..续本文上一页l I crossed the wilderness and returned to Chanthaburi. When Nai Udom learned that I had returned, he came running to see. "I”m really in a mess, Than Phaw. My children are sick, my wife is sick, I don”t have any money, and now this Buddha image enters my dreams and tells me to take him back to Keng Tung where I found him. What should I do

　　"

　　""Luang Phaw" is a forest Buddha," I answered him. "He likes staying where it”s peaceful and quiet. If you want, have him come stay here with me."

　　So Nai Udom brought the image and left it with me — whether he actually gave it to me or simply left it with me for safe keeping, I couldn”t tell for sure. I kept it and showed it respect as a matter of course. From that day on, all the illnesses in his family disappeared, and in 1952 he moved to Bangkok. There are a good many more strange things connected with this Buddha image, but this is all I want to say about it for now.

　　After the event with Mae Khawm I became curious about the Buddha”s relics and how they came about. Never during my life as a monk had I ever been interested in them at all, but I did accept the relics from Mae Khawm and treated them with respect. Later I learned that she had received more relics, but by then I had put the Buddha image away in the Raam Khae quarters at Wat Boromnivasa. And as for myself, I had taken my leave of the Somdet and gone to Lopburi province.

　　That year I celebrated Visakha Puja at Wat Manichalakhan in Lopburi. On that day I said to myself, "If I don”t see the Buddha”s relics appear with my own eyes, I won”t believe in them, because I have no idea whether or not they”re for real." I made a vow to sit in meditation until dawn. I set out four receptacles and made the following invitations: "1) May sacred relics of the Buddha — from his ears, eyes, nose and mouth, which were the sources of his splendor — if they really exist, come to this altar tonight. 2) May relics of Phra Sariputta, one of the Buddha”s important disciples, also come. 3) May relics of Phra Moggallana, whose powers were equal to those of the Buddha, also come. 4) May relics of Phra Sivali, a monk of good will who was safe at all times wherever he went, also come. If these relics really exist, may they come and appear. If I don”t see anything appear tonight, I”ll give away all the relics that people have presented to me."

　　That night I went without sleep and sat in meditation until dawn. At about 4 a.m. I had a feeling that there was a bright red light flashing right where I had placed the receptacles. At daybreak I discovered relics in each of the receptacles. The room where they were placed had been locked up tight from sunset to dawn — no one would have been able to enter, and I myself hadn”t gone in. I felt really taken aback: This was the first time anything like this had happened in my life. Quickly I wrapped the relics in cotton wool, placed them in a pouch and kept them with me. Altogether I received three relics of Phra Sariputta, three of Phra Sivali, two of Phra Moggallana and seven of the Buddha. Some were the color of milky quartz, some were black, some a dark yellowish gray. The ones Mae Khawm had given me, though, were the color of pearls. I took them with me as I headed north. As time passed, a number of other things occurred that I”d rather keep to myself for the time being.

　　* * *

　　As the rains approached I went to stay in Mae Rim district, Chieng Mai province. I had made up my mind to go deep into the forest, and so, leaving Mae Rim, I went to Baan Paa Tyng, which took a day of walking. From there I went deep into the wilderness, up the mountains and down, reaching my destination at what must have been no later than four in the afternoon. This was a spot where one of my students had once spent a Rains Retreat, and t…

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