Visiting masters is one of my interests. If time allows I will travel to their temples to pay respects to them. However, Thailand is a big country consisting of 77 provinces with tens of thousands of monks. It is totally impossible for us to visit every single one of them. Hence, I have searched high and low for the top 3 recognized ones who are well known in all the 77 provinces, hoping to pay respects to them. Sad to say, one and only one master’s name was mentioned, and he is the renowned Luang Phor Koon from Wat Banrai.
Travelling to Wat Banrai took abit quite of time, about 3.5hrs to 4hrs depending to traffic condition.
Nonetheless, to me it was definitely worth it despite the effort and costs There was enthusiasm in the air when we finally arrived Wat Banrai. The feeling was great - as though we were going to meet the Number 1 superstar of Thailand who is also well known in Asia countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong etc. I took a number of photos including a big Luang Phor Koon statue which is currently relocated and coated with gold paint.
When we entered the place where Luang Phor Koon often met his devotees, we saw a sign board “No photo taking” hanging on the beam right above the seat where Luang Phor Koon will be seating. It was really disappointing because we had the intention of taking photos with the master that we really love. However, we understood that some people might not feel comfortable with the camera’s flash which might stimulate the nerves of eyes and do harm to retina, conjunctiva or cornea. Hence, in respect of the house rules and in order not to make our beloved master feel uncomfortable we dropped the idea of taking photos with him.
We chit-chatted with the kammakan and was told Luang Phor Koon came from a rather complicated family. He has a stepmother and his sister and elder brother helping out in the temple. On top of that we also met a Thai lady who travelled for more than 10 hours from her hometown in Phuket to Wat Banrai. She told us that she came here to help out 2 to 3 times a month. We were curious and wondered what really brought her here. She told us that she and her family was selling food near the beach and owned 2 boats. They were very lucky to be able to survive during the Tsunami period and their boats were not damaged but sad to say her neighbours beside her were not that lucky. She said that before the Tsunami struck, Luang Phor Koon came to her hometown, everyone hoped Luang Phor Koon will stay in their house as many believed this will bring good luck to one’s family. She was very lucky to be able to invite Luang Phor Koon to stay in her house. She strongly believed Luang Phor Koon has saved her and her family. Hence, this is why she was here.
Another story was told by a Singaporean. Few years back, 3 contractors went to his shop to do some renovation work. Before the project started, the 3 contractors went to Wat Banrai to pay respect to Luang Phor Koon. 2 of them their head were knocked by Luang Phor Koon using a stick (devotees believe this will bring good luck to them). The other one was knocked on the shoulder, he was unhappy and complained to his friends why don’t Luang Phor Koon knocked his head instead of his shoulder? After they were back to Singapore, they started the project. The man whose shoulder was knocked by Luang Phor Koon using a stick suffered a very bad fall and landed with his arm first. All the people thought that his arm might be broken but unbelievably he only suffered a minor injury.
These are only 2 of the miracles, there are plenty of other miracles such as people escaping unharmed or suffering only minor injuries, striking lottery, experiencing improvements in relationships etc.