Grandma and Thai Wicha

My initial fascination with Thai Wicha starts almost the same time when I first started my cultivation journey more than 25years ago. My first amulet was given to me by my late dad, the one he requested from a travelling monk he met at airport where he used to work. 

After receiving the amulet, that evening itself, while drinking water I somehow carelessly bit into the glass. The shattered glass pieces in the mouth didn’t cause any injury. This is the first experience of Thai amulets when I was about 10 years old.

My fascination with Thai amulets and Wicha are the main reasons it has drawn me to know so many good and capable practitioners in the Thai Lineage. Due to language barrier, I did not pursue into Thai Wicha as oppose to Tao Fa. 

Nevertheless my interest in Thai Wicha didn’t stop, I pursued to interview and find out from many different Teachers and Masters on how their spells and rituals are done. Also at the same time finding out the difference between Thai Wicha and Tao Fa.

About 10 years ago, my dad one day told me that my late grandma actually have taught him a mantra@spell. The spell is related to weather control. He shared with me how my grandma would chant this spell if she saw impending big storm approaching their home in the paddy fields when he young , and how the storm would calm into normal rain. 

At that time, I didn’t know whether anyone in my grandma’s family was practicing Thai Wicha or not, I knew for a fact she was half Thai half Chinese. Looking back, when I started cultivating and doing rituals outdoors, clear skies are the norms for 90% of the case. I never thought much about it as our own lineage of Yang Fa 阳法 requires sunlight during most important rituals.

Of course throughout the years, I have also had an Indonesian Bomoh good friend that passed me his so called ‘weather altering’ tasbih@chant beads that he told me has khodam in it to help in this effect. Did I try it? Yes. Did it worked? You bet. But the chanting to upkeep the item was too much of a tedious for me. 

There are also other techniques of altering clouds and techniques with Tao Fa, however those method is overused will be harmful to the body. I once had a serious bout of pheumonia after  experimenting with it too many times. That is another blog write up.

One of the senior knowledgeable Master once told me,” if Heaven wanted to rain, let it rain la” Why do you need to disturb the cycle of the Tao? 

Personal Spiritual BodyGuard

Ever thinking of hiring a spiritual bodyguard?

Protectors are in most traditions of religions. Some are called Guardian Angels, some are call Protectors 护法神, Dharma Protectors 金刚护法. In Taoism they are the Heaven and Earth Marshalls 天地兵将。

Dharma Protectors function is to guard the practitioners in their cultivation path from distractions, obstacles and possible sway from their cultivation.

Whereas if you are a Taoist Cultivator, specific Deities will be assigned as your Protectors. They will be guarding the cultivators on all life threatening situations and also warn you when you sway off the path in using Tao Fa beyond its means and moral ethical lines.

Then what are Spiritual Bodyguards? It is more specific made to guard a person from calamity, spirit attack, spirit harm, accidents and also others chipping into your personal body energy (aura) through gossip and bad mouthing you at your back. There are others that are made with 'extra' functions.

It seems like there are different versions of the almost the same reference across cultures. In European witch craft it is called Poppet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poppet . 

Poppet usually stiched up by person and add strands of hair and other material.

While for Chinese culture we call them 替身 Ti Shen or a substitute. In Taoist process, it can also be use for a variety of reasons. As a form of body substitute to prevent spiritual attack, sometimes there are practitioners that use it to store the consciousness of others.

These are made by me personally. The materials needed are more difficult to acquire.

In Tibetan culture also there are practice in which use dough and butter to create an effigy of human form and use the dough and butter to roll on your skin, this is to appease the spirits and demons whom are after you or have caused difficulty in your life.

Image from ravencypresswood.com (These are called Lu)

In Thai/Khmer@Cambodia wicha (magic/witchcraft) it is called Hoon Pa Yon. For Thai Hoon Pa Yon, it is also use for a variety of purposes, from using as body double to prevent harm to the owner to using it as a relationship enhancement for 2 person. It is also sometime use for wealth fetching and a absolute spiritual double of the owner.

Types of Hoon Pa Yon

For Wicha mainly it is divided into 2 types. Either spirit infuse or total non spirit. If it is spirit infuse, then the maker would seek permission from a spirit to include its 魄 Po which does not have consciousness into the Hoon Pa Yon. Then the maker would chant and imbued it with magic until it has the 32 Aspects of a Living Human, it will then take on the spiritual form of its owner.

Hoon Pa Yon made with straws and strings using the traditional method.

Spirit infuse Hoon Pa Yon using a very traditional method.

Non Spirit Base Hoon Pa Yon.

While non spirit Hoon Pa Yon are similiar to elementals. The maker would use wicha to chant until it is has the 32 aspects of human quality. There is no spirit inside the effigy.

Rare Item

As in all things in the material world, as it get more and more commercialize, then it is harder and harder to find magical items that really does its function according to traditional legendary stories that have been going around. Hoon Pa Yon in the Thai tradition is not in the exception. 

Good and capable masters that can make good Hoon Pa Yon are rarer than finding dry straws on a monsoon season. Either by reputation of the maker or through spiritual sense can a person really know the Hoon Pa Yon is the real thing. It is not making cookie or tying up straws to resemble effigy, real wicha/magic needs to make it work in order for it to be effective.

Hoon Pa Yon that can be use to enhance relationship (Soul Lock)

One of my own spirit base bodyguard.

Most of the pictures shown above are my own collection, some of it have already been sold to friends that need it. An extra body double is always welcome in world of back stabbing, finger pointings, petty people and not forgetting curse and black magics .

Penang City God and The Child Abuse Case 感恩城隍

About 2 months back, my sister told me that she had just recently met one of our long time acquaintences MK (pseudo name). My sis told me that MK recently was in a custody battle for his daughter. To make the matter worst, her ex wife is accusing him of molestation and abused his  own daughter.

Photo from the Exchange Center for Child Abuse Prevention

I have known MK for more than 10 years. It is very hard to believe he is someone that will abuse his own children what's more to be accused of molesting his own children.

On and off I do meet with MK in his office, but he did not mention to me that he was in a custody battle. However, it must have affected him a lot and on his work to be sharing with my sister about it.

He is having a successful career, own many properties and basically a workaholic. With this legal case,  if he is convicted of abusing his own children, he would have to go jail and his ex wife would have taken over all his material possessions.

When I got to know about MK's problem, I immediately ask my sister to relay to him that in the current situation, nobody in the mortal world would be able to help him. It is his word against his ex wife and own daughter's testimony. His daughter is still small and from MK's information, the daughter have been coerced by his ex wife's and her lawyer to say that MK is doing all those things to the daughter.

I told my sister to swiftly tell him to go seek for City God's assistance to help in his matter. But I have forewarned him in my advise, which was if he is guilty, once he reported to City God's altar, he would have met even worst problem that he is encountering now.

However, if he has done no wrong, his case will definitely be taken up by City God. For there is a Tao for everything. Including justice and righteousness. Just because as mortal beings, lawyers are able to twist and turn, say and manipulate things that are black to become white, you cannot do so in the spiritual world. Especially to someone like MK who has helped so many people in the community.

After few days, my sister decide to drive to MK's office and directly fetch him to the City God's Temple. They did not went to Kam Dong San Temple even though we have a representation of City God in our temple due to our opening time which was not convenient for them.

I have advised my sister on how MK should be requesting for help when he is in City God's temple. MK requested for City God to take up his case spiritually and his request was approved.

That was what I heard 2 months ago. Due to my own busy schedule, I did not manage to meet MK until lately.

When I recently met MK, he looks much more relief and happy. He shared with me the latest update on his case.

His ex-wife out of desperation, have actually deny their daughter any sleep in 18 hours just to coerce her to tell lies that MK abused. His ex-wife then send the recorded 'evidence' to the child psychologist that is in charge of assessing their child. The psychologist came to the opinion that actually it was his ex-wife that have been abusive towards their daughter. The psychologist submitted a formal report to the judge and there is high chances MK would not be trial for abuse. He would also have a high chance to obtain custody to their daughter as they are now closing in on the final part of their trial.

MK who previously was more into Confucius teachings and not into Taoist deities and folklore religion. He now tells me 'Really as a person, must not do bad things' implying that actually there's someone watching and there is somehow order in the spiritual world. I replied 'All our files are there.....nobody has exception'.

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Finding the Perfect Cup for Cultivation

A lot of people that I have came across, often told me they would like to spend more time doing cultivation either meditation, practice of dharma, learning of dharma or even just have more spare time to attend Taoist events at the temple.

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. Each of us choose to spend the 24 hours differently. Why? Because each person's value is different. What you value as important will be very different from the next person. Whatever you value that's where you put your time into it.

That's not all. Then comes the set of conditions in which we want to put time into it. I call it finding the perfect cup.

Some I have met, told me they will be able to do dharma only when they have more time when they retire, until then they choose to put cultivation aside. Some told me when their children grows up, then they will have the time to cultivate. There are also some that told me when they have enough money, then they will have time to cultivate. And the reasons are as much as the individuals, such as having the perfect space for altar, less distraction in work then only they can focus, when they have not so busy schedule then they will do it.

This is all about finding the PERFECT cup for cultivation. Then for some TIME is not one of the conditions for the cup, the type of temple, the type of lineage, they type of people, they type of activities and so on.

When a person highlight all those factors, it is about finding the PERFECT cup. However the biggest important factor is the water that will be in the cup. Because when you are thirsty or almost dehydrated, you don't go looking for the perfect cup, you just need a container. The liquid or water is the important factor for your survival spiritually. A lot of people miss the water for the cup.

A perfect teacher, a perfect lineage, a perfect temple, a perfect deity, having ample time, the right group of practitioners and more. All these are still just the cup, you need to drink the liquid, survive spiritually then worry about the design and type of cup.

The saddest part are too many people die of dehydration looking for the cup while the water was in front of them all along.  In samsara, time moves without our realization, some of us can remember our childhood so vividly as if it was yesterday, while a look in the mirror or at our children, instantly it will dawn on us that so much of our life have pass by. Illusions are moving on and very soon a different dream will take over. Have you drank? Or are you still looking for the perfect cup?