Nowadays, the world is highly developed technologically to the point where man can build satellites and rockets to the moon. Still, man cannot answer the question that has been asked from past to present. The question is whether man is reborn after death. What is the state of consciousness after death. Some people believe that life ends at death. This school of thought is called Uccheda-dit.t.hi.  Another group believes that life is permanent. They are classified as Sassata- dit.t.hi. In Buddhism, both groups are classified as wrong view or Miccha- dit.t.hi. Buddhism believes that life will be according to karma, that is each person’s deeds. As for the question whether man is reborn after death and what is the state of consciousness after death, try to consider the answer from the following stories.

THE MIGHT OF A VOW

This is a true story which happened in front of this temple. There used to be a large tamarind tree now has since died in front of the lane that used to be a buffalo path. At that time I was not ordained yet. Uncle Come told me about this when I was a boy coming to play here.

There were two people. One lived near Wat Ambavana. The other lived further to the north. They loved each other. Their names are not to be mentioned because they have been dead for 60 years. They loved each other dearly.

They made a solemn oath pledging to each other that they would only have *one love* and would not love anyone else. At this point, I would like to leave this with you. Do not make an oath when you love someone, not even a vow.

The woman made an oath to the man. The man also pledged to the woman that they would marry each other. Not long after that, the woman died of fever. She was still concerned through the might of love. She was continuously concerned for that man, wanting to take him as her husband. Although she was dead, her desire was still the same because they had made a vow. Since they loved each other, when the parents did not give consent they decided to elope. It was harvesting time then. They went to reap the rice crop in Bangchan together. They agreed that the man would come for her at 8 o’clock in the evening at the tamarind tree in front of the temple. The woman agreed.

Coming back from reaping the rice crop, the woman got dressed and came to wait before 8 o’clock. When it was 8, the man arrived. It happened that the former fiancee had come instead. She asked why he was late. The man replied that he was on time. They hurried way. The dead fiance was disguised as the new woman that he planned to elope with. She intended to take this man as her husband.

Finally, the man said, “You go first.” The woman said, “No, let me follow because if you go in front and they come after us and shoot I will be in the rear and will die first.” The man was outwitted. So, he led the way. At that time, on both sides of the road it was woodland and a rough area. They ran together until they arrived at the forest at Wat Phra Gaew, north of Wat Ambavana. Peculiarity of this temple was that the Presiding Buddha image was in the Image Hall.

While running along, the man heard a funny nibbling noise. He asked, “Eh! What are you doing?” The woman said, “That’s all right. Hurry up, lest they follow.”

A while later, there was a funny nibbling noise again. He could not figure out what it was. So, he turned around. He saw the woman peeling off her own skin and picking up worms from underneath to eat. Her eyes were hollow sockets.

He ran for his life, lacking wits even to say “araham.” as protection. The ghost appeared as his late fiance blocking his way, saying “You shouldn’t have. Where will you run away from me?”  The man remembered that it was his late fiance. He could not even think of the word “araham” or “Buddho”. He ran wild and jumped into Uncle Come’s house. The ghost stretched out her hand to clutch his neck and twisted. He died there and then. Uncle Come’s house was north of Wat Ambavana.

This is the “sightseeing” of life. That man lacked mindfulness because he had not practiced meditation, lacking mindfulness and clear consciousness. I leave it with all patrons. In the end he had to be her husband. But in this case I do not know if and how they become husband and wife in which existence.

BANGRACHAN BATTLEGROUND

Previously, Bangrachan Battleground manifested a lot of might. When anyone had fetched water from Ajahn Dhammajoti’s well, to put in their car radiator, it exploded. Anyone who had stolen anything from there had to return it. Anyone who had taken carved bricks from the area had to take them back.

But people still wanted the bricks to grind and mix with other material for making amulets. I was able to get a nine-mark brick when Mr. Pook Rikshkasem was the Governor of Singhburi Province.

Once, many years ago, the late Ecclesiastical District Officer of Dermbang Nangbuad District visited Wat Ambavana. He wanted some of the bricks. So, he spent a night here. In the morning, he rode out on the back of a motorbike to get the bricks and put them in his kitbag. I was not sure if he wanted to take them to make amulets or for something else. Just as he was about to cross Supanburi line, Dermbang Nangbuad District, they made a left turn to Ta Chang market. The motorbike skidded. He got a cut on the head. But he picked up the bricks and stayed the night at his sister’s house at a sugar cane farm. That night, there were loud mysterious cries heard. So, he had to return the bricks. This was a past incident.

People who die while angry, die on the battleground by the power of anger, became ferocious demons. No one can take anything from that place. I told Mr. Pook Rikshkasem that if he built a fortress and a temple and set up a bridge construction project, ferocity could be reduced. The construction was gradually completed step by step. His Majesty was invited to celebrate the completion of the fortress. HRH the Crown Prince was invited to install the temple’s boundary markers. After His Majesty made merit, souls of the demons were born. Ferocity has been reduced. This may be true according to Buddhist principle: those who die while angry become ferocious.

If a person dies while in good temper and with a meritorious mind, he cannot be very fierce. If he dies while angry, he stays there and is fierce.

Take the example of a couple who dropped by this temple. The man accused his wife of committing adultery. Driving his Mercedez-Benz out of the temple, they went on quarreling with each other. When they arrived at Bang Pa-In, he thought, “Let’s not live any longer.” So, he drove into the rear end of a truck carrying logs. They died on the spot through the power of anger. The place has had a ferocious atmosphere to this very day.

The story of the tamarind tree in front of the temple is  similar. It manifested magical power. When the well was dug up and the cremation ceremony was arranged to transfer merit to the deceased, the tree there died. The place has become clear. A meditation training institute was set up. And there is no sign of ferocity like before. I leave this as food for thought. There is clear evidence.

THE POWER OF GREED

I have often told the story about one person who observed Uposatha precepts for more than 30 years, presented more than 100 kathina robes and unceasingly presented forest robes. Yet she became a hungry ghost after death. That was because her mental state was not good. It did not separate. It was still attached to her possessions, through the power of greed with a lot of ignorance.

That old lady was more than 80 years of age. She was very rich. She divided her assets and gave a part to each child. She loved the youngest daughter a lot. So, the portion to her was large. The eldest son did not get much. But he moved up to Chiangmai, established himself and became rich. He kept his legacy. But the sister got married. Her husband squandered the assets away in gambling. The mother was afraid that her daughter would be in trouble. So, she asked for the legacy back from the son, through the power of greed. Having received the assets, the youngest daughter gave them to her husband to gamble away also. The mother died of grief. Through the power of karma, her mind was tarnished and as merit did not help, she had to go to hell first.

She is still a hungry ghost and cannot find any place to be born yet. She has to serve her time as a hungry ghost until the end of the karma. Then she will be born in heaven because she presented more than 100 kathina robes and plenty of forest robes. She has to undergo the result of the karma that she did first. The karma was asking for the legacy from the elder son and giving it to the younger daughter, enabling her to give it to her husband in turn to gamble away.

This is a sin. Her mind was attached to it. She could not separate form and name because she had not meditated. Her wisdom was at the mundane level only. Moreover, her wisdom was clouded by ignorance. When she died she went to hell. Now she is a hungry ghost through the power of greed. She continues to come to possess people and has not gone elsewhere.

At Wat Ambavana there are 4 or 5 former monks who have become hungry ghosts and come to receive the merit transferred on every Buddhist holy day. I am not sure if any of you have seen them. I asked, “Aren’t you reborn yet?” They said, “No, sir. My karma has not ended.” They come to beg around here, Luang Tah Fueng for one. Another one is called Luang Tah Gao. He is still around and comes every Buddhist holy day. His place is yonder, beside the Uposatha Hall. He comes to receive the share of merit from people who offer sanghadana. He also peeks about the meditation hall to see if there is any practicer who has attained higher states. He then approaches to beg for a share of merit. Anyone who has not made progress has never been asked. Hungry ghosts do not go to the house of people without virtues and fortunes. A hungry ghost can enter any house like a beggar. Can a hungry ghost enter the Uposatha Hall? Yes! But demons cannot.

If we have virtues and merit in our house, there will be deities protecting us. Demons, ferocious giants or spirits cannot enter. There is no need to find protective gadgets, ask the monk to write magic script nor spread magic sand. They cannot enter. If we chant and pay homage to the Buddha every day, also regularly practice meditation and radiate loving-kindness, those spirits cannot come into our house.

The only type of spirit that can enter is a hungry ghost. The door to hungry-ghost land is greed. So, they are like beggars, who can enter anywhere to bow and beg for a share of merit.

When we practice meditation, our grandparents or ancestors who have become hungry ghosts normally come to ask for merit. Anyone who hears the cries of a hungry ghost can be sure that he is your relative. If you do not hear it, then he is not your relative. Those who hear the cries, prepare to radiate loving-kindness to him. He is sure to be your relative crying for a share of merit. So, transfer the merit to him.

Not every relative from any existence goes to heaven after death. I leave you thus.

Written by Phra Dhepsinghapucariya

I have heard that a novel is derived from real life. What I’m going to relate now could be a soap opera in someone’s view. But someone may realize that touching the taste of dhamma and accomplishing the purity of this stream is beyond narration.

Almost half of my life has been lived, passing through happiness and suffering, I have always been proud of myself, full of confidence and ready to take on any dare in life. I thought I was successful in all aspects, although each aspect was earned after going through difficult obstacles. I had always been tired. I spent most of my life with my grandma. My parents were just my birth-givers. Grandma loved me more than herself. Grandma was everything in my life. I loved her more than anyone else in the world. Grandma was a righteous person with a dhamma mind. She made alms giving a habit.

Although I was close to grandma, I steered away from her habit. I believed that I myself was a kind of priest. I was never a follower of any religion in particular, at the same time never denied its validity. I could almost count the number of times I had chanted. Is it necessary to pay homage to what we cannot see? Is there really a next life? Who can confirm this? I never raised my hands to pay respect to anyone I didn’t have faith in. Even a monk. I had to be sure he was a good monk before I paid respect to him.

I never thought that there was any one better than my self – not even my own parents. I was always aggressive to my own parents. I often had a row with my father while he was alive, despite the fact that he was known to be very stern. He used to drive me out of the house when he was very angry with me. But I was not afraid. I stood my ground in order to aggravate him even more.

I had a special faith in King Rama VI, since the time I had paid homage to His Replica, wishing for a certain job and got it unexpectedly. The day I had a row with my father, I ran upstairs to tell Him that I had been unfairly punished. I made a wish that He would make father leave home within 7 days. After that, my father really had to leave his own home.

My father returned home again. This time he returned just to let the children look after him, while suffering from a malignant disease. I never looked after him. I smiled inside satisfactorily, thinking that I had won, even beating father. I have to tell this story because I want every one to know that I sought revenge even from my own father. When I had a row with anyone and the case went past heated arguments, I always thought that I would get back for it. That one day, I would embrace him, smile at him and stab him in the back with a knife, making him frighten to death within my arms. This should be enough to explain the strong vengeful trait in me.

I have had to have operations since I was young such as a tonsillectomy, an appendectomy, a cystectomy, bile stone removal and finally a hysterectomy. Every time that I knew I had to have an operation, I never showed any fear at all. On the other hand, my mother seemed to be worried about everything. It had never occurred to me why I had to be hospitalized so often. Later, it was so often that I got bored with myself, that my physical health was the burden. Comparing my education and the jobs I had, I had been lucky, that I had never had any supervisor except a direct boss. The longest job I had had for 12 years was hotel job. I like very much to provide service to others. I always take good care of people around me except my own mother. I speak to mother as if I were possessed by an evil spirit. I can always be contemptibly mean with mother. However, mother has never once reciprocated my evil. She endures all my badness. I have never been spanked at all. I can refrain from talking to mother for a long time. It seems as if it is my happiness to see her suffer. It gives me a kind of satisfying feeling.

I asked my mother for an amount of money to buy myself a new car, though she had to use an old one for a long time. At the beginning she disproved, until I wrote her a letter reprimanding her with tortuous words. I got a new car like I wanted. I won again. I want to tell you more bad things I’ve done to my mother. But I think this is enough for you to imagine  the ungratefulness I’ve shown to a lady who gave birth to me. If I go on, the length of my story will be many times longer than the length of a double roll of toilet paper.

I am quite surprised with my own prophetic signs, which are rather accurate. No one believes it when I tell them. I tell myself that I do not want to eat any food leftover from some one else’s meal or from offering. I do not like to receive blessing from sprinkled holy water.

With all these evil, yet I like to make donations. On my 36th birthday, I bought good quality 5 tier food containers of the same number as my age, filled them with savories and sweets and brought them to poor school children. Every one of them thanked me with tearful eyes, not much different from mine. Perhaps, I have made merit, too, but not very much. I don’t know when I will get the result of that merit. But I see the fruit of my donation immediately. I always help the poor. I can give them all I have at that moment. I am always happy to make merit or give donations. It is strange that I am against it when I think about it.

The last time that my karma clearly bore fruit was when everything I did met with obstacles. Close shaves occur every day. I was on the verge of giving up, not wanting to fight anymore. A couple of close friend visited me at the hospital and hosted me in Pattaya for my convalescence. I had a real rest. All I did was eat and sleep. For almost five days, I had been coaxed to turn to the temple and dhamma. But it sounded like a farce and non-sense to me. In order to stop their insistence, I told them that I would go to observe the Precepts as they wished.

On my last day in Pattaya, I presented a monk with cans of lychees, which I brought from Bangkok with me. I met this monk accidentally. After telling him my birth date, he told me that I would die. I was not affected much accept thinking that he was funny. But I asked him if there was any way to help. He told me to light candles and incense sticks to pay homage to the Buddha. Then he told me to lie down, covering me with white cloth. He told me to think that I was dead. After a short while he removed the cloth and told me to lie with my head pointing to the opposite direction. This time he told me to think that I will be reborn and I should make a wish for myself. I thought that was fun. So, I joined in the game by making a wish for me to be kind, honest and not taking advantage on anyone. I did not have time to add my wish to be rich before he removed the cloth.

That day, I donated all the money in my purse just because I thought he helped to perform the ceremony for me. On my way back to Bangkok, I did not know how I accepted to go to Wat Ambavana for Precepts observance. In fact, I used to go there only when my friend went to observe the Precepts. I had never been interested in anything at this temple at all. It was strange that my friends had neither questioned nor objected.

Upon return, I told my mother and others that I would go to observe the Precepts. People around me were surprised to hear this news, as if they had heard that the sun would rise at midnight. I was sure I could go to observe the Precepts, as if I had been called to do it. I went out shopping for white clothes and prepared everything like I was going to stay long. I did not know why I wanted to ask for my mother’s pardon. A day before I left, I took a clean wash basin full of water to wash my mother’s feet. I paid my respect at her feet, telling her that if there had been anything I had done wrong since I had been born, making her sorry or cry, I begged for her pardon. My mother said she forgave me everything. Friends at the office drove me to Wat Ambavana.

Upon entering the temple, I told the nun that I had set no leaving date yet, without realizing why I gave such a statement. After a two-day stay, I felt if I had gone mad to come and learn “right stepping”, “left stepping” or “sitting down”. I did not get anything at all. This place was like a lunatic asylum. People who came here were insane. I would be ashamed to tell anyone that I had ever come here. I intended to make a long distance call to a friend to come and pick me up.

But that night I had listened to the sermon by Luang Poh Phra Debsinghapura-cariya without being sleepy at all. His sermon lasted till 11 p.m. I asked myself how I could listen to the sermon. His words sank deep down in my heart, not passing from one ear out the other like before. That was the first time I had listened to a sermon from beginning to the end without feeling like listening to the sermon at all. On the other hand, I felt like I was being reprimanded by a father, a very stern father. I did not move at all. Again, I asked myself, “Was I forced so?” I began to dare even Luang Poh. Well, everybody said he was advanced spiritually. What does that mean? I wanted to know. Somebody told me as well that Mae Yai, one of the Precepts observers who was looking after us, knew about the past and the future. What a farce! Set up a fortune-telling office if she could. What kind of ability could she have when she was that old? My mind and body were against dhamma practice a lot. I began to feel tired and to despair, daring both Luang Poh and Mae Yai.

When I was about to lose patience, I talked to Luang Poh mentally,  “Let me have the power enough to keep meditating until the end of the session.” I opened my eyes at the end of the session. It might have been a co-incidence. The next day I put him to test again. What was the result? I opened my eyes like before! The next person was Mae Yai. She came up to practice meditation a little bit after 5 o’clock. I tried to walk as close to her as possible, making a wish for her power to enable me to meditate until 6 in the morning. I opened my eyes at six, sharp. The next day she came at about the same time. I wished for her power again. Who would believe that I opened my eyes at the same time. At this point, I began to be afraid that co-incidence did not happen all that often.

The next Buddhist holy day, Luang Poh gave a sermon. I was listening just like before. After a long while, I felt like I was being forced to weep. I tried my best to resist. And then my palms were clasped together up to the forehead in salutation manner. I made a bow towards Luang Poh. A few minutes later, I bowed towards Mae Yai, while closing my eyes. That time I put my clasped palms up to the mouth level and bowed down to the floor like a bent-back old woman. I was conscious all the time. I could hear the sound of people around me. At the same time, people who sat near me must have heard the noise of my sob. But I was surprised they kept still. I cried of being sorry, asking myself why I had been so. Why did I have to weep? Why didn’t I resist? It was like a force that I could not fight at all. That night, I felt that I had been punished for insulting them both. I began to be afraid then. Not of ghost like before. I was rather afraid of sin. I was conscious of sin. What had happened to me? How could I have been so change?

The next day I put an effort into practicing meditation. I missed my mother a great deal. I saw my own bad deeds, one after another, mushrooming. I began to be sorry for my own actions toward my mother. Why was she so kind to me? On the day I asked for her pardon, I should have been trampled instead of forgiven. I wondered which part of hell would I be?

But I still keep on being rebellious. There was another monk, whom I happened to meet. On the first meeting, I criticized him mentally for not being proper, because he told me that I was obstinate. If I used it right, it would be useful. I was not satisfied at all. But I kept quiet. The next day, I felt despair again. So, I asked for his power. What was the result? That day I could meditate in trance until I could feel it. What was it then? Who exactly was that monk? I had to arrange for a set of candles and incense to offer him as a way of begging for his forgiveness.

On the eve of my scheduled leaving date, I prepared a lei to offer as homage to the Precepts and told Mae Yai that I would leave the day after. She asked me if I could stay for two days more. I did not know how I accepted, as I had stayed for 9 days already. That was quite long for those who knew me. But for me,  it was the most valuable time in my life. I had not been counting time to the leaving date at all. I only knew that my responsibility was waiting. Then I learned that on the day I had originally planned to leave, a newly disrobed monk was hit by a car just a bit further along the temple gate. Oh! My! If that day I had left, what would have happened to me? After I heard this news, my feeling told me to offer my grateful thanks to Mae Yai. She had just saved my life.

Even so, the last two days were my rebellious period as before. I had an alarm clock with me, thinking if I could wake up without it at 3.30 a.m. for two consecutive days, I would give it to the nun who registered me for this dhamma practice session. The last day I had an occasion to give this alarm clock to the nun according to my intention. I have many more of this kind of story. But, as I said, people would think that I have written a soap opera. Today, now I want to go and tell everybody so that they realize that there is karma. If you do good deeds, you will get good return. If you do bad deeds, you will get bad in return.

I promised Luang Poh that I would not return to sin any longer. I asked for his blessing that goodness would not leave me and sin would not return. I was reformed through punishment and was really afraid.  I have just learned that the fruit of dhamma practice is opening up my eyes. It makes me know myself, being ashamed and afraid of wrong doings. I do not dare to say how much I have changed. But from hardly chanting before, I have chanted the virtues of the Buddha, more than the number of times Luang Poh advised me to, without counting. People around me look at me with strange looks, like on the day I told them that I would go to observe the Precepts. But the strange look today is radiated with bliss in my new life – the bright life without the poison of sin in mind and the mind that blossoms from the taste of dhamma. Now you have read my story. Don’t you want to know if you can come to practice like I’ve done, how valuable an asset you will receive on your return? It may be even more than what I’m receiving now.

And finally, I would like to make a wish to the Buddha, thanking him for giving the Dhamma to me. It is like nectar that pours into my life. I would like to make a wish to Luang Poh  Phra Debsinghapura-cariya, Mae Yai and all the nuns, including those who look after me at Wat Ambavana and those who have taken me here to know the taste of dhamma. The power of you all will direct me away from sin. And perhaps, towards the end of my life I may come back to reciprocate the favour of all benefactors here.

A True story… Written by Sisya Dhadasiha

At Wat Ambavana, there are deities protecting and assisting in welcoming meditation trainees. Those who have been relatives or the blessed ones can be in contact with them.

It was an astonishing story when The National Office of Primary Education, Ministry of Education organized a class for school principals at Wat Ambavana. A group of 4 – 5 old headmasters wanted to drink hot tea. But the temple boys always served iced tea, which the principals did not like at all.

Soon after, it happened that Mr. Tongyoi, the business manager appeared to welcome them with cups of hot tea. He wore a white suit like what he had worn during the propitiation ceremony for construction of the Uposatha Hall. Three of them appeared together. They retreated after greeting the principals with hot tea.

That group of headmasters followed after them and ask a monk at the cremation hall if he had seen three people going out that way. The monk replied that there had been no one there. So, they walked further along until arriving at the merit-making hall and saw the photograph of Tongyoi there. They were able to identify the person who had greeted them with hot cups of tea.

When a person dies he has to be born immediately, whether he is born as a hungry ghost, demon or deity. Some people do not understand and so think of them as ghosts. Tongyoi has become a sacred deity.

While he was alive, Proprietor Tongyoi Chalotorn participated in the construction of the new Uposatha Hall and the large Presiding Buddha image in the Uposatha called “Luang Poh Chalotorn”. The small Presiding Buddha image, called “Luang Poh Samret Phol”, is ancient and has existed since the old Uposatha Hall.

I knew that Mr. Dum Wanich of Pak Bang had joint karma with Proprietor Tongyoi. They would assist each other in the time to come. I told Proprietor Tongyoi to ride in a car driven by Dum and said, “Within the next seven days from now, do not drive at all.” Mindfulness told me that Proprietor Tongyoi would be dead from a car accident.

Mr. Dum Wanich was a son of parents of Laotian descent in Po Ka village. They incurred debts and had mortgaged all their farmland.

It just happened that Army Staff Officer Wasant Panich, disciple of this temple, was given the duty to conscript soldiers for Vietnam War. I previously asked him to call Goh, the son of my great aunt, who lived north of my house, for service in Vietnam also.

Dum Wanich was a poor man, driving for people in Pak Bang. He came to drive for me some times. He told me, “Luang Poh! I am so poor. I have farmland but my parents have mortgaged it. I have no money to repay the creditor.” I suddenly thought of something, saying, “Tomorrow, be prepared to go to be trained in Kanchanaburi before going to the Vietnam War.”

Colonel Wasant happened to come to the temple. I asked him if it was possible to replace Goh with Dum because Dum Wanich used to be a soldier before. On the next day, a group of recruited men went to Kanchanaburi for training. After that, they went on to Vietnam. He spent two years in Vietnam, earning enough money to redeem the farmland for his parents.

It was time when Dum Wanich had to serve Proprietor Tongyoi and look after him while he was ill. Dum Wanich returned from Vietnam with plenty of money. He did not drink or smoke. He was a good mechanic. Having redeemed the farmland, he intended to stay with his brother in Bangkok to sell “pa-tong-go” (Chinese doughnuts). If I had not done him a favour, I could not have possibly held him back.

I asked Proprietor Tongyoi to see me and told him not to drive. Then I asked Dum Wanich to drive for Proprietor Tongyoi, which he did. The Proprietor was very glad that he could ride comfortably. He was the branch manager of Krung Thai Bank and owned 2 rice mills and one ice factory.

However, that day was the time for him to die. Mrs Sumal forgot that I had requested Dum to drive Mr. Tongyoi and instead sent Dum Wanich to Bangkok, driving her van, to buy some trees to be planted. Mr. Tongyoi was home alone. There was an urgent phone call inviting him to be the judge of a boat race. He accepted. Having forgotten that I had asked him not to drive, he got dress in jacket and tie, then drove his Mercedes-Benz to the race.

At 8 o’clock in the evening, his time was up. A truck belonging to the Department of Irrigation, with a full load of earth, was park on the shoulder of the highway. The Proprietor did not see it. He ran into it at a speed of 120 kms/hour, without putting the brake on. Bang! Into the rear of the truck! His neck was dislocated. His gun was also lost. But he was not dead. In fact, he had to die then. But he did not die instantly because he received the fruit of his previous merit in building the Uposatha Hall and the Presiding Buddha image. That extended his life for three more years, enabling him to transfer the rice mills and ice factory to his son. While in the hospital, he thought of his business and said, “Luang Poh, I’m thinking of selling the present ice making machine and replacing it with a new German machine. Then I will change the milling machine for better production.” He died just after he had finished doing so.

When he was in a bad condition from the car accident, I went to see him. He was a bit cheered up. Then I said, “Why are you in this bad shape? You have made a lot of merit. You helped build the Uposatha Hall, the image hall and the Presiding Buddha image. Now you must have your head shaven and your neck weighed. It is like being paralyzed. Why?” I used meditation, noting ‘thinking’…’ thinking.’ Then I knew that his bad karma had come to its results.

When he was young he drove a tugboat called ‘Rung Rueng Chalotorn’, pulling cargo barges from Pak Nampo to Bangkok. He stopped the boat when he arrived at Ban Paeng because he had a Laotian girl friend there. The Vietnamese villager on the opposite side of the river (south of Wat Ambavana) brought turtles to sell to him. He used turtle as food to go with liquor. The Proprietor was the one who killed the turtles himself. He put a piece of wood into the turtle’s mouth, pulling the head out from the shell and hitting it in the head to kill it.

After I finished the story, the Proprietor cried until he fainted. When he was conscious he said,  “That was true, Luang Poh. I’ve forgotten that I killed hundreds of turtles. On the tugboat’s return trip, I stopped for the night in Ban Paeng. There was a theatre for Li-ke (Thai musical folk drama) and an old fashioned movie theatre. The Vietnamese village was on the opposite side of the river from the Laotian village. When the Vietnamese villagers saw my boat, they brought live turtles to sell. I pulled out the head and hit it to kill it. My wife and children did not know about it.”

Having said that, Proprietor Tongyoi was sobbing, “Luang Poh! How do you know this? When I was young I didn’t even know where you were.” When he was young I had not been ordained yet. Mindfulness informed me. If you keep practicing for a long time, the result will come in this way.

Mrs. Galong is another deity. She used to be a hungry ghost who came here with one of the reconstructed temple buildings. She came to practice meditation and had become a deity. There is a story about Mrs. Galong going to rescue her relative in the North from committing suicide.

The story is like this. One wealthy family had lived together for a long time until the children grew up, graduating with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees. Later, the husband took another woman. There was a row. The husband left the house. The wife was so depressed that she was about to drink insecticide in an attempt to commit suicide. As she was lifting up the glass, a hand knocked the glass out of her
hand.

Just before that, she had felt the house shake slightly. Then the glass was knocked out of her hand. The wife was startled because she did not know the beautiful lady who had come to strike the glass. The lady said,  “You should not have thought of committing suicide because of a trivial matter like your husband having an affair. Why should you? If I hadn’t been your relative, I would not have come to help you at all. If I hadn’t saved you in time, you would have been dead already.”

Then the lady apparition instructed, “Your husband and you have come from different places. Do not scold your husband. If you do so, I will not come to help you again. You will have to drink insecticide or hang yourself. You should come to meditate instead. If it hadn’t been because we were relatives, I wouldn’t have come to save you. I’m in a hurry. So, I’ll leave you now. Wishing you happiness.” As she was about to leave, the wife asked, “Wait a moment, please. Where do you live?”

That lady said, “My name is Galong. I live in Wat Ambavana, Singhburi.”

Written By: Phra Debsinghapur-acariya , also known as Jarun Thitadhammo

I have a story to share. Let me explain. It is unavoidable and it is the truth that we won’t be liked by everyone we encounter in our life. In life there will always be people who try to thwart the progress of those that are spiritually advancing for various selfish reasons.

Some will treat us like a friend to our face, then lie, cheat and steal behind our back. Others will give us the best advice they have to offer and will do it in such a way that we’ll be convinced that they are right, even though they are very wrong, which will bring us much trouble. Still others will implant bad ideas in our head about ourselves or others, that were never our thoughts to begin with.

A particular sect of Tibetan Buddhism uses mantras as a spiritual protection, an aura of defense, if you will. What does it mean to use a mantra as a defense? It means having a protection from harm. You must be initiated into this practice of Yidams in person with a Guru from an authentic Vajrayana Buddhist lineage in order for them to work. It’s one of the highest yoga tantra practices. Yidam Practice is a way that leads to accomplishment and enlightenment. ‘Yi’ means Mind. ‘Dam’ means Committment. It is a ‘Mind Commitment.’

Oh sure you can recite the Yidam’s mantra if you learned it but without the teachings surrounding it and an understanding of the teaching, a true empowerment, you’re as good as useless with it. The majority of practicing Tibetan Buddhists do not practice this type of high yoga tantra as they’ve not been officially initiated.

Now as the story goes, in the late 19 century there was a great scholar who was   accomplished with siddhis and who was a person that possessed supranormal perceptual states. Siddhis are typically defined as “a magical or spiritual powers for the control of self, others and the forces of nature.” Some might say it’s magic while others might say its being extremely adept at controlling the mind.

This scholarly monk was versed in Nyingmapa and had written a text about the Middle Path, about how to clear up some diversification points. As was normal for that time period the Tibetan Buddhists debated the teachings of Buddha holding all the authentic teachings valid.

In the debate about the Middle Path the debating monks first became very sad that this Nyingmapa scholar had defeated them with flying colors. Their sadness grew into hatred and once that happened they held wrong views. They decided they must perform a powerful puja to subdue him and convinced themselves that if they subjugated the Nyingmapa scholar that they would be protecting the Buddha’s holy teachings. Thus they set out like vultures to put him off by performing wrathful prayers and did perform these pujas. Unfortunately for them they had met with someone highly unsusual.

This Nyingmapa scholar remained normal, stayed healthy & happy. He did see a few inauspicious signs so was aware something was up.

Well, when the 13th Dalai Lama heard of what these monks had done he was so worried he sent his messenger to apologize for those monks. The Nyingmapa scholar was none other than Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso also known as “Mipham the Great.” (Mipham is considered to be one the three “omnscient” writers of the Nyingma tradition) When the messenger delivered the apology to Mipham Rinpoche he simply smiled & replied: “What those monks had performed was utmost powerful. It could crush a huge mountain into dust. If I have not assumed the Glorious Yamantaka form, I am dead by now.”

What happened to those monks who performed the pujas and wrathful prayers to subdue Mipham Rinpoche? Some committed suicide, some died of an illness, some went crazy, some had bad luck.

There is a lesson in what happened to these monks.

Tibetan Buddhism is divided into two major sectors, Sutra-yana and Vajra-yana and it consists of four schools : Nyingmapa, Kagyudpa, Gelugpa and Sakyapa. All practitioners from every school begin by studying sutras and basic philosophies and then slowly progress to Tantra.

Debating is a method adopted by them to sharpen one’s understanding of Buddhism teachings; while questioning others, one also examines one’s understanding. However, there is one major rule here that everyone must abide to, i.e. this is not a worldly debate, one should not grow hatred if one loses the debate and one should not be proud if he won. A wrong view can lead to one’s downfall therefore Vajrayana Buddhism emphasizes holding the RIGHT VIEW.

Guru Chokling Rinpoche described it in this way,  “As Vajrayana practitioners, like a snake in bamboo, we can only go two directions: up or down.”The bottom line is: If one misses the objective of having debate, it is better not to have one at all.

Many beginners who have heard of Feng Shui have the mistaken belief that Feng Shui is almighty. The beginner thinks, “As soon as I get it right, as soon as I master this technique  I’ll be rich, famous, capture my love’s heart, be CURED of my sickness…etc.”

Basically, Feng Shui is really like a safety-net as it prevents you from falling to death. What does this mean? It means that the right Feng Shui set-up can cushion you from going to the worst (effect from a cause) by your own act (a cause). To rephrase that, what Feng Shui does is to cushion one from going to the worst (effect from a cause) which is caused by one’s own deeds.

Here’s an example: Let’s say you’re receiving energy (QI) from a particular compass direction and you’ve made a blunder at work that could get you sacked. But because of that positive Qi you’re receiving you might only get demoted or just a warning.

You see, Feng Shui is always a safety net. It can’t change the fact that you will receive some karmic effects from your actions but it can reduce the negative impact. If you combine a spiritual practice with Feng Shui it will be extremely powerful at cushioning the impact although the spiritual practice is not needed for Feng Shui to work.

So it is that life flows and we receive both the good and the bad. Lao Tzu said, “Life is the flow of energy. It is the air that we breathe, the force that moves the weather, the force of all minds combined. The sage understands and utilizes this flow for the benefit of all.” (And so does the Feng Shui master) He also said, “The flow of life can be affected and manipulated by a simple thought or action. The sage is also aware that the results of such activity can be quite unpredictable.” This is where a spiritual practice can strengthen the cushioning as a focused mind is more easily able to overcome.

If someone puts all of their hopes into Feng Shui, believing they will have complete control and being able to turn everything into a benefit for them they are forgetting one important thing~ the KARMIC SUBTRACTER. Bad karma yields negativities. Those negativities reduce the positive effect given by good Feng Shui.

So, if Feng Shui can only cushion you from an impact of your own bad karma, what else can you do to change your destiny, to help you eliminate the negative karma you’ve accrued? The best way is through *doing good deeds.* Every religion, even atheists, believe in doing good deeds. No one owns the rights to the idea of doing good deeds.

How do you change a bad life into a good life? Practice all forms of kindness & develop virtue. To learn more about how you can do that watch these two videos:  http://bit.ly/mHsFz & http://bit.ly/HoWaq.

In closing, I leave you with the knowledge that Feng Shui can most certainly help you overcome difficulties if you can manage to receive positive Qi from your environment. I am here to hep you should you need me. Just ask.

Take every opportunity to do a kindness, because you never know when the chance will come again. The sage understands how a simple kindness can bring great rewards for oneself and others. –Lao Tzu

—– by the Great LF Master Tan Yang-Wu.

Zhu-zi (朱子) pointed out that :” Being descendants, one should learn medicine and geomancy (fengshui). Reason being both arts bring benevolences to our parents and ancestors.”

Should everyone know Medicine, then medicines will be inexhaustable. Should everyone know geomancy, good burial lands and dwellings will be easily accessible.

As we all have parents, and we are also parents to our offsprings. And, the compassion and kindness that directed to our parents are of nature. Based on this ground, if we happened to be competent doctor, we will provide medical assitance to our parents, as well as parents of others. In the same way, if we are skillful practitioner of geomancy, we will rest our parents at right places, and we will certain do the like to parents of others.

It is impotant in Geomancy, you do not strive for good places (burial ground) that will yield wealth and nobility for either yourself or others.

Medicine doctors can make medicine as their career. But, geomancy practitioners can not make providing consultation as their source of income, instead they should only provide necessary help to those with virtues.

Whether one could successfully acquire a good land will all depend on his/her merits. It is definitely beyond the control of FS practitioners .

For medicine, the doctor is the sole person who diagnoses, checks and prescribes treatment ; the patient has no single say throughout the whole process. The effect of treatment can be observed within a short period. However, for geomancy which concerns longer term benefits in future, its effects will only be obvious after quite some times.

When medicine takes effect, everyone are rejoiced. When fengshui takes effect, it seems nobody will applause. Why ? It is not being ungrateful, it is due to the fact that the effects were taken place after a longer period( as compared to the time took for medical treatment to take effects).

You can pay to acquire a doctor’s service, but you have to depend on right karmic-conditions in getting a FS practitioner’s help. To those who cultivate virtues, meeting a competent master and eventually acquired a good land would not take too much effort and time.

Unfortunately, we have many FS practitioners out there who apply their skills acquiring good land for people who do not deserve it. And, factually, most of these practitioners faced tonnes of obstacles in their later life – which served as punishement from the heaven.

In this world, descedants to doctors who had been sincerely practising medicine for the benefits of others are still enjoying prosperities as the gift from the heaven. Thus, FS practitioner who practises geomancy for the sake of benefiting others will too be enjoying the like.

Heaven treats all beings with great equality. Medicine doctors who treat their patients lightly or carelessly will certainly be cursed.

So, your life depends on the path you are choosing to follow.

This is my advise from my heart to all the FS practitioners.

Kindly translated by:  千葉衣

In Buddhism, a type of incense known as ‘Sang’ is traditionally offered to the Four Guests while praying, whenever commencing an important task. Sang is special herbs mixed with certain foods and when burned creates a fragrant, perfumed smoke. There are different types of Sang offered to different deities and to be burned at different times of the day. The main reason to perform the Sang offering is so that one will enjoy the benefit of having no hindrances to success and also for the task to be successfully accomplished.

The basic principle of Sang is to increase one’s wakefulness. Tibetans like symbolism a lot and speak in such terms. Wakefulness means wisdom or the power to know the truth. Sang’s strength is that it can dissolve emotions just as the flame  consumes firewood. Sang can be burned for three reasons: 1. To simply fragrance the air; 2. Used for ridding a space of negative energy; and 3. As an offering to the Four Guests.

The Four Guest who are invited to be the recipients of a Sang offering are: First- the Three Jewels, i.e. Buddha, Dharma and Sangha; Second- the Yidam, Dakini and Dharmapala; Third- the Six-Realm Beings; and Fourth- the Karmic Creditors & Debtor which includes various classes of spirits and obstructing forces, etc.

By offering the pleasant smelling smoke to the Four Guests we receive their blessings. It is important to hold in one’s mind and heart that the Sang is an offering otherwise we are simply burning incense for the smell of it.

Breaches of samaya will be mended by offering Sang to Yidam, Dakini and Dharmapala; and, by satisfying the needs of all sentient beings, in particular one’s Karmic Creditors, we purify whatever grudges they may hold against us.

What do we mean by one’s Karmic Creditors? This refers to those that you owe, that you hurt in your past life.

In this life the Karmic Creditor (he or she) will hold a grudge towards you without an apparent reason. It’s to these Karmic Creditors that you offer Sang to pacify their hatred towards you. That feeling they have for you is hidden deep into that person’s mind so much that they may not even be aware of it.

In this instance, your Karma is something like an ‘energy’ hidden right in your soul and it radiates a signal. When you meet someone who has a negative karmic connection with you in your former lives they’ll make your life difficult. In some cases where there is a strong karmic link it becomes like a ‘big bang’ effect for you, but image how many weaker negative karmic links you have with others and what the affects of their feelings & actions have upon you. They’re out there…

The final reason for making a Sang offering to the Four Guests is to increase our opportunities for success which is called ‘Lungta’ (in Tibetan) or literally ‘Wind-Horse’ in English.

The history of Lungta is that Tibetans hung small colored flags, with one’s name written at the corners of the flags, at high places of holy sites. Being higher and at a holy site, the wind would carry one’s desires higher and higher, closer to heaven.

The same theory applies to Sang. The smoke floats up into the air with one’s prayers and the Wind Horse literally carries the person’s energy higher and higher.

When our Lungta is increased we enjoy a lot of benefits. However, when our Lungta is low and decreased, even despite our own tremendous efforts to do good, all things seem incredibly difficult for us to achieve. Even something as simple as a meritorious wish, like acquiring the right circumstances to accumulate merits, just won’t come together for us. Accomplishing the tiniest task will be encountered with an abundance of obstacles. Increasing the Lungta (Wind-horse) is essential because of it’s ability to transform negative circumstances into a positive direction.

In closing, the Sang offering to the Four Guests is incredibly powerful and useful in that it will increase our Lungta strength as well as our own inner wisdom.

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12

“Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless. Dead, did I say? There is no death, only a change of worlds.” Chief Seattle

When I was a child, every Memorial Day my great-aunt would take my two brothers and I to the grave sites of our dead ancestors to honor them. In those days, family never moved far away. We lived near, worked near, and died near our family. Each cemetery we visited to see the dead relatives was within 20 miles of the other.

In the days leading up to this national holiday my great-uncle would have cut fragrant yellow daffodils, blue bearded iris, fern fronds, and salmon and red colored roses from around our yard. With much care he would lay them out on a newspaper, cut their stems, then bundle them with a rubber-band into small beautiful bouquets. Then, they’d sit in a bright red bucket full of water until the next day when we delivered them to each family member’s tombstone.

Visiting a cemetery has never been scary to me. For my younger brothers it was even a bit of fun. They would playfully chase each other through fresh mowed grass across the large green field as I was by the side of my great-aunt. Our feet would get damp from the early morning dew, and my brother’s white tennis shoes would be covered in grass stains. My great-aunt would always cry a  little as she placed the flower bouquets in the green, cone shaped metal holders that were provided by the cemetery for a small fee. She always said a prayer for our family. Afterwards, she would often talk out-loud to the dead loved one as if they stood right there with us.

In my early childhood I was raised in a devout Catholic home. I even attended a private Catholic school from first through third grade. My family’s understanding of Exodus 20:12 is something different from the way it is most often interpreted and used in church today. I was taught and shown that the word honor in this passage meant to hold my parents in deep respect, but it did not mean I must obey their every word as if a dog obeying it’s owner’s command. The passage is about how to have a long life and for us it meant to not forget where we came from, that our luck, our life even, was connected to that of our parents. My family had great respect for the dead. To me then, it makes sense that I might somehow be personally affected if something bad happened to my ancestor’s grave.

Perhaps it was because of these moments that I found Yin Zhai Feng Shui so easy to accept. Yin Zhai literally translates to ‘yin house’ but it might more appropriately be known as ‘yin grave.’ In this type of Feng Shui a master will locate a burial site for the body in a favorable spot where it will receive the most beneficial Qi. This method, used to locate a favorable spot for the dead is somewhat different then that used to find a good location for the living but the principles are still the same.

In Feng Shui there is Na Qi and there is Cheng Qi. Na means ‘riding’ and Cheng means ‘receiving.’ Qi is an invisible subtle energy and believed to be a real physical force. There is internal Qi and external Qi. The dead, material body of the ancestors is touched and affected by the external Qi. The placement, the location of the burial plot of the deceased, will have some impact on their living descendants. The only way to study these things is to exam what happens to the living family members when the body is placed in a favorable or unfavorable location. A Feng Shui master can tell you what is happening to each family member based on the location of that person’s deceased parent’s body.

Although Chinese Feng Shui masters of ancient didn’t call it DNA, they knew a connection existed between the physical body of the dead to their living descendants. While it cannot be proven in Feng Shui it’s believed the DNA of living descendants resonates with that of their dead parents. It’s like this: Imagine your parent’s DNA is a guitar string. If your parent’s string is plucked or picked, you’re going to feel a little of it too. The reason? The other strings on the guitar will vibrate with the parent strings. Beautiful, right? So, if you don’t want bad things to happen to you make sure that nothing bad is happening to your parent’s grave. (Around a favorable site: Digging up the landscape and destroying hills, or putting in drainage pipes, digging under graves to put in transporation, pipes, etc. will all have a disturbing and negative affect on the dead body and it will be felt by the living descendants.) If the grave is water logged and flooded, undoubtedly the descendants will suffer misfortune and illness, typically one or many will have cancer in that family line because of the swamped burial plot(s).

Why might someone who is having good luck while their parents are alive suddenly have bad luck when their parents are dead & buried? The buried body might be buried in a bad spot and receiving negative Qi. How long will the descendants bad luck last? Answer this question: How long does it take for the human body to decompose?

Also, the cremated ashes of a parent will have considerably less impact on the living descendents then the entire decomposing body. The residual energy of the DNA is said to last for only about two to three years after a cremation. If your parents have had an especially difficult life, (street person, alcohol/drug addict, mental illness, etc.) it might be best to consider cremation rather than burying their body otherwise you’ll be affected for a longer period of time.

Some of you might think, “One or both of my parents are alive. Does where they’re living now and how they live affect me?” In Feng Shui the answer is a definite YES. In addition, the life and death of a child does not affect the parent’s DNA in the same way. The parents are the original cause of that chain of energy and not the the child. There is only one parent string. So, if you don’t have children your particular mixture of energy is said to no longer be in existence once you die and your body is gone.

So be kind to your parents whether they are dead or alive. You need to do it not just for them, but for your own good luck.

“To support mother and father, to cherish wife and child and to have a simple livelihood; this is the good luck.” ~ Buddha ❀

My boss has me working on a chapter for his book about an orangutan that looks exactly like a woman. I had to ask my Buddhist friend Hermit for help in understanding the nature of animal love vs. human love. Here’s the start of the chapter, based on the information my dear friend shared with me.

Charles Robert Darwin must have good karma. People still celebrate his birthday today. He’s the man who brought us, “On The Origin of Species” in 1859, the theory of evolution by natural selection. It’s hard to believe that in 1859 the ‘modern’ theory of atoms was only 6 years old, and the world was thought to be a mere 6000 years old.

I mention Darwin because in learning Feng Shui, it’s nice to understand how things evolve. (Although it’s been said that knowing the theory is not necessary if you’ve been taught the proper FS application.) And energy, according to Taoism, had a role in creating our world.

It’s believed that the I-Ching arose from Taoism, and Feng Shui is the material application of the I-Ching principles of energy to our physical environment. Taoism shares some similarities to Darwinism but it doesn’t compliment it. Yet Taoism doesn’t offer any straightforward answers. It is more like a puzzle.

In Taoism we believed in a heaven and earth, and from Nature there came the beings. Thus the earth and it’s life forms are not created from divinity. According to Taoism, everything is constantly moving………It’s the Natural Law. In the beginning everything was homogenous. Then over time they separated and formed different energies. The heavier ones produced Yin and sank to create our earth. The lighter ones produced Yang and floated to heaven. When they mixed, they created beings.

In addition, there are different categories of Yin and Yang. They can be divided further. Some are lighter Yin or Yang, and some are heavier Yin or Yang. Yin and Yang are mutually attracting and opposing forces. By their fundamental natures, they are equal in all respects but forever separate entities. It is like Ci-Xiong, the concept of Male and Female. Without this differentiation it would mean no living things.

Taoism agrees with Darwinism to some extent, but not all of it. Depending on where these different types of Yin and Yang energies met and mixed, different forms were created. The modern evolutionary theorists tries to trace human life back to “Lucy” from Africa. Taoist beliefs don’t fit with that assumption. Ask yourself, “Why do we find so many different human-type skeletons that only share some similarities?”

Where Taoism is concerned, different types of humans could have been in existence almost simultaneously. They could have been in today’s China, Africa, America, India, or anywhere, all at the same time, if the conditions were right. In Taoism, the reason we have so many creatures in this world, such a variety, (including humans), is because these energies met and mixed in different environmental conditions.

Taoism believes that the world is a mirror to the sky. Whatever energies appear in the universe will be materialized on earth, as an emanation. This is also a Feng Shui concept.