri Lanka into part of his Kingdom. There was a saying that the King possessed a sacred treasure, this was none other than the holy relics of Lord Buddha. Before the King began his journey to the newly conquered land, he tasked the protection of the relics to his two princes, & ordered them to guard it with their lives.Some time later, the princes received information of plan by their enemies to capture the relics. They immediately informed the King in Sri Lanka. The King instruction was to quickly take the relics away by sea and head to Sri Lanka. Halfway through the journey, a thunderstorm struck and their ships were sunken. Except the two princes, the rest of the crew did not survive.The two princes were washed ashore, but well. Without the sea transport, they could no longer bring the relics to Sri Lanka. They started praying sincerely to the relics, saying: “Dear Enlightened One! If this land we step upon is a holy piece of land, then please guide us let us live a new life here. With our people, we shall guard and protected your relics forever.”Later the two princes built a temple on this holy land and with much hard work, they also establish a wealthy and strong city. They brought new hope and peace to all the people. In remembrance of the great deeds by the two princes, they named this place Nakhon Si Thammarat in their honour. This is now located at Southern of Thailand at the present time. The temple that the two princes built for the relics is called Wat Mahathat - as it is known now.Ever since then, after a few centuries, many people had travelled to Wat Mahathat to locate the relics that were buried by the princes. Finally, they found a stone carving and the relics buried at the Wat. The stories of the two princes were found engraved on this stone.The two princes had done many great deeds and the greatest is by erecting the temple to house the relics. And they promised to guard the Relics with their lives. They had earned respect from both the heavenly and earthly beings. Later, the people combined the two princes into one and named him Tao Jatukam Ramathep when praying to him. Tao Jatukam Ramathep becomes one of the most respected and popular deities in the South of Thailand. In olden days, Tao was used to address noble ones. It is believed that those that pray to Tao Jatukam Ramathep will be blessed with fulfilling life and better in all aspects in everyday work. (End)

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'Jatukham' cookies mock amulet craze

2007-07-09T01:50:00.000-07:00

By PONGKAN CHONGCHAIHAN & CHINNAWAT SINGHA

Phra Payom Kalayano, the well-known abbot of Wat Suan Kaew, is selling edible ''Jatukham'' (four-bite) cookies to ridicule the public craze for Jatukarm Ramathep talismans. The senior monk yesterday introduced his new Jatukham cookies of the ''Chukkhid 4 Kham Ruay Khot'' (Bear in mind four bites and you will become super rich) model :p at his temple in Nonthaburi's Bang Yai district. Packed in aluminium boxes, the cookies are sold in sets of four for 60 baht. Each cookie measures 6cm in diameter. The top is stamped with the word ''Jatukham'' and coated with a thin gold leaf. The other side carries the words Ou Ar Ka Sa and the signature of Phra Phayom.

Phra Payom Kalayano mockingly shows his edible "Jatukham" (four-bite) cookies.

The monk said Ou Ar Ka Sa is a magic spell - the core principles given by the Lord Buddha to bring forth wealth. Ou means diligence in earning a living and performing duties. Ar means saving money or assets that are acquired lawfully. Ka means associating with good and moral people. Sa means leading life simply and modestly. The abbot said the craze for the Jatukarm Ramathep amulets drove him to produce the cookies. He did not want to see Thai Buddhists blindly follow superstition and crave the amulets while ignoring the Lord Buddha's teachings.The monk said there had been hundreds of models of Jatukarm Ramathep talismans produced over the past few months, but the Ruay Maimee Hedpol (rich without reasons) model made him want to do something to remind Thais of Buddhist teachings. He conceded his efforts to bring the Lord Buddha's teachings closer to people are often not successful because many Thais are superstitious.Meanwhile, a senior monk in Phitsanulok province is being investigated over alleged irregularities in the production of Jatukarm Ramathep amulets.Phra Mahaniphon Chonthawathee, abbot of Wat Thepkunchorn in Muang district, is under investigation after refusing to let a temple committee examine the financial books. He has been barred from conducting religious activities outside the temple pending the probe.

articles source http://www.bangkokpost.net

JATUKHAM FEVER Amulet frenzy brings mini boom

2007-07-09T01:46:00.000-07:00

Nakhon Si Thammarat rides economic crest as many rush to buy lucky charm The fatal crushing of a woman in a stampede has had no affect on the insatiable appetite for Jatukham Rammathep amulets, with the temple making and selling them fully booked until the end of the year for incantations.
We can't stop the production and incantations of the Jatukham Rammathep and must admit that the phenomenon has turned the province into an economic boom town," said Sonthaya Senniam, director of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Buddhism Office.Huge numbers of tourists are flocking to the province to worship Jatukham Rammathep statues located in Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawiharn or Wat Phra Nakhon, while amulet creators from across the country have come to use the temple as a place to recite incantations over the amulets.
Local hotels are fully booked each weekend.The first batch of Jatukham Rammathep amulets was introduced with little fanfare in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat 20 years ago.There are now more than 400 different models in the market.The first model, made in 1987, cost less than Bt100. It is now worth between Bt500,000 and Bt600,000.The talisman started becoming a popular item in the middle of last year and is now almost an obsession.More than 200 editions of Jatukham Rammathep amulets are now being made throughout the Kingdom.Creations of "genuine" talismans require permission from Wat Phra Nakhon, and the incantations must be performed at the temple or at Nakhon Si Thammarat's city-pillar shrine.
"The temple has been fully reserved until December by more than 250 creators," said Sonthaya. "Instead of stopping the production of the amulets, we'd rather find stricter safety measures in the public distribution process," he said.The local committee overseeing the Jatukham Rammathep trend includes local administrators, police, temples and the amulet creators. They are now working on finding ways to prevent the chaos that occurred on April 9, when a 51-year-old local woman was crushed to death and dozens of people were injured as thousands forced their way into a technical school in the province to buy reserving coupons for the amulets made at Wat Phra Nakhon.Yesterday, the temple distributed the coupons for the Jatukham Rammathep special edition called Ngern Lai Ma II at three spots in the city: Nakhon Si Thammarat Technical College, Rama IX Park and Thanakhonyanwaropasuthit School.The special edition consists of 30,000 sets, each including 13 talismans and costing Bt500. It could hardly cover the demand from hundreds of thousands of people.The temple made the original Jatukham Rammathep amulets, among them the very popular Ngern Lai Ma edition distributed early this year.
A Jatukham Rammathep "guru" said the amulets were pumping Bt100 million into Nakhon Si Thammarat each week. All flights to the province have been booked out, and passengers must fly to Krabi instead, then take a bus to Nakhon Si Thammarat.Maj-General Sudjai Yanarat, the provincial police commander, said the phenomenon had changed police priorities, because they now had to deal with the massive influx of tourists and Jatukham Rammathep followers from across the country.Traffic police have been under a lot of pressure, due to huge traffic jams.Wat Phra Nakhon abbot Phra Maha Maitri said the Religious Affairs Department had ordered the postponement of the amulets' production, but it was impossible to stop, because of the huge amount of money to be made in the province.The talismans, he added, were sold by the temple at moderate rates, but the price shot up tenfold when resold.However, the distribution of the special edition has been halted until the temple can come up with a safer way to distribute them, Phra Maha Maitri said.
Nonetheless, hundreds of people are still waiting in front of the temple gates, hoping the distribution will start again.The Jatukham Rammathep amulets have gained a huge and almost frenzied following based on claims of their magical powers and the good fortune they can bring to their owners.Although it has no relation to Buddhism, many Thai Buddhists believe in the amulets' power and are prepared to pay large sums for one."The faith [in the amulets] is creating huge benefits for the businessmen now dominating 80 per cent of production. There are several 'organisers' set up to produce the amulets for investors," said a Jatukham Rammathep co-ordinator at a local temple.Another Jatukham Rammathep "guru", Pong Phrakrueng, said the amulets sold in the market cost Bt100 to Bt5 million - and up.He predicted the phenomenon would continue for another couple of years. When more editions are produced, the trend will "moderate", with only the original editions still in demand
Chatrarat Kaewmorakot
Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong
The Nation
article source http://www.nationmultimedia.com

Going, Going, Gong—Thai Amulet Fever

2007-07-08T23:58:00.001-07:00

Thais are fond of amulets, of course, but the latest to hang from Thai necks exceed most others in value and size. The new amulet, Jatukam Ramathep, is the object of a nationwide craze, with each new issue fetching ever higher prices.
The intrinsic value of the Olympic medal-sized amulets isn’t great, and as a work of art they’re mundane, depicting a man in traditional regalia sitting in a meditative pose, left hand on his knee, and right hand held shoulder-high, palm outward. Yet when a fresh set of amulets went on sale in April, buyers stampeded, trampling one woman to death. Thieves raid homes, shops and temples in search of them.
So what’s the reason for the hysteria? The usual explanation is advanced—the amulets are supposed to possess magical powers. They first appeared in the southern Thai town of Nakhon Si Thammarat, where the provincial police chief, Maj Gen Phantarak Rajadej, was said to be able to exercise these powers. He died last September at the age of 103, and a holy site he had been involved in constructing, the City Pillar, became the center of the Jatukam trade.

Some people swear their medallion has saved them from death or serious injury. Others are thought to buy the medallion as a good luck talisman in the present times of political and economic uncertainty. Skeptics say the fever is symptomatic of the “confused state of Thai Buddhism,” according to the English language newspaper, The Nation. Some accuse monks of making large sums of money from the sale of the amulets, which fetch up to 100,000 baht (US $2,800).
“There’s a tremendous amount of money floating around in the amulet market,” according to Sanit Rangnoi, director general of the Thai Revenue Department. It’s estimated that the total value of known sales so far is at least 20 billion baht ($560 million).

article source http://www.irrawaddy.org

The Jatukam Ramathep amulet phenomenon is symptomatic of the confused state of Thai Buddhism

2007-07-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

The runaway popularity of Jatukam Ramathep amulets cannot be attributed only to intense publicity in the mass media in recent years. The widespread worship of the talismans by people who call themselves Buddhists is symptomatic of a confused state of affairs regarding Buddhism as we know it in this country. The first batch of Jatukam amulets was introduced with little fanfare in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat 20 years ago. Now, the amulets bearing the image of this once-obscure deity have become very popular and their prices are skyrocketing. Jatukam amulets may already have surpassed other amulets bearing the images of the Buddha and venerable monks in popularity among the collecting community.
Jatukam amulets are gaining a huge following based on claims of magical powers and the good fortune they can bring to their owners. Indeed, the creator of the original Jatukam amulets was a highly respected and honest police officer in Nakhon Si Thammarat who was reputed to possess knowledge of the occult. After some editions of the Jatukam amulets gained currency, people in the amulet trade, who traditionally manufactured amulets bearing the Buddha's image, jumped in to capitalise on the newly lucrative business. Since then, Jatukam amulets - and tales of their magical powers - have been promoted in a big way by shrewd manufacturers. Hundreds of Buddhist temples throughout the country are now ordering Jatukam amulets to sell as part of their fund-raising campaigns.
It is worth noting that the Jatukam phenomenon is no different from the long-established commercialisation of Buddhism through the sale of Buddha amulets. Usually the issue of "special editions" of Buddha amulets is initiated by lay administrators from temples with the blessing of abbots or senior monks. The amulets, which usually undergo some sort of consecration ceremony, are then sold to collectors and profits are shared between the lay administrators of temples and the monks. The rationale cited by the Buddhist monastic authority for tolerating, if not condoning, such commercial practice is that Buddhists from different backgrounds worship in different ways. Some take an intellectual approach to Buddhism by studying the Buddha's teachings and applying that knowledge in their personal life, while others still cannot get over their attachment to animistic practices, including amulet worshipping and black magic.
Just like traders in more common Buddha amulets, traders of Jatukam amulets know how to manipulate their customers. People began to speculate on Jatukam amulets, sending the prices of some editions soaring, and some amulets that originally sold for a few thousand baht have appreciated in price 100-fold. But it remains to be seen if the Jatukam phenomenon is going to last.
The Nakhon Si Thammarat provincial authorities have called a meeting of amulet manufacturers, Buddhist temples and people in the trade to try to clean up the image of the Jatukam amulets. Lately there have been many complaints about "fake" or "substandard" amulets found to have been circulated in the market. The authorities insist that distribution of the amulets should be treated as just another medium through which to get to know dhamma and the Buddha's teachings. In other words, everyone to his own taste.
But there is a fine line between amulet-making in order to help people find the true meaning of Buddhism, and the systematic commercial exploitation of Buddhism. Temples often claim that they give out amulets as tokens of appreciation to people who make merit by donating money. Merit-making through donations to temples is widely practised by Thai Buddhists, but not many people attach as much importance to the study of the Buddha's teachings.
The Religious Affairs Department and the National Buddhism Office have no intention of intervening, saying amulet collecting is something that many people rely on for peace of mind, and Buddhists who collect amulets should be allowed to pursue their beliefs and preferences, within reason. This advice makes sense. Many Thais feel insecure, given the ongoing political turmoil, economic uncertainty and social instability. The more insecure people become, the more they seek out objects reputed to have supernatural powers that will bring them good fortune. If nothing else, the phenomenon offers food for thought on the relevance of Buddhism in this society, or the lack thereof.
by The Nation www.nationgroup.com

RuayMaiLuek

2007-07-02T23:44:00.000-07:00

RuayMaiLuek Naka Thong (Gold plated Mask)

http://www.phra-dee.com

Jatukam!

2007-07-02T05:46:00.000-07:00

Nakhon Si Thammarat lies at roughly the same latitude as Phuket, except that it is on the Gulf of Thailand side of the Malay Peninsula, instead of the Andaman Sea. It is an ancient city, tracing its present incarnation back to the 13th Century. One can easily discern the outlines of the old city in the current layout of streets and in the remnants of the city wall.Lately, this city has become a tourist destination, possibly the biggest tourist destination in Thailand. Four flights a day from Bangkok disgorge visitors. They stream off buses and trains. The city estimates that 1.6 million people visited in 2006, straining the city’s modest accommodations.None of the visitors are foreign tourists, of course, no sun-seeking Europeans, no back- packers no beachcombers. During the weekend I spent there, I encountered only one other farang, a Dane who was attending his brother-in-law’s wedding, and he seemed happy enough to get back to Chiang Mai.The visitors, more accurately pilgrims, are all Thai. They don’t come because of the city’s rich history, the Makhalon archeological site to the north or the Phrom Lok Waterfall or any of the other attractions touted by the Tourism Association of Thailand, Southern Region. No, they come for just one reason:

Jatukam!
All of Thailand is in the grip of Jatukam fever, but nowhere else is it so all-consuming as in this southern Thai city, where it all began. Here it seems like every other citizen is wearing one of the amulets.They are easy to spot, since they look like Olympic bronze medals suspended by a chain around the neck. Sometimes more than one. (Thai joke: A man goes to the doctor complaining of neck and shoulder pain. The doctor points to the five Jatukam medallions strung around his neck and suggests he lighten the load.)It is impossible to ignore the phenomenon here. Bill boards plastered on the side of buildings display the latest models. Sound trucks that in any other Thai city might be advertising boxing matches or the candidates in local elections, blast information on new medals.Along Ratchadamoen Road, the town’s main street, whole shops are given over to display cases stocked with the medallions in their little plastic cases, generally priced from 2,000 to 5,000 baht. Even stores that sell ordinary household items still have a few cases displaying the latest amulets.The Jatukam craze has become a huge bonanza for Nakhon Si Thammarat and the Buddhist temples that give the medals their blessing. Of the city’s 560 temples, 200 produce the amulets, and more are planning to do so. The sales and visitors have brought in more than 10 billion baht.Jatukam fever is bringing in so much money that the Thai Revenue Department is considering whether to tax them, helping to offset loss of tax revenue from the general downturn in the economy. “There’s a tremendous amount of money floating around in the amulet market,” said department director general Sanit Rangnoi.
What is Jatukam?It is actually two people, Jatukam Rammathep, and their origin is obscure and difficult to understand for someone not steeped in Hindu-Buddhist mythology. By some accounts, they were princes in the Srivijay Kingdom of which Nahkon Si Thammarat was the center.Another theory is that the names are a corruption of Khuttugama and Ramadeva two Hindu guardians, that can be seen alongside the stairway leading into the inner sanctum of the Great Stupa of the Wat Pra Mahathat, which is said to be the most important and historic Buddhist temple in southern Thailand.The first Jatukam amulets were stuck and sold in 1987 (they now fetch prices in excess of a million baht). But only a few of the amulets were sold for many years. The craze only took off last year.Most Jatukam enthusiasts associate the amulets with a much more contemporary figure, Police Major General Phantarak Rajadej, the provincial police chief who died only last September at age 103. He was said to have magical powers and instrumental in building the holy site called the City Pillar, now a center of the trade.
His cremation ceremony here in February drew tens of thousands of people, some hoping to obtain one of the talismans distributed to mourners. His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn presided.On a rainy Saturday in late April I found my way to the City Pillar to observe the consecration of a new Jatukam amulet. The pillar is a golden stele, with a four faces of Buddha at the top enclosed in an alabaster white structure.In the late morning the courtyard was already crowed with people. A huge offering table displayed a feast of symbolic offerings: heaps of grapes, bananas, crabs, durians, even two hogs heads. A loudspeaker blared out constant announcements or prayers. Every now and then one heard the crackling of fire works.At 1:30 p.m. ten saffron-clad monks took their seats on a long bench on one side of the pillar and began a steady, droning prayer chant that lasted for 40 minutes as people paid their respects by listening respectfully, their hands folded in prayer.On the far side of the pillar complex several men were kneading clay that would be pressed into amulets. The chanting came to a close, and a senior monk took his place on front of a press, having the privilege of striking off the first amulet.
Then he stood up cupping the newly minted medallion in the palm of his hand for all to see. People crowded around to look and take pictures as if it were some kind of an exotic and fabulously expensive rare jewel. Another little Buddha was born.There plenty of theories to explain the enormous popularity of the Jatukam amulets in Thailand at this time in its history. And there are plenty of people happy to testify about motorbike accidents survived, of diseases cured by the miraculous power of the amulet.Some argue that the phenomenon is symptomatic of the “confused state of Thai Buddhism” – to quote The Nation newspaper - where temples and monks are willing to debase their calling for the enormous profits that can had from amulet sales, sales that dwarf the traditional temple trinkets by a huge margin.Some argue that Thais are feeling insecure given the country’s political turmoil and the aging of their beloved King and thus put their faith in objects they think can bring them good fortune.One should not discount their sheer collectability. New amulets are issued almost every day. Glossy, four-color catalogues display the latest models complete with the numbers of each edition and their prices.And there is also the simple excitement of one young woman at the City Pillar as she struggled to convey in her limited English to this unenlightened farang why she was so happy to be present at the consecration of a new Jatukam amulet. “It gives you everything.”

article source http://www.inblogs.net
by Todd Crowell

Thailand: Amulets Money

2007-06-30T23:54:00.000-07:00

Richard S. Ehrlich
BANGKOK, Thailand. Buddhists have become obsessed with a magic amulet which resembles a rap star's bling-sized medallion, despite warnings that the circular icon is a cosmic crutch, corrupting religion and society. When a fresh batch of Jatukam Ramathep amulets went on sale in April, buyers stampeded, trampling a woman to death. Thieves have infiltrated shops, homes and temples to steal the lucrative charm.
Jatukam amulet sales may have reached 500 million U.S. dollars during the past two years, according to economists, though estimates vary because many transactions are in cash, without receipts. "Jatukam is the most popular deity in Thailand today," reported The Nation newspaper, but experts disagree over who the amulet represents. Some insist Jatukam Ramathep are the names of two princely brothers who lived in this region hundreds of years ago.Others believe Jatukam Ramathep is one person, perhaps King Chandrabhanu, who ruled much of Southeast Asia during the ancient Srivijaya kingdom. Others insist the person on the amulet is a potential Buddha, or perhaps a Hindu deity.In the center of the cookie-sized amulet, a man in traditional regalia sits in a meditative pose, left hand on his knee, and right hand held shoulder-high, palm outward. Variations can include one or two dragons behind him, or a multi-headed serpent, or a surrounding ring of Hindu deities. Medallions come in red, white, black, silver or gold. The reverse side may show a man standing, or instead display a sun or moon emitting rays, or 12 cosmological signs.Frenzy over the amulets, and concern over the purity of Thailand's Buddhism, coincide with an ongoing public debate about how Buddhists should behave, and how much financial and political power the elderly, conservative, male, saffron-robed clergy should wield. "Many high-ranking [Buddhist] monks in Bangkok are astrologers, masters of the occult arts, or entrepreneurs in the amulet industry, making Thailand one of the world's largest amulet producers," wrote Mettanando Bhikku, a Thai Buddhist monk who criticizes contradictions within the religion.
The amulet market is controlled by the Buddhists' Ecclesiastical Council in Thailand, and allows temples to gain millions of dollars, tax-free, he said."Essentially, this is a worship of spirits," lamented The Bangkok Post's assistant editor Sanitsuda Ekachai. "The Jatukam Ramathep phenomenon does not only reflect public insecurity from political uncertainties and terrorism threats, it also shows that we are basically animists."If we really need a national religion, animism should be the one. At least it can help us stop fooling ourselves that we are still Buddhists, and see who we really are," she wrote. Thailand's Supreme Patriarch, who heads this country's Buddhist clergy, announced on Sunday (April 22) he will stop providing materials from his temple to make Jatukam amulets, but declined to specify why. His temple earlier provided sacred ash from burnt incense, colored powder from bricks used in temple construction, and other Buddhist-related material to make thousands of Jatukam amulets. The Supreme Patriarch's announcement came after thieves reportedly broke into a nearby Buddhist temple on Sunday (April 22) and stole 30 Jatukam amulets, valued at about 430 U.S. dollars.Earlier, robbers in the southern region broke through an amulet stall's ceiling and escaped with Jatukam amulets priced at 5,700 U.S. dollars. Most Jatukam amulets have been made with the blessing of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawiharn, the Supreme Patriarch's temple in southern Thailand's Nakhon Si Thammarat city. When the amulets' price recently soared, dealers throughout Thailand rushed to set up stalls next to the temple, hoping to get the newest versions.Crowds crushed a woman to death, and injured about 100 others, on April 9 when thousands of people ran toward a school in Nakhon Si Thammarat to buy the amulets. In the same town, during March, an amulet-collecting woman used her husband's 9-mm pistol to kill a man allegedly breaking into her home along with three other criminals, who fled into the night
Another amulet collector shot dead a suspected thief in the same southern town on March 26, police said. More than 90 percent of this nation's 65 million population believe in Buddhism, a religion which emphasizes freedom from superstition, gods, and other illusions. Many Thai Buddhists, however, collect and wear various amulets which also depict famous monks, kings and other people, living or dead."I am a Buddhist and I like the Jatukam amulets because I want more luck," said businessman Somsak Sacjew in an interview on Wednesday (April 25). Mr. Somsak, 35, was buying six of the amulets, for about 5.70 U.S. dollars each, in a Bangkok shopping mall. "I am going to give them to my son and daughter, 20 years from now. I think I have more than 50 Jatukam amulets now. I don't resell them," Mr. Somsak said."Most people request the Jatukam amulets because it is good for business, good for your family, and good for your life," said Hua Pongsak, an amulet shopkeeper offering a selection priced at 20 U.S. dollars to 72 U.S. dollars each. Kanita Shi, 35, said she recently bought a Jatukam amulet for 20 U.S. dollars from Mr. Hua's shop, because she wants good luck -- even though she believes Buddha protects her and already gives her lots of luck."It is like if you already have two million dollars. It is enough, but won't you then want four million dollars?" Ms. Kanita said in an interview at the shop. "I observed my life before I bought this amulet, and compared what happened after I bought it, and I saw my business became better and my family life became better," she said. Sculptors, who create a unique mold to cast the amulet in a clay-like material, can make hundreds of U.S. dollars by designing new versions.Printers are churning out color brochures, vinyl-covered posters, and other displays to advertise the amulets. Web sites, including Uamulet.com, offer the amulets online. Clothing vendors print Jatukam's portrait on T-shirts, while metalworkers produce the amulet as a thin bronze coin. Other profiteers include producers of raw materials to make the amulets, organizers of blessing rituals, and distributors.

Jatukam also appears on "incantation cloth" -- which is usually a rectangle of inexpensive cotton, illustrated with a wood-block printed image. Temples, raking in cash by manufacturing the amulets, pump the money into the local economy by hiring construction crews to build Buddhist shrines, stupas and schools. The first Jatukam amulet was reportedly made in Nakhon Si Thammarat in 1987, to raise funds for the city's shrine. Originally selling for about one or two U.S. dollars, those early medallions now list for 2,000 to 28,000 U.S. dollars.More than 100 versions of the Jatukam amulet now appear in shops throughout Thailand, and competition among sellers is fierce. Some versions include tempting names, such as the expensive "Arch-Millionaire" and "Money Pouring In" series.
Richard S Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based journalist who has reported news from Asia since 1978 and is co-author of "Hello My Big Big Honey!", a non-fiction book of investigative journalism. He received Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism's Foreign Correspondents Award.

http://globalpolitician.com

Jatukam Wat PaiLom 2007 Special Limited Edition Only 999 made

2007-06-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

Jatukam Wat PaiLom 2007 Special Limited Edition Only 999 made - จตุคามวัดไผ่ล้อม 2550 รุ่นหนึ่งในแผ่นดิน (พิเศษ)

link: http://www.watpailom.org/special.html

Jatukam Wat Pailom

2007-06-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

Jatukam Wat Pailom (gold leaf gliding)

จตุคาม วัดไผ่ล้อม รุ่นหนึ่งในแผ่นดิน ปัดทอง

Jatukam Wat Pailom (silver gliding)

จตุคาม วัดไผ่ล้อม รุ่นหนึ่งในแผ่นดิน ปัดเงิน

http://www.watpailom.org/

jatukarm ramathep Maharat Maharap wat tao poon nakornsritamrat

2007-06-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

jatukarm ramathep Maharat Maharap wat tao poon nakornsritamrat

jatukarm ramathep Model kotsetti nakornsritamrat

2007-06-15T20:56:00.001-07:00

jatukarm ramathep

Model kotsetti nakornsritamrat

Jatukam Ramatep Wat Puttaisawaan

2007-06-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

Jatukam Ramatep Wat Puttaisawaan

http://classified.sanook.com/collectible/item.php?id=2340007

Jatukam Chedi Rai 45 (2002) white

2007-06-09T20:51:00.001-07:00

Jatukam Chedi Rai 45 (2002) white

Photo by: http://www.ramthep.com

The facts behind the Jatukam Ramthep talisman nonsense

2007-06-07T02:50:00.000-07:00

In the past month or so, several articles have appeared in the Thai and English media concerning the phenomenal popularity of a magical talisman, promising instant wealth to those who wear one.
The talisman features a divine being called Jatukam Ramathep, unknown in Buddhist or Hindu sacred literature. He seems to be the invention of a confused imagination, and most intelligent commentators condemn this new cult as indicating a corruption of both Buddhist morality and Thai animistic spirituality.
In order to understand the problem, we need to get the god's name right:
Jatukam Ramathep is the Thai pronunciation of the Pali Catugamaramadeva, meaning God Rama of the Four Villages. This is near nonsense as no ancient literature, Buddhist or Hindu, connects Rama to "Four Villages". Thus the name seems to have been created out of thin air.
However, the talisman is connected in the popular imagination to the Great Stupa of Nakhon Si Thammarat. According to respectable tradition preserved in an ancient document (see Wyatt, DK, "The Crystal Sands: The Chronicles of Nagara Sri Dharmmaraja", Cornell) the relics enshrined in the Great Stupa there came from Sri Lanka and the stupa was established with the assistance of traders from Sri Lanka, where Buddhism has always been protected by Hindu gods.
(The evidence is in the Mahavamsa and in folk religion to this day.)
Here is the evidence as far as I have been able to trace it from credible physical and documentary sources:
At the Great Stupa at Nakhon Si Thammarat, the stairs leading up to the circumambulatory terminate in a narrow stage with four images of gods. To the extreme left and right are two gods in brick and plaster with no attributes. However inscribed stone plaques (in apparently old lettering) announce that they are Lord Khattugama and Lord Ramadeva.
The door in the centre consists of two wooden leaves each carved with a deity in high relief. One is obviously Vishnu with his disc and conch, but he also holds a bow, indicating that he is the Rama incarnation.The other deity has four visible faces and so has been identified as Brahma, but he holds weapons (unlike Brahma who holds sacrificial implements).If one counts the invisible faces (at the back of the relief) one gets six. The six faces and the weapons indicate the god Skanda (known in Sri Lanka as Kataragama) who has six faces and holds all weapons as Commander of the Heavenly Forces.
A 16th century Pali chronicle (see Penth, H Jinakalamali Index, Pali Text Soc, 1994) tells the following tale: the King of Sukhothai had heard of the fame of a Buddha image in Sri Lanka and he desired to acquire it. He sent an emissary to the king of Nakhon Si Thammarat, who reported that Sri Lanka was invincible as it was protected by four gods, namely Khattugama, Rama, Lakkhana and Sumana.In Sri Lanka, today, popular tradition claims that the island is protected by four great deities, among whom are Kataragama (Khattugama in Pali) and Rama under the tittle Upulvan (the Blue God or Vishnu) but as he holds a bow we must suppose he is the Rama incarnation.
All this information may seem confusing to those unfamiliar with Hindu-Buddhist mythology and iconography, but from this respectable evidence we may construct a credible history.
In the late 12th century Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhism became established in mainland Southeast Asia together with its relics, footprints, Bodhi trees, texts and protective deities.
These were most faithfully recorded and remembered at Nakhon Si Thammarat. However in modern times, tradition has been forgotten. People lack knowledge of the texts to which I have referred. As a result they have confused the two guardian deities, Khattugama and Ramadeva, and conflated and corrupted their names, producing Jatukam Ramathep, a single deity without a historical background.
But who can blame the Thais?
I am reminded of a tale told (I think) by Evelyn Waugh. In Italy he once visited an obscure church that housed a splendid old woodcarving of St George on horseback killing the dragon. It was festooned with scraps of paper bearing prayers for wealth, health and success.
Waugh remonstrated with the parish priest about this gross idolatry.
The priest ruefully agreed and added that when the cultural authorities removed St George for restoration, leaving the horse, his parishioners wanted to attach their petitions to its tail and mane. "My flock don't worship St George," said the priest, "they worship the horse!"In like manner, it seems, many Thai Buddhists have forgotten the Buddha, his liberating teachings and the relics of his person, and instead devote themselves to a protective deity, and a spurious one at that.
Several distinguished Thai scholars have proposed that the Jatukam Ramathep phenomenon indicates a failure of Buddhism. I would prefer to avoid this conclusion as religions do not fail unless they become fossilised and obsolete (like classical paganism).
Rather, societies fail to remember and live up to the admirable principles of their religions.Indeed societies tend to pervert and demean their inherited wisdom.
In the case of the Jatukam Ramathep talisman here in Thailand, we have a society that counts greed and gain as the highest good, and an educational system that fails to provide access to Asian cultures. Nor does it make available to the public our most important historical texts.
If many Thais had read the relevant parts of the chronicles that I have quoted, then a nonsense deity like Jatukam Ramathep would never have been conceived.
Michael WrightSpecial to The Nation

A JEEP HIT BY A TRAIN, COUPLE SURVIVED, BELIEVED IN MIRACLE OF “JATUKAM RAMTHEP”

2007-06-07T02:41:00.000-07:00

A JEEP HIT BY A TRAIN SURVIVED, BELIEVED IN MIRACLE OF “JATUKAM RAMTHEP”

A husband drove a jeep on their way back home, however they had gone in the middle of the train traffic light and was severely hit by the incoming train. The jeep was overturned but the couple was safe marking a little injury. The husband believed in the miracle of “Jatukam Ramthep” which he hangs to his neck and stated that it made them safe. On the 13th of May 2007, at 08.00 pm, Pol.Lt.Col. Jeewatphong Ruengdee, South Pattaya Investigator, Chonburi, reported an accident of a train hit a jeep including some people who got injured at Baan Tunggrad – Nongphangphuey road, Moo 4, Banglamung, Chonburi, then quicken to the incident with Sawang Boriboon Rescue. At the occurrence, a railway crossing road on Tunggrad - Nongphanphuey road, about 5 km., from the Sukhumvit Rd. They found an overturned white Suzuki jeep (Caribian), licensed 221, Chonburi, illustrating a severe damage. The rescuer found a married couple injured inside the car, then instantly moved them to Banglamung hospital. The wife, Miss Sasima Thongsuk, (31), living at 211/9, Moo 12, Tung Sukla, Sriracha, Chonburi, got wounded on the head, broken cut on the right leg, and a few scratches around the body. The husband, Mr. Phoonpol Nakornpakdi, (37), addressed at 136, Moo 2, Ta-bor, Nongkai province, has a less amount of scratches around his body.

Mr. Phoonpol stated that they came from Sattahip, taking his wife to visit her mother. On the way back, he used the short cut to go back home to Sahaphat residence in Sriracha. He made it at the railway-crossing road that didn’t have much light around. Noticing that the barrier was not so long, he decided to take the risk to pass the gap. While pressing the accelerator to pass across, his wife suddenly screamed seeing the incoming train. He was trying to reverse the jeep, but it was too late.

It was hit by 22 bogies train that carries gas from Bangkok to Rayong . The train harshly hit on the passenger’s side where the wife was sitting. The jeep was overturned and went straight to the grass field. The married couple got stuck but managed to get out, having a few bruises. According to the accident, the couple strongly believed that they were safe because of the safety given by “Jatukam Ramthep”, special image, generated by sport news association of Thailand. Mr. Phoonpol bought the image from a friend who is a newsman, to hang around his neck for support merit and protection

http://www.pattayadailynews.com

Khun Pantarakrachadej

2007-06-07T01:23:00.001-07:00

The police general came a third time, and the second medium claimed to be yet another spirit - Jatukam, who instructed him to lead the construction of a city pillar. However, the spirit advised him that first he should consult with Police Maj Gen Khun Pantarakrachadej (also known as Ajarn Khun Phan), who was thought to be a master of Buddhist magical arts (Puttakom). This is believed by some to be the reason why Jatukam Ramathep was chosen to be a model for the amulet images when the campaign to raise funds for the city pillar was launched. The city pillar was partly completed in 1987, and the original Jatukam amulets were made in 1986. It was circular pendant a five-centimetres in diameter, and was priced at 49 baht. Now many are sold for more than 100,000 baht each. In the past only very few Jatukam amulets were produced, but after Police Maj Gen Khun Pantarakrachadej (Khun Phan) passed away recently at the age of 103 (some say 108), the amulets again became very popular. It may be significant that his death on Sep 5th 2006 was just two weeks before the military coup in Bangkok. Since the royal cremation ceremony of Khun Phan last February, Jatukam amulets have become even more popular. But how long can the craze last?

http://waynedhamma.blogspot.com