WELCOME SPEECH
At the Annual Robe-Offering,
Kathina, Ceremony
LOK3001
Good day everybody
Today
I
will talk about the activities for this year’s annual robe-offering ceremony at
Wat Ambhavan. I never figured out how
we could arrange today’s ceremony, even though I have often thought about it
during these last three years.
This
preaching hall has served us for sixty years. It is large enough to accommodate
twenty-five monks and one hundred lay people who come here to offer food to the
monks and to chant. But it is not
large enough to accommodate seventy-five monks and novices who stay at this
temple during the Rains Retreat.
When
I first came here as an interim abbot in 1956, becoming the abbot in 1957, this
temple was surrounded by forest. We
renovated the original uposatha hall and found evidence that it was built by
Chinese during the Meng Chu Period, several hundred years ago.
How
do we know? We found engraved
stones buried inside the original uposatha hall. They were written in Chinese. We also found seven buckets of Chinese
coins, a lot of ceramic wares, jewelry, jade bracelets, dragon-horse sculpture
and nine running-horse dolls. After
inspection, everything was stored in a proper place.
I
want to tell the history of this temple to you because you may not have heard
it before. We have learned from the
engraved stones that two Chinese men, named Kim Liang and Kim Cheu, came to trade
with King Narai the Great of Ayudhya five hundred years ago, the
I
had the engraved stones translated by three different Chinese men from three
different districts in Singhburi.
All three translations were the same. The seven buckets of Chinese coins are
here at this temple without even one coin missing. At the beginning, I was not sure what
they were. Later, I had a chance to
visit China and showed some of them to my Chinese hosts. They were very surprised to see such
rare Meng Chu coins. These coins
remain with me, so I have proof of this temple’s age.
I
myself can calculate the age of this temple from the two ancient Tripitaka
cabinets kept here. One was built
in 1657; another in 1767. Since the
final defeat of the Ayudhya army, everything has remained in good and complete
condition.
We
have learnt from the Chinese characters engraved on the stones that the
builders had asked the permission of King Narai to offer two Buddha statues to
this wat. The Buddha statues were
named Nak Prok Huyan and Kamain Kang Khon Hutoom. I keep these two Buddha statues well
protected in my residence. You are
welcome to look at them. I also
have the pictures of a long-braid Chinese man of the Meng Chu Period. Ms. Sunee Pansuporn had an artist copy
these pictures for me.
I
guarantee that the original uposatha hall was built by Chinese men, especially
as it also had Chinese architectural characteristics. I sealed the ceramic ware inside the
Buddha statues. Do you know why I
cannot put them out for public exhibition?
It is because they would soon disappear. I put some tiles on exhibition, they are
all gone! One of my students who
was from Lopburi told me that thieves stole the tiles and used them as raw
materials to make miniature Buddha statues to sell. If I put the ceramic ware for
exhibition, they would have disappeared too. It is better that I have buried them
inside the temple, so they are very well protected.
There
happened also a strange phenomena at this uposatha hall every morning. Six inches of water flooded the
floor. We had to put away all the
mats and carpet every evening in order to prepare for the flooding.
I
smelled and tasted the water, and wondered where it came from. I kept some water in a bottle. Some time after that, I knew the answer. It had the same smell and taste as the
holy water at Tai Ngan Ang Yee Temple of Tae Chiew City in China. How come it rose up at Wat Ambhavan
uposatha hall? This is very
strange.
As
time went by, the uposatha hall got older and older. One day I heard a strange voice, “Your
Holiness, the uposatha hall will collapse tomorrow after 9.45 a.m.” I did not pay much attention to the
voice. But something happened on
the following day. Some time after
9.00 a.m., the uposatha hall collapsed.
It was exactly as the voice I heard. I felt I should have listened to this
voice.
It
was after the original uposatha hall collapsed that we found the engraved
stones. I was sure that they were
very valuable. To prevent damage, I
sealed them inside the base of the main Buddha statue. We also found pictures of a long
mustache man. Later we found that
it looked exactly the same as the drawing inside the Night Pearl Cave in Kluay
Lin City, China. I took the
pictures from the cave and compared them to the one I had. From the inscription in the cave, we
know that he was a great Chinese poet during some great Chinese Emperor’s
reign.
A
Chinese man told me, “Luang Poh, if you want to build a new uposatha hall, you
should build it here at the same place.”
Later,
I heard the strange voice again, “Your Holiness, the builders of the original
uposatha hall will come here and re-build the uposatha hall.” Soon after that, three men visited and
offered to re-build the temple. All
three men had Chinese grandparents.
The third man was Major General Wasan Panich. At that time he was a Colonel, and
worked as the secretariat of the Cannon Division of Lopburi Army Base. The new uposatha hall was re-built and
finished in one year and sixteen days.
I did not have to ask for any donation or charity for this construction.
I
have been working hard at developing this temple and as well as purifying
people’s mind since I broke my neck in 1978. I knew six months in advance that I
would die at age 49, from a broken neck in a car accident on October 14, 1978
at 12.45 p.m. I had to face
death. There was no way I could
remain in this world longer.
I
was determined and made a vow that I had not yet paid all debts to human
beings, I would ask for my life so that I could repay all these depts while I
was alive. I did not want to return
the flavor to human in my next rebirth.
I was very tired of human existence, for it is full of jealous humans. I do not want to deal with humans any
more in continued future births.
After
making my vow, I recovered from that near fatal accident. Dr. Pradit, of Leardsin Hospital in
Bangkok, said to me:
“There
is only you, Luang Poh, who can survive such a fatal injury of a broken neck
and can speak and breathe through the navel by concentrating on the “rising…”
and “falling…” rhythm of your abdomen.
This is unbelievable!”
One
thing I could do to pay my debts, is to build a new pavilion. I would like to take this opportunity to
inform Yom Boonyong Wongwanich that there are as many as two hundred thousand
people who have used this all-purpose building since we built it in 1981. We have it on record. However, we may have underestimated the
number because we did not record those who paid a short visit to listen to
Dhamma teaching.
As
for this preaching hall, I have always felt sad that there was not enough space
to seat all seventy-five monks at the temple during meals. They have to sit on the floor among
un-ordained people. How can I
resolve this situation?
The
second thing is the rotten pillars that have been eaten by termites. If I do not build a new building now,
there will be nobody who will do it.
I will die some day, and it is near the time that I have to leave
you. I will have to build it while
I am alive.
Therefore,
I plan to build a new big preaching hall.
Its dimension should be 50 meters long and 20 meters wide. It should be large enough to accommodate
a thousand people and suitable for vipassana training, sitting and
sleeping. The old preaching hall is
not large enough because it is only 14 meters wide.
The
new preaching hall will economically built in the cheapest and best way. The sound system must be loud and
clear. I do not want to build a two
or three story building with a fourteen or fifteen million Baht budget. It must be built with a lower budget
than that.
I
will put a fifty-meter long platform for seating two hundred monks, and put
screen on the windows to block insects and mosquitoes. There should also be at least twenty five
toilets because they are one of the most important facilities on the
earth. It is the best way to
release suffering. We should also
keep them clean. The Buddha taught
us that it is great virtue to clean toilets. Monks who find a dirty toilet and walk
away without cleaning it, are considered as having broken the Sarigha
discipline.
If
you want your children to be wise, you should make them take good care of the
toilets. There are two places that
nobody wants to go, unless it is necessary. They are the hospital and the
toilet. These places are
tiresome. This is the reason why
these two places potential to acquire a high level of virtue.
I
have had the experience myself while I was staying in the hospital. A nurse said to me,
“Please
come here again, Luang Poh, we will take good care of you”
“Oh!
I have had enough! Do you want me
to have another broken neck?” I
will not be admitted to the hospital unless it is really necessary.
Like
the toilet, nobody wants to go there unless it is necessary to do so. These kinds of necessities are
opportunities to develop great virtue, but nobody realizes it. It’s like a hair that obscures the view
of the mountain.
Dear
fellows, please contribute to the job of “making good people”. I am now waking up people and letting
them know how to work. If you want
your children to be able to work, first, you should wake them up so that they
have faith and understanding. If
they are still sleepy, they cannot work.
Please
wake the children up and teach them how to work. Do not let them be idle, and be away
from adult guidance because they can easily get lost. I am working hard both day and night
without sleeping in order to make people good.
If
I have to stay at somebody’s hourse, I guarantee that I eat very little. Only one spoonful is enough. But I work hard all day and all night.
There
are no holidays at this temple. We
do not stop working on Saturday or Sunday like the government. We work day and night and we earn 30
days salary, no raise. There is
only 28 days in one month and that is not enough.
Life
that is full of work is a happy life.
Enjoy your work. Some people
do not want to work. Some have high
education but escape from work.
They will have misfortune.
I
have to build three kinds of hospitals here. The big hospital provides meals for
people from all over the country.
For example, I provided meals for two thousand people who visited us at
dawn two days ago. The mid-size
hospital is for taking care of people who visit our temple and join activities
at the pavilion. The last kind of
hospital is an I.C.U. in front of my residence. Sometimes people show up at 1 or 2
a.m. Some have had accidents. Some are very hungry. I provide some food for them before
starting the conversation. This is
an emergency unit for people who arrive here accidentally and are hungry. These people normally come from far away
provinces, such as Chiangrai, Lampang, Chiangmai, Udorn or Nongkai, and arrive
here at 1 or 2 a.m. They look bad,
so I have to provide some coffee, Ovaltine, boiled rice or boiled sweet potatoes
to ease their hunger. They are sad
and suffer. We have to help them
get rid of their suffering and make them happy, so they can go back to their
work happily.
Why
do they come to a temple but learn nothing? If they come here they must gain
something. They are suffering, so
we must help them solve their problems and be happy again. We willingly provide food for them, so
they like to come here. There is no
problem with us in providing food for these people.
According
to Thai custom, we treat guests with food and water. But there are some people who do not
have manners in welcoming their guests.
This is why I always greet my guests with this greeting.
“You
are welcome to have a meal here.
Please go to the dining hall and help yourself.”
This
is why there is a need for a big preaching hall or pavilion, but I do not know
how I am going to raise the funds.
However, I made up my mind three years ago that I must have it
built. My time is approaching. If I do not build it now, then who will
do it?
The
new pavilion should be built in the Thai style with five beautiful verandahs, wall
to wall carpets and wire screens to block insects. We need screens on the windows and the doors
because there are a lot of insects and flies in the upcountry area. This building should be built along the Chao
Phraya River bank. It provides a nice
cool breeze. Pattaya can not beat it!
According
to the architect who designed this new pavilion, the budget should be six million
Baht. However, I think it can be built
at a lesser cost because we can save cost for pillars and labor. We can get help from our villagers. I want to have it well built, look good, with
glass windows. It must be equipped with
good toilets.
I
have not decided when to have it built. However, Yom Sunee Pansuporn came and
discussed with me about this year’s rope-offering ceremony.
“What
is your project for Wat Ambhavan this year? What do you want to build?, she asked.
We
finally came to the same answer, that we want to build a new pavilion for training,
merit making and Buddhist activities. It should be big enough to accommodate one
thousand people. The front space will
be reserved for sitting on the floor. The back space will be for chairs. We will put many chairs there.
Buddhists
in Sri Lanka do not sit while they are listening to Buddhist Dhamma, they lie down
because their tummies are so big that they cannot sit for a long period of time.
But they are better listeners than Thai
people. They listen carefully and nobody
talks to each other during the preaching. I used to ask them some questions, but nobody
answered me.
On
the other hand, Thai people sit down and put their palms together at the chest level
to show respect while they are listening to the preaching, but they talk to each
other. The Sri Lankan do not talk; they
either lie down or stand. They will
not talk to us. This is how they show
their respect. They pay very good attention
to the preaching, have faith, review the teaching and practice the Dhamma. They can achieve good results.
As
for the fund raising, Yom Sunee Pansuporn and her relatives and friends donated
money for the construction of this new pavilion. She also informed Colonel Thongkam Sriyothin,
the president of the Yound Buddhist Association, about the project. He and the association helped with fund raising.
Yom
Boonyong Wongwanich was the benefactor of the building in the front of this
temple. It is used for housing vipassana
meditation trainees. You can see fences
separating the building and the rest of the temple. We built fifty small cottages for meditators.
We grew five hundred Payoong trees.
These cottages are situated among a
man-made forest. Sunlight can shine
to the flowers on the ground of this forest. It will be an isolated area with a quiet and
peaceful atmosphere. I will have more
toilets built there. I will make this
forest resemble the International Forest Monastery of Luang Poh Jah.
I
have had the northern road expanded by two meters so buses can enter via this road.
I will have a beautiful fence built
so that people outside cannot see through it. With peace and isolation, vipassana meditators
can reach fruitful results.
The
trainees may be a little confused because we will teach here but will utilize the
isolated man-made forest for the practice sessions. The training will be held at this side of
the temple. The 3-story library building
will be finished soon. There will be
two large rooms on each floor. These
rooms are for guest monks who come here to learn vipassana meditation. Thirty to forty monks can stay on each floor
where there are plenty of toilets on each floor.
Somdet
Phra Nyannasamvara has agreed to preside over the opening ceremony of this new labrary
building. I invited him when he came
here for the opening of the Boontin Attakorn Building.
For
this year’s rope-offering ceremony, your donations will be spent to build this new
pavilion that will be built along the Chao Phraya River bank. We have to tear down the old building in order
to make space. The new pavilion will
be bigger, that is fifty meters long and twenly meters wide. It will have a Thai-style, five-tiered roof and wire
screens and glass windows. Inside the
building, there will be two rows of columns along the two long sides. The middle space will be an open area. The roof will be made of steel. The cost will be kept as low as possible.
Today,
many groups of people who donated money join this annual rope-offering ceremony.
They are the Talan Buddhist group, the
president, the instructors and the students from teacher colleges, the officers
from the Department of Live Stock Development and the meditation students. This is a very good relation that shows unity.
I
have an uneasy feeling talking about fund raising for this new pavilion. But, please think that you are helping me
in the task of making good people. We
are educating good Thai citizens. If
we do not help each other, our children will have a very tough time, and will have
no land to live on within the next twenty years.
Nowadays,
children of Singhburi do not remain here. They escape from farm work and go to work
as laborers in Bangkok. Nobody returns
home to help their parents grow rice. Some parents used to own several hundred acres
of rice farm, but they had to sell the land and gave a share of the money to their
children. Some parents carn ten thousand
Baht daily from their local trade. However,
no children help their parents because they move away to towns and work for others.
There
are several big buildings in Singhburi, but they do not belong to Singhburi folks.
People from other places have bought
them. Why is it so? Here is the reason. Singhburi people may have five to six hundred
rai of rice farm, but their children do not work on the farm. They have higher education than their parents
and have earned vocational certificates and bachelor degrees. They go to other places to work as
employees in big companies.
Some
say that Thailand has problems with high unemployment. I would rather re-state this, there are
many lazy people. We have a lot of
farm work but children do not return home to help their parents.
Some
even asked me to help their unemployed children look for jobs. I have gone to their houses and found
out the truth, that they have their own business, i.e., fifty rai of harvested
crops. The father loaded them onto
their delivery truck and the mother drove it. How could they say that they have no
job? This mean that the kids are
lazy!
Do
not say that they are unemployed.
Better to say that they are lazy!
Dear
kids, after you receive your bachelor degree, you do not have to ask for a job
somewhere else. You just come home
and help your parents do your family business. Do not sell your land. Please keep it. Last year Japanese bought thirty
thousand rai of land in Thailand.
Oh! Thai children do not know the value of their mother land. They prefer to be employees!
Some
yound women worked as a laundry maids in Bangkok, though she had eight hundred
rai or rice farm. She dressed
pretty, wearing high heel shoes, acting as if she were a lady. Actually she was but a laborer! It was ashamed! She did not work on her own land. Later, her old parents had to sell the
land. Some have had to sell their
houses.
“Why
do you have to sell your building?”
I asked.
“No
one helps us in our business. Our
children have gone to the south,” they answered. (“the south” here means Bangkok)
The
children work for others and cannot keep their parents’ property. This is the reason why I must have this
new pavilion built. Please
understand me.
Do
you know how much the monthly expenses of this temple are? It is forty-four thousand Baht! Why do they charge me a lot of money for
electricity used at this temple?
Don’t they feel sorry for me?
If they bill me for a hundred thousand Baht, I will disconnect the
electricity and use kerosene lamps.
The
fact is we do not normally use that much electricity. I keep a record of all the receipts from
the beginning of the year. They are
ten thousand Baht, eight thousand Baht and nine thousand Baht. But I don’t know why last month it was
forty-four thousand Baht. We also
have to pay twenty thousand Baht a month for food. We have to share food modestly now. I will keep fighting with this expenses
even though I have to fight alone.
I
would like to ask all of you who help me in awakening people, making people
work, teaching them to remember Thai custom, Thai manners, knowing the value of
ancestor lands, to help your parents work.
Dear sons and daugthers, do not leave family business. Do not leave the rice farm if your
family are farmers. Many people
have left the rice farm and they do not know how to grow rice. Some do now know how to trade. The parents have small business. The children have master degrees but
they do not know how to deal in trading and become employees in others’
companies. Please think about it.
Lunch
time is approaching. I would like
to invite you to have lunch here. Our food is very good, whoever eats today
will later be rich and happy. One
grain of my rice can grow to one hundred U.S. dollars. Only rice cooked at this temple can grow
after you eat it. True or false? You must try to prove it. I have noticed that many people have
become rich after they ate their meals here. Now, they have a lot of money!