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
Showing posts with label ramathep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ramathep. Show all posts
21 August 2007
11 August 2007
Jatukam Ramathep Nakhon Si Thammarat
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
10 August 2007
How to pray
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.
09 August 2007
Thailand caught in an amulet craze
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
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
06 August 2007
Jatukam: sense and sensibility
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
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
05 August 2007
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
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
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
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