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PART VIII Plans for the festival celebrating 25 centuries of Buddhism became more and more firm during the rainy season at Wat Asokaram in 1956. Up to that point I hadn't decided where to hold the festival, because it was going to be a large affair, but after looking around I decided, "We'll have to hold it right here at Wat Asokaram." There were going to be two celebrations: the one I would do in conjunction with other Buddhists and the one I would do on my own. //The celebration held in conjunction with other Buddhists// would succeed on one of three levels, i.e., low, moderate or high. This was a thought I didn't mention to anyone else, simply an observation I kept to myself. When the festival was over, it turned out to have been only a moderate success. Had it been a high-level success I would have built a ceremonial umbrella for the Buddha image at Khao Phra Ngaam. //The celebration I would do all on my own//. Celebrating on my own would be very good, but wouldn't be of any benefit to people at large. This sort of celebration could be done in one of three ways: a) The lowest level: Escape from humanity and hide away in the forests and wilds for three years before returning to be involved with people again. b) The moderate level: Go deep into the forest alone and meditate in earnest for three months with no worries or responsibilities. c) The highest level: Tie a red cloth around my neck for seven days. In other words, within seven days I would try to do good in one of two ways: (1) attain all of the eight cognitive skills (//vijja//) to use as tools in my work of spreading the Buddha's teachings. (2) If I can't succeed at (1), may I go all the way on the seventh day, at the same time relinquishing my life with no hope of return. Only in this way would I have done with the karma I dreamed about having made with my friends in the past. By the end of 1956 the time for the festival was drawing near, but I had already made some advance preparations, such as producing the "Bodhi leaf" Buddha amulets copied from an image I had seen in Benares when I was traveling through India. I had materials gathered from scores of places: earth from the Buddhist holy places in India; fragments of votive tablets once cached away in old chedis, donated by friends and followers from various provinces -- Lopburi, Phitsanuloke, Phijit, Sukhothai, Suphanburi, Ayutthaya, Phetchabun, Songkhla, Ubon Ratchathani, Thaad Phanom district and Bangkok. I had fragments of ancient Buddha images from Prajinburi and ancient lustral water made by wise men in the past. These I mixed into a paste along with powdered dried flowers and ashes of burnt paper on which Dhamma passages had been written. Using this paste we cast two types of images by (1) pressing the paste into a mould and then allowing it to dry; (2) mixing the paste with clay, pressing it into a mould and baking it in a kiln. I thought to myself, "We're going to have to produce at least one million images." When we were finished at the end of the rains in 1956, we counted to see how many we had. Altogether there were more than 1,100,000. Late one night when it was quiet, a strange vision appeared to me. I was sitting pressing Buddha images from a mould when a relic of the Buddha came and displayed a sign over my bed. It was similar to the Bodhi leaf image I was making, but the image I was making represented the Buddha delivering the Dhammacakka sermon -- i.e., with both hands raised. But in the vision, the Buddha had both hands in his lap. I had a new mould made patterned after the vision and named it the "Bodhicakka." I still have this relic with me, and haven't yet enshrined it. Later another relic the shape of a Buddha image sitting in meditation came as well. This I also still have with me. Another time, when I had been sitting in meditation at Lopburi, in the quiet just before dawn, another Buddha relic had appeared; and at around 5 a.m. a statuette of King Asoka made of dark, pinkish grey cut glass came falling down in front of me, so I sketched a copy of it. This, too, I still have with me. After a number of strange events like this had occurred, I called together the monks who were my closest disciples and announced, "We're going to have to hold the festival celebrating 25 centuries of Buddhism right here in Wat Asokaram." I came to this final decision right then, during the middle of the rains, 1956. Once I had made my decision, I checked to see how much money was in my account. There turned out to be a little more than 200 baht. Nevertheless, I made orders to begin construction: putting up temporary shelters, making ceremonial umbrellas, etc. As soon as we set to work, contributions started coming in. When we had finished two shelters, our money ran out. At the time, I had gone to Chanthaburi. When I returned to Wat Asokaram, Police Colonel Luang Wiraded Kamhaeng came to inform me, "We're almost all out of money, Than Phaw. Where are we going to get more?" I laid out the following plans for the festival: "I. Purposes of the Festival: A. 1. To make 912,500 Buddha images (equal to the number of days in 2,500 years) and then raise the number to 1,000,000, each one inch tall and made of either stucco or baked clay, to be distributed free of charge to all people who come and join in the festival. Whatever images are left over will be buried in the foundations of the chedi that is to be built. 2. To make five large images representing the Buddha at the moment of his Awakening, delivering the first sermon (the Dhammacakka), delivering the final sermon before totally entering //nibbana//, totally entering //nibbana//, and sitting in meditation. (This last is to be the major image in the ordination hall.) 3. To make small images, 500 each of silver, gold and gold bronze, each weighing about four grams, to be placed in the chedi as a gift to our descendants. B. To finance a complete set of the Buddhist Canon -- Sutras, Vinaya and Abhidhamma -- translated into Thai. C. To ordain 80 monks, 80 novices, 80 //upasakas// (lay men wearing white and observing the eight precepts) and 80 nuns (lay women wearing white and observing the eight precepts). If larger numbers of people are ordained, so much the better. Each person is to be ordained for at least seven days. Ordination ceremonies will be held from May 12 to May 20, 1957. Whoever desires to be ordained should give the following information to the ordination committee: name, address, age, date of birth, and whether or not you will be able to supply your own requisites. The committee will arrange to find requisites for all those unable to supply their own. Whoever would like to sponsor an ordination of any kind is welcome to inform the committee. The cost of requisites is as follows: for //upasakas// and nuns, 100 baht; for novices, 150 baht; for monks, 300 baht. Those wishing to be ordained may apply at the Wat from now until April 15, 1957. D. When the festival is over, there will be one further aim: to build a chedi as a memento of our having participated in this important anniversary, and to enshrine relics of the Buddha, Buddha images, copies of the scriptures and other objects related to Buddhism. This chedi will be a cluster of thirteen spires built on three levels, four spires to each level, with a central spire on the uppermost level. The central spire will be the largest -- 6 meters square and 26 meters tall. The surrounding spires will be smaller. The laying of the foundations for the chedi will begin before the festival. The location will be at Wat Asokaram, Samut Prakaan, which is planned to be a center for instruction in the practice of meditation for monks, novices, lay men and lay women in the years to come. II. Merit-making ceremonies to be held during the Festival: A. Monks will chant consecration chants, eight monks a day, for seven days. Monks will sit in //samadhi//, presiding over the consecration of sacred objects, eight monks a day for seven days. C. Five sermons relating the history of the Buddhist Councils will be delivered, one sermon per day. The passages in response to each sermon will be chanted by 40 monks. This will be to dedicate merit to relatives and ancestors who have passed away. D. Food will be donated to the 500 monks and novices invited to participate in the first seven days of the festival. Afterwards, food will continue to be donated to monks and novices until the two weeks of the festival are over. The second week approximately 300 monks and novices will be fed each day. E. During the first seven days there will be a candlelight procession in celebration each night. F. On Visakha Puja -- May 13, 1957 -- a ceremony will be held to enshrine objects in the foundations of the chedi. G. Mahayana services will also be held, i.e., three days of //kong tek// (merit-making services for the dead) and sermons in line with Mahayanist beliefs. There will also be other merit-making ceremonies in addition to those listed here. In addition, temporary shelters for monks and novices, as well as shelters for lay men and lay women will be built, along with a kitchen to be used for the duration of the festival." After I had written down the above program, we set to work implementing the plans step-by-step. I showed the plans to a number of my followers. They would all shake their heads and say, "Than Phaw, where are you going to get the money for a big affair like this?" But I would think to myself, "We're going to do good. Good-hearted people are sure to come and help. We won't have to go canvassing for funds." When I had returned from Chanthaburi and the date for the festival was approaching, a stream of people started coming to help contribute money. Altogether we received almost 100,000 baht. One person, Dr. Yut Saeng-uthai, was afraid that we wouldn't be able to carry out our plans, and so went on his own to ask for help from the government. He got to talk with the Minister of Cultural Affairs, General Luang Sawat, who at the time wasn't acquainted with me, but who was kind enough to say, "If you need money, I'll make the arrangements." Khun Ying Waad Lekhawanit-Dhammawithak came to tell me about this. My response: "We don't need the money." Construction work continued and contributions kept coming in without our ever issuing any requests for funds. All we did was print up flyers to let my followers know of the plans and schedule for the festival. Preparations within the monastery were virtually complete. Suni Changkhamanon, Sawn Achakun, Thawngsuk and Mae Kimhong Kraikaan took responsibility for building the sala in which the festival was to he held. Seeing that it wouldn't be large enough, we added thatched roofs on all four sides, which Colonel Luang Wiraded together with the monks and novices helped build. In addition we built a temporary kitchen and a large number of temporary shelters. The kitchen was a little over 30 meters long, 6 meters wide and roofed with thatch. There were five shelters for monks and novices, five each for lay men and lay women, each shelter 80 meters long and 10 meters wide with thatched roofs and walls. Construction of the shelters cost more than 100,000 baht; the festival sala, 165,000 baht; repair of the roads around the monastery -- financed by Khun Ying Waad -- 60,000 baht. Total construction costs thus came to more than 300,000 baht, and there were a great many other things we had to purchase for the festival as well. Our money kept running out, but at the same time contributions kept coming in. [*] * [People have asked why Ajaan Lee devotes so much space to describing the Festival Celebrating 25 Centuries of Buddhism, and in particular to the amount of money donated and spent. Three points seem relevant: 1) Many of the people involved in the celebration were still alive when Ajaan Lee wrote this book, the celebration still fresh in their memories. They would have enjoyed seeing that their efforts were not forgotten, and at the same time Ajaan Lee may have wanted to remind them of one of the purposes of the celebration that had not yet been fulfilled: to build a chedi at Wat Asokaram. 2) The whole question of fund-raising -- or lack of it -- for the festival makes for a good read. Many of his followers felt that only by appealing for funds from the public and the government would they be able to carry out the ambitious program. Ajaan Lee stood fast by his insistence -- and in the end was proven right -- that they could depend on the purity of their intentions to see them through. 3) Several other groups, including the Thai government, held celebrations of the year 2500 B.E. at the same time as Ajaan Lee's, and in some cases -- the government's in particular -- there were unresolved questions as to where all the donations went. Ajaan Lee may have wanted to show that in his case, at least, all funds were well accounted for.] * * * By April, preparations were in full swing. A large number of monks, novices and lay people began gathering from the outlying provinces. The numbers of people applying for ordination -- both men and women -- kept swelling until they were well over the goals we had originally set. On May 11, 1957, we began the ordination ceremonies. To ordain the monks, we invited a number of preceptors: Somdet Mahawirawong (Juan), Wat Makut Kasatriyaram; Phra Phrommuni, Wat Bovornives; Phra Sasanasophon, Wat Rajadhivasa; Phra Dhammatilok, Wat Boromnivasa; Phra Dhammapitok, Wat Phra Sri Mahadhatu; and Phra Nyanarakkhit, Wat Boromnivasa. In addition, we had preceptors who were old friends or disciples of mine. The ordination ceremonies turned out to be a large-scale affair, so I turned the whole program over to Ajaan Daeng, who trained the new monks-to-be throughout the festival and who also acted as preceptor. In addition, Phra Khru Wiriyang from Chanthaburi and Ajaan Sila of Sakon Nakhorn helped act as preceptors, preparing the monks-to-be and arranging their requisites until the end of the festival. All in all, so many people came to help financially with the ordination ceremonies that we didn't have to spend any of the monastery funds set aside for the purpose -- to the point where we ran out of monks-to-be for them to sponsor. We had to announce over the loudspeaker that we could no longer accept contributions from those volunteering to sponsor ordinations. Sponsors for the ordination ceremonies contributed altogether 138,000 baht. The ordinations lasted from the 11th to the 29th of May, and the number of people ordained in each category was as follows: 637 monks, 144 novices, 1,240 nuns, 340 "Brahmanis" (women wearing white, observing the eight precepts, but not shaving their heads), 34 //upasakas// (men wearing white, shaving their heads and observing the eight precepts) and 12 "Brahmans" (men wearing white, observing the eight precepts, but not shaving their heads). Altogether, 2,407 were ordained. The daily schedule throughout the festival ran as follows: "Morning: After the meal, 1) chanting in homage to the relics of the Buddha; 2) chanting of blessings; 3) sitting in meditation. Afternoon: 1) chanting in homage to the Buddha's relics; 2) chanting in celebration; 3) sitting in meditation or a sermon. 4:00 Rest. 5:00 Gathering at the sala; chanting in homage to the Buddha's relics; candlelight procession; consecration chants; chanting in celebration; sitting in meditation until midnight. This schedule is to be followed until the end of the festival." * * * During the course of the festival the thought occurred to me that we should donate a //phaa paa// to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, to compensate for one of my plans that had fallen through: In the beginning I had thought of setting up a central fund for the Thai Sangha, and so had prepared a proposal that I submitted to Somdet Phra Mahawirawong (Juan) of Wat Makut. The essence of the proposal was that we would request every titled monk in Thailand to voluntarily relinquish his monthly stipend for one month to form a central fund for the Thai Sangha as a memento of our having celebrated 25 centuries of Buddhism. I myself would gather additional contributions to add to the fund. I asked the Somdet to take this matter to the executive council of the Sangha to see whether or not they would approve it. I was really pleased by the Somdet's immediate response: "I'll gladly donate my entire monthly stipend. If there's anything else you need for the festival, I'll be glad to help." "That's the spirit!" I thought to myself. The Somdet ultimately gave his approval to the proposal and so presented it to the executive council. Later, though, I learned that this and that member of the council had raised objections, and so it fell through. In that case, I decided, we'd do better to donate a //phaa paa// to the Emerald Buddha. I contacted H.H. Princess Pradisathasari, asking her to act as sponsor for 16 //phaa paas//, one of which would go to the Emerald Buddha. She said she would be glad to help. She gave us every form of assistance, having not only members of her household but also other nobility -- including members of the Privy Council -- help give a full-scale welcome to the //phaa paas//. So we gathered together more than 30,000 baht in funds, from which we gave a little over 300 baht to each of the 15 //phaa paas//. The remainder -- 24,122.30 baht -- we donated to the Emerald Buddha to set up an endowment fund entitled, //The 2500 Anniversary Fund, donated by followers of Ajaan Lee, Wat Asokaram//. The interest from the fund was to help with the upkeep of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Afterwards we gathered additional contributions that we added to the fund, bringing the total endowment to more than 50,000 baht. On May 20th we began the festive procession, carrying Buddha images, relics of the Buddha and the 16 //phaa paas// from Wat Asokaram to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. H.H. Princess Pradisathasari had given orders for officials from the Royal Household to welcome us. After the procession circumambulated the ordination hall three times, the Princess and members of the Privy Council arrived to accept the //phaa paas//. She had given orders for the royal kitchens to prepare food to be presented to the 15 senior monks invited to receive the //phaa paas//. Most of the monks were from temples that had in the past been under the sponsorship of Rama IV. After presenting the monks with their mid-day meal, the Princess presented them with the 15 //phaa paas//. With the ceremonies over, we led the procession from the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to Wat Phra Sri Mahadhatu in Bang Khen district in order to receive saplings from the Great Bodhi tree in India, which we had requested and been granted by the government. Arriving at Wat Phra Sri Mahadhatu, we conducted the ceremonies for receiving the two saplings and carried them in a procession three times around the ordination hall. Then we led the procession to the Buddharaksa Gardens in Bang Bua Thawng (GoldLotus Town), Nonthaburi, where we held a one-night celebration in honor of the relics of the Buddha and the Bodhi trees. The following morning, May 21st, after our meal, we took the Buddha images, relics of the Buddha and Bodhi trees in a boat procession from GoldLotus Town down along the Chao Phraya River to the landing at the Provincial Offices in Samut Prakaan. There we were given a rousing welcome by a contingent from Wat Asokaram, along with the provincial governor, civil servants and other Buddhists. Our procession then went from the Provincial Offices back to Wat Asokaram, arriving in the afternoon to a welcoming contingent headed by Chao Khun Amornmuni, ecclesiastical head of Chanthaburi province. We circumambulated the sala three times and then entered the area where the consecration services were being held. After paying homage to the Buddha images, relics of the Buddha, Bodhi trees and chedis, we stopped for a short rest. At 6 p.m. we rang the bell and met in the sala for chants in celebration, consecration chants and a candlelight procession. Huge numbers of people came to join in the celebration. The following morning, May 22, we held ceremonies for planting four Bodhi trees at Wat Asokaram -- the two we had received from Wat Phra Sri Mahadhatu, plus two from India. Since then, my followers have returned from India with two more Bodhi trees that they donated to the Wat. At the moment there are altogether six descendants of the Great Bodhi tree growing in Wat Asokaram. * * * The festival continued. One day funds started running out, and so the festival committee met for consultation. Nang Kimrien Kingthien and Khun Nai Tun Kosalyawit prepared a letter asking for help from the government. They brought the letter and read it aloud to me. The gist of it was that they were going to ask the Prime Minister, Field Marshal Paw Phibunsongkhram, to help donate 50,000 baht. Before they had even finished reading the letter, I told them to throw it into the fire right then and there. "If there isn't enough to eat in this festival," I told them, "I'm willing to starve." As it turned out, the money kept coming in and our funds never ran out. People came to provide food for the monks at the festival -- sometimes three days at a time, sometimes seven. Some brought Thai food; others, Chinese food. The consecration ceremonies lasted for 15 days, with Major General Phong Punnakan, Chief of the Army Transportation Bureau, acting as sponsor throughout the festival. Khun Ying Waad Lekhawanit-Dhammawithak arranged transportation and gifts for the ten Chinese monks who came to chant three days, and provided food for 355 monks seven days running. There were two Mahayana sermons, and //kong tek// services for three nights. There was also a //loi krathong// ceremony and a raffle. Khun Nai Thawngsuk Chumpairoad provided food for 300 monks for seven days. In addition, a number of Chinese people came and helped provide vegetarian food for several days. People came to sponsor, altogether, eleven re-enactments of the Buddhist Councils and made donations totaling 5,000 baht at each re-enactment. On top of all this, people came to donate cups, plates and saucers, rice, firewood, charcoal -- everything -- to the festival kitchen. For the most part, the kitchen didn't have to buy much. Most things were provided by donors. As a result, the kitchen spent no more than 5,000 baht for food each day. My followers all helped to the full extent of their abilities. In the area of medical care we received help from General Thanawm Upathamphanon, Chief Army Medical Officer, and his wife, Khun Ying Sutjai, who sent doctors and orderlies throughout the festival to provide medical treatment for those who needed it. And as for security, Police Colonel Sudsa-nguan Tansathit, head of the Police Public Safety Department, sent riot police and a fire truck to help throughout the festival. Time passed and everything went well. Money became less and less of a problem, the daily schedule proceeded according to plan, the ordination ceremonies continued every day, and the weather cooperated throughout. There were no untoward incidents, aside from a few minor occurrences not worth mentioning. On May 13, Visakha Puja, a number of sponsors had four Buddha images cast, each image 80 cm. across at the base. Khun Ying Waad sponsored two images; Phraya Lekhawanit-Dhammawithak, one; and Colonel Luang Wiraded Kamhaeng and his wife, Khun Nai Noi, one -- at a cost of 6,790 baht per image. Nai Kuanghang Sae Hia, along with his wife and children, donated a fifth image that they had had cast on Magha Puja at a cost of 34,000 baht, including the celebration costs. The Wat didn't have to spend any money for the casting of these images. The sponsors covered all costs, which for the five images totaled 61,160 baht. As for the entertainment offered during the festival, hardly anyone paid any attention to it because most of the people had come to participate in the religious activities. A group of my Chinese followers brought a Chinese opera company to perform three nights. Wari Chayakun from Haad Yai brought a Manora dance-drama company and a shadow puppet company to perform throughout the festival, two movie screens were set up, and a //maw lam// singing group from the Northeast came to perform one night and then had to close down from lack of interest. None of these activities cost us anything, because groups of my followers had sponsored them on their own initiative. We continued to celebrate in this way, with chanting, candlelight processions, meditation sessions and sermons. We invited a number of high-ranking ecclesiastical officials, such as Somdet Mahawirawong of Wat Makut and Phra Sasanasophon, to deliver one sermon apiece. In addition, we had sermons of our own, some of which I delivered, and some by Ajaan Tyy. These activities continued until May 29, 1957. At the end of the festival our accounts read as follows: Total income: 840,340.49 baht Total expenditures: 533,326.75 baht Assets remaining: 307,013.74 baht All of this was money that people had donated on their own initiative. In addition we also received non-liquid assets -- such as ordination sponsors who arranged requisites on their own -- which were handled by the finance committee. The re-enactments of the Buddhist councils, food donated to the monks, gifts for the monks who chanted, the casting of the Buddha images, the construction of the sala, the repair of the road leading to the Wat, the Mahayana services: All of these came in the form of non-liquid assets that, altogether, we estimated roughly at more than 300,000 baht. All in all, the monks and lay people who joined in the festival came from 45 provinces. Thus the Festival Celebrating 25 Centuries of Buddhism in the year B.E. 2500 came to a close. Afterwards, right before the rains, another sponsor -- Nai Thanabuun Kimanon, along with his wife and children -- had another Buddha image cast and donated to the Wat to celebrate the year B.E. 2500, at a cost of 75,000 baht. The image was more than two meters across at the base. They also built a dais for it and conducted celebration ceremonies that, added to the cost of the image, totaled more than 150,000 baht. A number of the monks, novices and nuns ordained during the festival stayed on for the rains, continuing to practice the Dhamma together. At the end of the rains many of them returned home, although a number of them are still currently ordained. As for myself, when the rains were over, I went to visit many of the places where there were friends and followers who had come to participate in the festival. Later I went to Lampang, in hopes of building a chedi at Phra Sabai Cave. (This was when I first saw the three Bodhi trees that had sprung up there, and it made me very glad. They are tall trees now.) Chao Mae Suk of the Lampang Royal House, along with Khun Nai Kimrien Kingthien, Mae Liengtao Janwiroad and a contingent of lay men and women joined together with a group of my followers -- both lay people and monks -- to complete the chedi. We then enshrined relics of the Buddha there in the cave, and brought an Indian Bodhi tree to plant at the cave's entrance. From there I went on to Chieng Mai, Uttaradit, Phitsanuloke, Nakhorn Sawan and Lopburi. * * * * * * * *

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