The History of Making Phra Somdej Wat Intharaviharn

The History of Making Pra Somdej Wat Intharaviharn

Wat Bangkoonprom as we generally know for short was formerly known as Wat Bangkoonprom Nai and the official name at present time is Wat Mai Armataros.  In the year 1868, Samiantra Duang the ancestor of Tanagoses family name renovated the monastery and built one big pagoda.  In the year 1870 Somdej Pra Puttajarn Toh Prommarungsee presided over as the president of the ceremony at Wat Bangkoonprom Nok or officially known as Wat Intarawiharn to produce Pra Somdej Bangkoonprom for 84,000 tablets equaling the number of the Dhammakkhanda to be kept in the Niche of that big pagoda.

All kinds of ingredients used to make Pra Somdej Bangkoonprom are similar to those of Pra Somdej Wat Rakang. Except that Pra Somdej Bangkoonprom were composed of lime stone more than that of Pra Somdej Wat Rakang besides they are kept in the pagoda for a longer time. Their textures therefore is harder than that of Wat Rakang.

In the year 1873 just one year after the death of Somdej Pra Puttajarn Toh, cholera outbreak had killed many people in the country. Somdej Toh has come to the dreams of many people that Pra Somdej amulet could cure that deadly cholera disease by drinking holy water by dipping them in water. Wat Saket appears in most 19th - century accounts of Bangkok not only because of its Golden Mount but also because it was a resting place for the dead during cholera epidemics. Too numerous for conventional cremation, the bodies were laid out at the temple for vultures to devour.

Anna Leonowens, the Englishwoman who was hired by King Rama IV to teach some of his majesty's wives and children, wrote: “None but the initiated will approach these grounds after sunset, so universal and profound is the horror the place inspires – a place the most frightful and offensive known to moral eyes.” Paupers and unidentified dead bodies were also brought to Wat Saket for more conventional cremation.


Besides there are many circumstances of the magic of Pra Somdej during those times that have made the needs to search for Pra Somdej amulets more. In 1882 some of Pra Somdej were stolen by way of dropping a rope with one end sticking with clay or soaking with glue into the Niche to catch the amulets up. This was done many times and many amulets were lost. The amulets obtained at these times were called Pra Somdej of Old Niche (book reference below - Somdej WRK green cover).

Therefore in 1957 the official opening of the Niche was done and Pra Somdej amulets were sold to public to raise fund for the purpose of renovation and improvement of the monastery. The amulets obtained at this time were called Pra Somdej of New Niche (book reference below - Somdej WRK green cover)

The texture of Pra Somdej of old niche is of fine texture without or with little sediments. In contrast Pra Somdej of new Niche are of hard texture with a lot of sediment covered either on one or both sides.

Pra Somdej Bangkoonprom is composed of 9 prints as follows;

1.Big Print or Pim Yai

2.Pim Jedee (Small print)

3.Pim Tarnsaam (Additional base)

4.Pim Gesbuatoom (Lotus head)

5.Pim Prokpoh (Bodhi leaves)

6.Pim Sangkati (Shoulder cloth with and without ears)

7.Pim Sendai (Thin line structure)

8.Pim Tarnku (Double base)

9.Pim Okcroot (Garuda chest)

The first 5 prints are the same of that Wat Rakang except with four more additional prints for Wat Bangkoonprom.

The above votive tablet is the later series of Somdej consecrated at Wat Intharaviharn in B.E. 2549 (2006). Also shown below is a set of new series amulets (B.E.2550) consecrated to represent past abbot Luangpu Pu's amulets that is now highly valued.

For more readings see Wat Intharaviharn article in this blog site

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Theravada Buddhism

We find this question very interesting to many people - What is Theravada Buddhism? We believe that many people from all walks of life claimed to be Buddhists themselves but do not know much about the differences in the Buddhist school of thought. It may be a difficult subject requiring deeper intellectual understanding to know what is Theravada at least.

My concern was raised following my observations of many Malaysian Buddhist devotees in Thai temples conducting merits and seeking amulet blessings from monks. Some seeking blessings for safety and good fortune, some seeking amulets for rent, pendants and takruts "tangkai" for protection, etc. I would reckon that many do not actually know that Thai Buddhism is a lineage from the Theravada school of taught. Many years ago I was catergorized into this Buddhist group often with some mixture of Taoism practices and the lack of understanding.

In Thailand and rest of Asia where Theravada Buddhism is available, perhaps it's crucial to know that the center of religion began in Nakhon Pathom more than 2,000 years ago.  A full article is available for further reading.

What is Theravada Buddhism? by John T.Bullitt

With this well written article by John Bullitt, I thought it will be a good idea to establish this understanding before dealing much deeper into Amulet collection. In my mind, this is the most fundamental understanding that a Buddhist following Thai or Myanmar traditions should at least have for themselves with good faith.

Theravada (pronounced — more or less — "terra-VAH-dah"), the "Doctrine of the Elders," is the school of Buddhism that draws its scriptural inspiration from the Tipitaka, or Pali canon, which scholars generally agree contains the earliest surviving record of the Buddha's teachings. For many centuries, Theravada has been the predominant religion of continental Southeast Asia (Thailand, Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, and Laos) and Sri Lanka. Today Theravada Buddhists number well over 100 million worldwide. In recent decades Theravada has begun to take root in the West.

The Buddha — the "Awakened One" — called the religion he founded Dhamma-vinaya — "the doctrine and discipline." To provide a social structure supportive of the practice of Dhamma-vinaya (or Dhamma for short [Sanskrit: Dharma]), and to preserve these teachings for posterity, the Buddha established the order of bhikkhus (monks) and bhikkhunis (nuns) — the Sangha — which continues to this day to pass his teachings on to subsequent generations of laypeople and monastics, alike.

As the Dhamma continued its spread across India after the Buddha's passing away 2,551 years ago, differing interpretations of the original teachings arose, which led to schisms within the Sangha and the emergence of as many as eighteen distinct sects of Buddhism. One of these schools eventually gave rise to a reform movement that called itself Mahayana (the "Greater Vehicle") and that referred to the other schools disparagingly as Hinayana (the "Lesser Vehicle"). What we call Theravada today is the sole survivor of those early non-Mahayana schools. To avoid the pejorative tone implied by the terms Hinayana and Mahayana, it is common today to use more neutral language to distinguish between these two main branches of Buddhism. Because Theravada historically dominated southern Asia, it is sometimes called "Southern" Buddhism, while Mahayana, which migrated northwards from India into China, Tibet, Japan, and Korea, is known as "Northern" Buddhism".

The language of the Theravada canonical texts is Pali (lit., "text"), which is based on a dialect of Middle Indo-Aryan that was probably spoken in central India during the Buddha's time.

For further reading please visit the host article at;

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bullitt/theravada.html

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/


The holy relics of Lord Sakyamuni Gotama Buddha helps remind us of his Dharma teachings. This origin of Lord Buddha's relics in the picture according to monks are from a temple in Sri Lanka. We pay homage to Lord Buddha and the Lord's holy relics serves as a reminder for us to practice his profound Dharma.

The Dharma is more precious than any expensive amulets that you may possessed. Even the most valuable King of Amulet in Thailand - Somdej Wat Rakang are made based on the pure Dharma essense of the Lord Buddha. Therefore, we must thoroughly understand the roots of Buddhism with at least some degree of the Dharma.

Lord Sakamuni Gotama Buddha had predicted that his profound Teachings of the Dharma will only last 5,000 years after his final Parinibbana.  In year 2010 (B.E.2553) it is already 2,553 years after our Lord Buddha's Parinibbana.  After 5,000 years, it will take eons before another Buddha will emerge in this human world again to discover the Teachings of the Dharma.  Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!