Luang Pho Phra Arjan Araya Wangso, a revered monk from Lampun, led an ancient prayer ceremony at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha yesterday to make merit for the country in time of peril of great magnitude.
Some 1,000 Thais dressed in white also took part in the chanting of the phahung-mahaka, a prayer to enhance phutthakhun or the blessing of the Buddha for the country, Buddhism and the Monarchy.
The chanting of phahung-mahaka took place in the ubosoth (main chapel) of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha at 7am and was part of an event called “Stop One Hour for Thailand”.
This prayer ceremony was designed to coincide with the birthday of King Naresuan the Great, who was born on April 25, 1555. The king had led military campaigns to free Siam from the Burmese. Under his reign, Siam achieved the height of her political and military influence as well as territorial gains. Before he went to war, King Naresuan attended a religious ceremony in which the most revered monks of the land prayed for phutthakhun or the blessing of the Buddha.
“If phutthakhun is good, everything will be fine. Our country is still suffering from the old karma. The chanting is to help protect the country from further turmoil,” said one person who took part in the prayer ceremony and who asked not to be named.
This ancient prayer, which originated in the time before King Naresuan’s reign, is called phahung-mahaka and has nine parts. The monks chanted all parts before repeating them until the end of the ceremony.
After the ceremony, the participants turned their faces to Siriraj Hospital, situated across the Chao Phya River on the Thon Buri side of Bangkok, and sang the Royal Anthem to honour His Majesty the King. The event ended at 9.30am.
Today, the omens for the country are bad, with the stars realigning their positions that will exert particular heat and bad luck and abnormalities upon the country. The bad omens would be similar to the day of April 7, 1767, when Siam lost Ayutthaya to the Burmese army after almost two years of siege.
Source : http://www.nationmultimedia.com
