THE REPORTING SPIRIT
LOK2004
Today I am going
to tell you a story of a spirit of a man who came to see me just after he died. This incident took place in 1983. It was the spirit of Mr. Wirot
Panjaburi, who had strong determination to practice vipassana meditation at
Wat Ambhavan.
Let’s
begin with his biography.
Wirot
Panjaburi was born on August 4, 1960, at 91/1 Pratuchai Road, Amphur Muang,
Changwat Payao.
He
was the second child of Mr. Wirat and Mrs. Mornkaew Panjaburi, who had four
children. He was a good student
with a very good record and a find young man, for he did not smoke or dring
alcohol. He finished high school
from Payao Pittayakom School in 1977, received a teaching certificate in 1981,
and a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education on March 2, 1983. When he was a student representative
from Chiangrai Teachers’ College, he had attended a vipassana course at Wat
Ambhavan in October 1982. It was a
seven-day course organized by the Young Buddhist Association for college
students from all over Thailand.
The students were taught how to practice vipassana meditation. Wirot paid serious attention to the
lesson and could achieve good meditation results.
In
1983, The Young Buddhist Association arranged a five-day vipassana meditation
course for two hundred students at Wat Ambhavan, Changwat Singburi. Director Somporn Tepsiddha, the
president of The Young Buddhist Association, invited Mr. Charn Manudham, the
Minister of Education, to preside over the opening ceremony on October 21,
1983.
At
Chiangrai Teachers’ College, Mr. Somdej Mungmuang, a master’s degree instructor
asked Wirot, a new instructor, to join the course.
“Would you
like to join the vipassana meditation course at Wat Ambhavan?” Somdej asked Wirot.
“Yes, I would
definitely like to go. I learned
to practice vipassana meditation at Wat Ambhavan last year when I was a
student. It made me happy and
peaceful,” Wirot answered.
Somdej
knew that feeling very well because he too had practiced vipassana meditation
when he was a student. So he
assigned Wirot to look after the students and be one of the lecturers. Wirot happily accepted the job.
Wirot
asked his girlfriend, Kunlaya, who worked at Changwat Payao, to attend the
course. But she did not want to.
“Please go
ahead. I will go to the temple
when I am as old as a grandmother,” she said.
With
firm determination to attend the course, Wirot prepared his bags. He packed two bags, one for his stay at
Wat Ambhavan, the other for this sports attire as he was to play sports before
going to the temple.
On
October 16, 1983, five days before the course, Wirot and Kunlaya were riding a
motercycle and had a fatal collision with a car. Wirot died instantly from head and body injuries. Kunlaya was taken to a hospital and
died the following day.
On
that same day, at Wat Ambhavan, we were on the last day of a vipassana
meditation training course for Tepsatri Teachers’ College students. After the closing ceremony, we clean up
the auditorium. There were two new
monks, one had a master’s degree, the other had a bachelor’s degree. They were not interested in vipassana
meditation as they said that they had ordained temporary, for fifteen days
only. The master’s degree monk
would be going to the United States of America to study for a Ph.D. degree.
“You should
practice vipassana meditation because you will have better concentration and it
will help your studies,” I told him.
“I am not
interested because I want to prepare for my studies in the United States of
America,” he answered.
The other monk was also not interested in meditation but he helped with the temple activities, such as cleaning up, sweeping the floor of the auditorium (we did not have carpet at that time). It was late evening. While I was sitting in a chair and the two monks were sweeping the floor, Wirot showed up carrying his two bags. He paid his respects to me.
“Hello, how
are you?” I greeted him.
“My name is
Wirot. I have come from
Chiangrai. Do you remember me?” he asked me.
“Well, you
look familiar.” I was not sure I
remembered him.
“I was your
student at last year’s training course organized by The Young Buddhist
Association. I did not have enough
practice then, but I practiced at home.
I am very interested in vipassana meditation. I am joining the upcoming course because I have accepted an
assignment as a lecturer from Instructor Somdej,” he said.
“Why have you
come here so early. Today is
October 16. The course will start
on October 21,” I said.
“I am dead,” he said.
The
two monks who were sweeping the floor became weak-kneed and sat down and looked
at Wirot. He did not look like a
TV ghost with rotten eyes, long hair and big hands. The two monks were very interested in his conversation.
“How did you
come here?,” I asked.
“Dear
Luang Poh, I realized the benefit of vipassana meditation from my last training
course here. I have accepted the job
from Instructor Somdej to accompany the students. I want to practice vipassana for seven days and seven
nights. I also asked my girlfriend
to come here but she did not want to.
We were riding our motercycle, when a car hit us. I died instantly. I was determined to come to this temple
and here I am with my two bags,” he said.
“Where is your
funeral and where is your girlfriend?”
“Kunlaya was
taken to a hospital and died afterwards.
Our funerals were held separately.”
“Why aren’t in
your coffin? How can you come
here?” I asked again.
“It’s not true
that a spirit has to stay in his coffin,” he said and continued to tell his story.
He
was in good mindfulness (awareness) while he was dying. He stepped out and looked at his
lifeless body with its seriously wounded head and abdomen. When his body was taken to a temple and
prepared for the funeral, he followed and watched every step; sprinkling water
on the corpse’s right hand, putting the body inside a coffin and the monks
chanting. As soon as the procedure
was finished, Wirot’s spirit arrived at Wat Ambhavan.
Please
listen carefully, the spirit will be in an unhappy existence if the mind is
with defilements. Vise versa, it
will be in a happy existence if the mind is without defilements.
“Didn’t you
stay with your body when it was put inside the coffin?” I asked.
“No, I didn’t,”
he
answered.
So I learned that a spirit does not have to stay inside the coffin. He can go anywhere his mind wants to go. For example, as soon as you close your eyes and think of your house or your bedroom, you can be there without getting struck in traffic or turning left or right. Now you are listening to me in the auditorium, if you think of the dining hall, you can be there immediately without turning or stopping anywhere.
I
would like to add that it is not always true that spirits remain at the place
where they die. If they have an
accident and die instantly, their spirits do not have to remain at that
road. Only the person who has
never trained in mindfulness or perform any merit stays at the place they died
because they do not know where else to go. This kind of being is called “Sambhavesi” or a wandering
ghost.
If
they die with greed, they will born hungry ghosts or demons. If they die with anger or hatred,
especially women who are in deep anger with their husbands, they will become
ghosts (or so called “vampires”). Sambhavesi
is a demon who died when his mind is with greed. His mind is attached to the place he dies and he has to stay
there and guard that place. One
example are those of Camp Bang Rachan during the Sri Ayudhya period. Thai heroes, such as Mr. Chan
Nuadkeaw and Khun San Pan-rueng, died while they were fighting with Burmese
enemies. That moment their
minds were with anger, they remained and guarded the place. Everybody knew that place was
haunted. Nobody could take
anything from that place, wood or water.
Some people tried to take away sacred water from a pond named Luang Poh
Arjarn Dhammajoti Pond, but the kettle burst before they could leave the place.
Arjarn
Dhammajoti was very good a Jhana (absorption meditation), but he died with
hatred while fighting for his beloved country. His spirit remained and guarded the place fiercely. Later King Bhumibol built a new fort,
made merit and dedicated the merit as well as radiated loving-kindness to the
ghosts. The spirits could leave
Camp Bang Rachan and went to their proper places. Now the Camp is not haunted anymore.
Wirot
said that he was not a wandering ghost.
Many people saw him while I was talking to him. It was not my imagination. How did I know that he was a spirit?
I
had not noticed when he arrived because there were so many people cleaning up
the auditorium. When I saw him, he
was already sitting in front of me and was paying respect to me. After he introduced himself and told
his story, I continued questioning him.
“Who will
listen to the monks’ chanting if you are not in the coffin?” I asked.
“The chanting
is for living relatives and guests.
I do not have to listen,” he said.
The
master’s degree monk was listening with gaping mouth.
“I definitely
have to come here to meditate because I am determined to do so. Time in human world is very valuable,” Wirot continued talking.
The
master’s degree monk thought “Oh! I am a monk but I do not want to learn
vipassana meditation. He is a
ghost but he desperately wants to meditate.”
Later, he and the bachelor’s degree monk asked me to teach them
vipassana meditation and they started practicing together.
I continued talking to Wirot.
“You should
listen to the monks’ chanting. It
is good for you,” I said.
“Dear Luang
Poh, the chanting is for living relatives and guests. The spirit already has his own path, that is to go to a good
place if the mind is good, to a bad place if the mind is not good. As for me I have planned for a long
time to come back here to continue practicing vipassana meditation and be a
lecturer for the upcoming course.
Last year, I could practice vipassana meditation for only two full days
because there were so many lecturers and the practice time was less. However, I was very impressed,” he said.
“Dear Sir, I am
very tired, please let me stay here and show me where I can stay. I am willing to serve you if your need
my help,” said Wirot.
“Go to the
lodgings beside the Uposatha hall and find any empty one to stay,” I said.
“Please do
not let him stay at my place,” a monk said.
“I do not
believe him. He may be a drug
addict who lies for a chance to steal from us,” the bachelor’s degree monk said.
Well
it was not a bad idea. We should
wait and see.
“I have to rest
because I am very tied. By the
way, do you know when the students will arrive?
Wirot asked.
I checked the letter and told him.
“5 p.m. and
they will have dinner here.”
“Please believe
me. They will arrive very late,
probably at 11 p.m., not before 9 p.m.,” he said.
“Why is that?” I asked.
“They will stop
and tour around the Bhumibol Dam at Changwat Tak. It will take a lot of time for hundreds of students to
finish their sightseeing. So they
will arrive late. Please tell the
cooks not to start cooking too early or the food will spoil. Please believe me Luang Poh, I know
better than you in this case. I
have become very tired since the accident. Please let me know where I can stay,” Wirot said.
“O.K. Please
go and rest” I pointed at a lodging.
He bowed to me three times, lifted his bags and walked away.
The
master’s degree monk could not stand anymore. He had to sit down.
So did I. Why was it? When he moved away his feet were one
inch above the ground! There were
also other things: his eyes had no glistening of life. He had never looked me in the eyes but
stared at the floor. He
disappeared once he got to the Luang Poh Toeh shrine.
At
that time we had not built the shrine yet. There was a big 800-year old tree (Luang Samarnvanakt had
identified its age). I thought
about the danger if the tree fell, either the temple or my lodging or the
auditorium would be flattened. So
I had it cut down. Some villagers
asked for the wood. But soon they
had to bring it back because they heard a cry from that wood. I had to build a small sacred house for
the divine being who used to stay at the tree. Later, I built a small shrine for Somdej Buddhajarn Toeh
Prommarangsi.
After
Wirot left, several monks followed and checked all the lodgings, but they could
not find him or his two bags. The
two monks asked me to teach them to meditate.
“We have been
here many days but we did not realize the benefits of vipasana meditation. The ghost is better than us, for he
knows the value of meditation,” they said.
They
started vipassana meditation and went on practicing with the students from
Chiangrai.
Please
remember Wirot could leave of his body and be here because he had trained in
mindfulness.
“Dear Luang Poh
if I had never trained in mindfulness, I could have gone to any place. But I had intention to come here and I
had packed by bags and prepared everything. Now I can be here,” Wirot said.
October
21, 1983, the day that students from Chiangrai arrived, electricity at Wat
Ambhavan was out from 6 p.m. till dawn, though it was not out at any other
place. The dogs howled all
night. I asked monks to light
candles and put them along the walkways.
The students arrived very late that night. So it was true what Wirot had told us.
After
greeting the group, I told them to take a shower and have dinner. But they said that they were very
hungry so they had dinner before taking a shower. After that they attended the orientation for the training
course. Then I invited the staff:
Mr. Somdej and three other female instructors, to see me. The master’s degree monk read the note
about the visit of Wirot’s spirit five days before. After listening to the story, the staff came to tears and
acknowledged that it was true.
It
was a miracle, that we at Wat Ambhavan knew about Wirot’s fatal accident before
the group arrived. I also told
Somdej that Wirot should have died on October 21 at the Bhumibol Dam in
Changwat Tak, but that would have delayed their vipassana meditation lesson. So he had died five days before the
departure date.
Instructor
Somdej said to me.
“I would like
to go back to Payao to attend Wirot’s cremation ceremony on October 23. May I leave the students under your
care on that day, please.”
This
is a true story of a spirit who came to see me and asked to attend vipassana
meditation. He could do it because
he studied Dhamma and practiced vipassana meditation. His mindfulness was sufficient. I remembered asking him whether he was in pain while he was
dying.
“Sir, it
happened so fast that I hardly felt it and I just stood outside watching my
body. I talked to many people but
no one answered me because they did not see or hear me,” he answered.
Where is the ghost world or the world of divine beings? The answer is they are among us. There could be many of them in the empty space around us but we cannot see them. They are in different existences and different births. Heaven is not up in the sky. Hell is not down under the earth. Once I had dug the ground, and found only earth worms and millipedes. If heaven is up in the sky, I should have seen it when I was in an airplane but I did not see any up there.
Therefore,
heaven and hell co-exist among us, but we do not know it.
Not
only humans can practice vipassana meditation, but also ghosts and divine
beings can practice too. For
example, Mrs. Galong who practiced vipassana meditation at Wat Ambhavan and got
successful results, for her status changed to that of a divine being.
We
have witnesses and evidence to prove that Wirot’s story is true. I have some pictures of him and his
colleagues. Wirot practices
vipassana until he got successful results because he reached the sixteenth
insight. How do I know? He had shown his qualification to
me. The person who has gained the
sixteenth insight will have a special qualification and appearance, which Wirot
had after heartily practicing vipassana meditation at Wat Ambhavan.
In
order that this story is a complete report about the spirit, we have attached
letters and notes from the persons mentioned.
To
Phra
Rajsuddhinanamongkol
Amphur Muang, Chiangrai
October 8, 1987
Phra Rajsuddhinanamongkol
Wat Ambhavan
Singburi
Your Holiness:
I
am very willing to write this letter telling the story of my dead student. This is a true story that I can
remember very well because it was quite a miracle. Here is the event that occurred in October 1983.
I
organized a vipassana meditation training course with the corporation of Young
Buddhist Association for student leaders of Chiangrai Teachers’ College in
October 21-25, 1983. I have
enclosed herewith the training booklet.
I
asked Mr. Wirot Panjaburi to join this training as a supervisor who would give
talks and take care of the students, because he had been trained in the same
cause in October of last year. He
graduated from Chiangrai Teachers’ College with a bachelor’s degree in Physical
Education in 1982. Then he applied
for an instructor position at Chiangrai Teachers’ College. He passed the qualification examination
and was waiting for acceptance. He
had a lot of respect for Luang Poh because he talked about you every time he saw
me.
When
I invited him to help with this training, he willingly accepted the job. His letter, written before he died
showed how much he wanted to come to Wat Ambhavan and pay respect to you.
We
planned to leave Chiangrai on October 21, 1983, but Wirot and Kunlaya, his girlfriend,
died from a fatal motorcycle accident on October 16, 1983. We paid respects at his funeral in Changwat
Payao on the departure night. (Kunlaya died on October 17, 1983. Her funeral was at her parents’ house
in Payao.)
There
was a heavy rain during the journey, just before we reached Singburi. It was around 8 p.m. when we arrived at
Wat Ambhavan. The electricity was
out. The students were all
worried. I went to your lodging to
pay respect to you and to inform you about Wirot and his girlfriend’s
deaths. You told me that Wirot had
already been there to see you and there were many people who had seen him. This was the first miracle.
I
went back to attend their cremation ceremony, and their relatives asked me to
bring their 500 baht donation to Wat Ambhavan. Another miracle happened on the night of October 24. At midnight, while you were giving the
farewell speech and radiating the merit to any enemies and helpers, there was
the sound of a dog howling far away from the temple. The howling got nearer and nearer until it surrounded the
auditorium. You said, “The ghosts
have received the merit we dedicated and they were around this auditorium. Wirot has also come and was standing
behind the door.” The dog howling
was very loud. Nobody dared to
look at the door or windows. As
soon as you said “Now all the ghost have gone,” the howling
stopped. Everything was in
silence. I remember this event
very well because I had never experienced such a miraculous event before.
May
I mention the accident on the night of October 16, 1983, that took Wirot’s and
Kunlaya’s lives. That night they
went to a basketball game at a school.
When the game was over, they went home on his motorcycle via a highway. One portion of this highway is
hillside, with many shrubs along the sides. Wirot used to tell his brothers and sisters that it was
unsafe to use this highway at night.
However, he and his girlfriend lost their lives there because they were
hit by a pick-up truck driven by a drunken man. The riders of the truck were instructors from Payao
Technical College who had just celebrated their graduation from a training
course at Chiangrai Teachers’ College.
The driver, who was not the owner of the truck, I knew because he was
from the same district, Mae Jai, as I.
This truck has had another sad story associated with it. The owner’s father was murdered and
burned inside this truck on April 1985.
Later, his mother committed suicide because she was afraid of being
arrested for murdering her husband.
The truck was eventually incinerated since the adulterous incident. This had nothing to do with Wirot’s and
Kunlaya’s deaths, but I could not help thinking whether there is any connecting
karma to this case or not.
Luang Poh had also told me on the night of October 21, 1983, when I arrived at Wat Ambhavan, that Wirot should have died on October 21, 1983, from drowning at Bhumibol Dam, Changwat Tak where we stopped for a study tour. I would have been very busy with arranging things if it had happened then. It could have caused problems to the vipassana meditation training on the following day. But both Wirot and Kunlaya were very good persons who did not want to cause any trouble to anybody, including me, so they died before the group started the trip.
I
have told the whole story that is quite long, but it will be useful for your
book and for future generations who read it. Other details are in the two booklets enclosed.
I
pray that The Buddha, The Dhamma and The Sangha bless you with good health so
you can help other human beings and other beings.
With
highest respect,
(Somdej
Mungmuang)
91/1
Pratuchai
12th
October, 1983
Dear Ajahn Somdej,
I
would like to thank you very much for your warm welcome on the college home
coming day. At first, I thought
many things might change but I felt that I was still a part of Chiangrai
Teachers’ College. I have fond
memories and love the college. I
do hope that I can join the next home coming and receive this warm welcome as
an alumni again.
As
for the training course at Singburi, I really want to go. However, I have not asked my father’s
permission yet. I will ask him in
a few days, after I study hard for the coming MST exam. Then he will not have any
objection. I have to take the exam
on 29th – 30th October, 1983. I guess many of my friends such as Seng, Uh, Manode Kwanyuen
and Noppon will join this course.
You and I will certainly enjoy the course. I really want to go to Singburi.
I
will set the date and time with you after I get my father’s permission.
Please
forward my best regards to Seng kwanyuen.
Yours
sincerely,
Wirot
Panjaburi