The Holy Life and Events of Luang Phor Phra, Wat Khok Dok Mai

Luang Phor Phra Attasanto

, the former Ecclesiastical Chief of the village at Dong Khon Subdistrict, Sankhaburi District, Chainat Province, is a monk known for exemplifying compassion and virtuous behaviour, as well as his rigid adherence to the Buddhist precepts, and the pursuit of mental cultivation.

 

His services have been sought out by villagers and the Buddhist lay devotees alike, being famous throughout Sankhaburi for his miraculous healing abilities in the form of the holy water he consecrates which is said to be able to turn the tides on even the most desperate of situations.

This skill earned him the esteemed title of “Luang Phor Phra, maker of the holy water Nammon Baht Diew

” His title itself derives from the fact that he master accepts a token fee of a mere one baht to sprinkle holy water upon devotees and bless them with auspiciousness.

 

His Story

Luang Phor Phra was born Phra Yoddamnoen

, on Sunday, April 5th, 1923, in the fifth lunar month of the Year of the Pig. He is a native of Chainat, where his family eked out a meagre livelihood in agriculture.

 

His early life was significantly more challenging however than for many of his peers. When Luang Phor Phra’s mother was 3 months pregnant with him, his father passed away under unfortunate circumstances, leaving his mother to fend for herself. Because of this, he was given the name “Kamphra

”, or “orphaned”. When his mother registered his name at the local municipality however, the officer misheard her pronunciation, only recording the word “Phra”, which means “big knife”. Unperturbed, Luang Phor Phra chose to stick with this name for the rest of his life.

 

His mother undertook the sole responsibility of raising a young Luang Phor Phra, at times accepting help from relatives and neighbours. In his early youth, Luang Phor Phra was known to be docile and generous, always electing to accompany the adults when they took part in meritorious activities at the temple, such as offering food to the monks.

After he completed grade 4; the fundamental education of Thailand at that time, his family’s poor financial state meant that his academics had to take a backseat, in spite of his desire to further his studies. Ordaining into the Sangha, offered a tantalizing prospect of further education, however, his need to contribute to the family income made pursuing this path a difficult one.

Luang Phor Phra sought divine intervention in his predicament, professing that he would devote his life to the Sangha should he be able to pursue an education there with peace of mind, till his very hut collapsed to the earth and returned to it (the man had a flair for theatrics). Should he be further blessed to serve as an abbot, he further committed to taking personal responsibility for ensuring that every underprivileged child in the area would achieve social mobility through education.

At the age of 20 years, Luang Phor Phra got his wish. He was ordained at Wat Khok Dok Mai

Temple, Dong Khon Subdistrict, Sankhaburi District, Chainat Province with Phra Kru Phat serving as his preceptor. Luang Phor Phra was nicknamed Attasanto, meaning “A peaceful person”. He set to work honing his mind to a fine spiritual point, employing it to thorough, persistent effect in pursuit of his Dhamma studies. He eventually graduated to Dhamma Level I Naktam Chantree, and Level II Naktam Chantoh.

 

Luang Phor Phra was particularly intrigued by the art of meditation and incantations, and sought to hone his focus to supernatural levels. Seeking more knowledge in the subject, he sought the tutelage of Luang Phor Toh, Wat Viharn Thong

Temple, renowned as one of the most esoteric and enigmatic monks of Chainat Province, and who also happened to be his uncle. As his disciple, he absorbed all the knowledge he could from Luang Phor Toh, who eventually gave him his blessings to use the knowledge in support of the restoration of Wat Khok Dok Mai.

Another important mentor in Luang Phor Phra’s life was Luang Phor Guay of Wat Kositaram

Temple, Sankhaburi District, Chainat Province, another Geji (monks who are well versed in esoteric knowledges) monk famous throughout central Thailand (Read our article on Luang Phor Guay).

The wealth of knowledge bestowed by these venerated masters resulted in a mighty confluence of spiritual factors that bestowed Luang Phor Phra with the ability to reverse ill fates and fortunes. Of particular potency was his Nammon Bhat Diew holy water, which spread his renown far and wide, earning him his title of “Luang Phor Phra, Nammon Bhat Diew

”. Never shying from his humble origins, Luang Phor Phra offered the blessing for this nominal fee, in order to allow a wide swathe of his devotees to afford it, while still contributing to the temple. This fee remained in force until the day Luang Phor Phra passed.

 

Through his work at the temple, Luang Phor Phra sought out the downtrodden and desperate, faithful and questioning alike, guiding them in the light of the Buddhist path, and helping them through the pain and suffering of existence. In 1948, he was appointed as the abbot of Wat Khok Dok Mai Temple and fell into his role as the Ecclesiastical Chief of Village of Dong Khon Subdistrict, Sankhaburi District, Chainat Province as well. He was an advocate of truthfulness in speech, mindfulness in actions, and the importance of integrity, particularly keeping one’s words.

He quickly rose up the ranks of the Sangha, being appointed Preceptor in 1970 and attaining the 3rd class ranking Phra Kru

, with the official name of Phra Kru Vijitchayanurak. In 1976, this was upgraded to a 2nd class Phra Kru, with a subsequent promotion in 1987 to a 1st class ranking. On July 28th, 2019, he was elevated to the loftiest rank of Phra Racha Khana and rechristened Phra Mongkol Vijit.

 

At 5:04 p.m. on December 1st, 2019, however, at the towering pinnacle of his spiritual achievement, Luang Phor Phra passed on serenely in his cubicle at Wat Khok Dok Mai Temple. He was 96 years old and 7 months, having completed 76 Pansa

.

 

Devotees and disciples alike gathered to mourn the master and moved his body to the sermon hall. Phrakru Phimon Thamphitak

, a deputy abbot of Wat Khok Dokmai Temple, revealed that in the week prior, Luang Phor Phra has been well enough to accompany the retinue to gather alms from the surrounding area, but for some reason, he had rapidly deteriorated to a frail state in the 3-4 days prior to his passing.

The Miracle of Luang Phor Phra

Here is a series of accounts gathered from owners of Luang Phor Phra’s amulets. Some of these were shared on the show Perd Kru Lilab

(เปิดกรุลี้ลับ), aired on the Amarin TVHD channel in Thailand. Many are deeply personal beliefs and should be approached with discretion.

 

The first story concerns his holy water, the Nammon Baht Diew. In the original iteration of his blessing ceremony, Luang Phor Phra would scoop water from an urn using a bowl, pouring it from head to toe over devotees. As age began to catch up with him and his mobility diminished, however, it became a common practice for him to consecrate a large vat of the holy water, and for his disciples and devotees to retrieve it themselves. Countless accounts of the cleansing properties of this water exist, with many touting it as a miracle cure-all for everything from ailments to misfortune. Proponents of his water are almost universal in their agreement that the water is blessed with magical properties, with some going so far as to profess that the water was imbued with Klaew Klad and Kongkrapan.

The next account made headlines across Thailand and even permeated the international press. The reporter reported that in the evening of August 17, 2015, around 6:55 p.m. a terrible explosion rocked the heart of Bangkok city.  A bomb had been detonated at the Erawan

Shrine in Bangkok, killing 6 Thais, 5 Chinese, 5 Malaysians, 2 Hong Kong citizens, 1 Indonesian, and 1 Singaporean, and injuring more than 163 others.

 

The following account was related by a close friend of a woman who survived the blast. Miraculously, despite being at the epicentre of the explosion, she emerged without a scratch. She attributed this to Luang Phor Phra’s amulet, which she wore around her neck daily. Though the exact variant of the amulet was never revealed, the story was widely reported in the Thai media.

Another benefactor of his amulets was Vanida Rodthaworn

, an ardent devotee of Luang Phor Phra.

According to her, before she met Luang Phor Phra and received his blessings, her life was an uphill battle. After meeting him, however, her life and fortunes began to take a turn for the better. In February 2019, she collided with a motorcycle and was thrown about 4-5 meters. Her wrists bore the brunt of the impact, swelling horrifically. Doctors examining her injury anticipated that her wrists would have been totally destroyed, but miraculously, the bones were intact. She believed this was the work of her Rian Luang Phor Phra, which she constantly wore around her neck.

From screenshots of the interview, we were able to ascertain that the Rian in question was a Rian Mod Huang Roon Setthi

, also known as Rian Setthi.

 

Another account from Jarern Sriklom

exists regarding the efficacy of Luang Phor Phra’s amulets. At the end of 2018, he purchased a new car and brought it to Luang Phor Phra to have it anointed. Jarern arrived at the temple around 6:30 a.m. but was informed that the consecration ceremony would have to wait until 8:40 a.m. when the monks finished their breakfast.  The monk, however, suddenly decided to proceed with the ceremony at 7 a.m. Curious as to the reason for not observing the auspicious hour, Jarern realised that it had been a lottery day in Thailand, and after the ceremony, he acted upon his hunch and purchased a ticket. To his astonishment, he won over a million Thai Baht. He attributed this blessing to Luang Phor Phra.

 

Jarern commented that the monks are not allowed to give the lottery directly but you have to observe the hints yourself.

The stories about Luang Phor Phra of Wat Khok Dok Mai Temple that we had presented in this article are not meant to sway the reader’s beliefs towards blind faith. Instead, we offer this information to readers to get to know him better and to see the attitudes and Buddhist path that he adheres to in his daily life, and how this had resulted in his abilities to dispense blessings and auspiciousness onto his followers. If you want to know other information about him or other monks and amulets, check out our related articles on the website. In the end, we hope that the information presented above will be of benefit to readers who love Thai amulets.