© Penelope Gan – All Rights Reserved – Nakonratchasima, THAILAND

Look closer. This is not Sak Yant – the protective tattoos believed to not only ward off evil but have abilities to even stop bullets. Nor was this taken at Wat Bang (Buddhist Temple) Phra – the place flocked by thousands of people from Thailand and beyond to have their bodies inked with powerful designs.

This is an elaborate Harley Davidson-heavy metal-rock-coke sniffing-grunge skull tattoo on the arm of a novice monk in Wat Ban Rai…. and he’s just one of the many, many novices scattered all over Thailand spotting body art and nicotine fixes… having a second shot at life.

Having countless of such novices in Wat Ban Rai does not make it unique nor does it’s location in Nakonratchasima – some 5 hours drive from Bangkok – or the monk’s Thevarada Forest tradition of living in makeshift huts without electricity or flowing water existence juxtaposed against the grandiose temple structure makes Wat Ban Rai worth a visit let alone a mention.

Like Wat Bang Phra, Wat Ban Rai shot to fame for it’s ‘notoriety’ – a nationally prominent monk who embraces commercialism wholeheartedly. Visiting Wat Ban Rai is akin to visiting a spiritual-one-stop-for-all-cures mall; selling a variety of religious merchandise and good luck tokens such as Luang Phor (Reverend) Khoon bumper stickers, blessed amulets to fake bank notes with Luang Phor Khoon’s face in place of the Thai King’s! which resulted in a brief conflict in 1994 that was purportedly smoothed over when Luang Phor Khoon made a generous donation to Thailand’s national welfare budget in honour of the King.

Said to possess magical powers and blessed with the name “Khoon” that means “to multiply”, devotees links this grandfatherly figure monk with good luck and the ability to multiply one’s wealth and success. It is no wonder than, Luang Phor Khoon became one of the most loved and powerful monk in Thailand, in charge of a monastery which generates an estimated US$20 million (prior to Baht devaluation) per annum in sales and donations, and counts government leaders and the Thai royal family among his followers.

Unlike his many followers, I was not fortunate to meet Luang Phor Khoon during my recent trip as he had passed on 3 weeks prior to my arrival. As a consolation, I was being treated to some amusement when I sighted a car ornament dangling from the rear view mirror of my coach that read “ruay.ruay.ruay” (rich.rich.rich) beneath Luang Phor Khoon’s smiling face – definitely not one of the millions of articles blessed by him (I hope)!

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