Supreme Maha Mantra Katha

The Buddha Distributes Buddha-Mantras

In the Dhammapada Commentary, Volume 2, the account of the monks who took up insight meditation (vipassanā) relates: Story 1: Five hundred monks learned meditation subjects in the Teacher's presence and went to practice the Dhamma in a certain deep forest. They were tormented by spirits and came back stricken with fever, their hair fallen out. The Buddha bestowed on them a mantra to ward off spirits (this is the Karaṇīya-metta Sutta). Story 2: Monks went to develop meditation in a forest full of snakes; several were bitten and died. He bestowed on them a mantra to ward off snakes (the Khandha-paritta Sutta). Story 3: The Blessed One saw that Ven. Sāriputta and Ven. Moggallāna were gravely ill; he taught the "medicine of the Dhamma" (Buddha-mantra), namely the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhaṅga), and their illness eased and finally vanished, etc. Every teaching in Buddhism is: 1. Dīpā — an armour that guards against danger 2. Nāthā — a refuge to rely on 3. Patiṭṭhā — a shelter in times of suffering 4. Leṇā — a retreat for seeking peace Even the Buddhist chanting books are called books of chant — e.g. the Seven-Chronicle chants, the Twelve-Chronicle chants, the Royal-edition chants; even the book explaining the chanting rite is still called the "Mantra Rite" (mantra-phithī). In sum: the Buddha did not hand out yantras, but rather Buddha-mantras — not the mantras of Māra.

The Buddha Distributed Mantras, Then Bestowed Katha

The Buddha bestowed a mantra to ward off snakes, for example: • "Virūpakkhehi me mettaṃ …" — meaning: "I extend loving-kindness to the nāga-lord of the Virūpakkha clan …", so that all snakes will do me no harm. At the same time he gave a katha — a verse warning one to be heedful: • Appamādo amataṃ padaṃ — "Heedfulness is the path to the deathless." • Pamādo maccuno padaṃ — "Heedlessness is the path to death." • Appamattā na mīyanti — "The heedful do not die." • Ye pamattā yathā matā — "The heedless are as though already dead." (These are the opening verses of the Appamāda-vagga of the Dhammapada.)

The Story of Yantras in Relation to the Buddha

The Buddha declared in the Dukkha-nikāya of the Suttanta Piṭaka: "Saṭṭhānā bhikkhave viharatha, mā anāthā" — meaning: "Monks, dwell as those who have a refuge; do not dwell without a refuge" — that is, live protected by something good, because dangers are of two great kinds: (1) dangers we can see, which we may evade — and if we cannot evade them, we face them as a victor; (2) dangers we cannot see, such as those from ghosts and demons, or from black magic (khun-sai), or dangers that come while we sleep — for these one should have a protective object to keep one safe. Understand that when the Buddha proclaimed his teaching he did not act alone: besides the other disciples who came to help, there were two of foremost importance — 1. Ven. Sāriputta, foremost in wisdom, like a right hand, who helps deliver those who find the Dhamma hard to understand; 2. Ven. Moggallāna, foremost in psychic power — anyone hard to teach, a ruffian such as Nandopananda the Nāga-king, the Buddha assigned to Moggallāna to subdue or tame until his stubbornness was cured. It does not appear that the Buddha handed out yantras in any way.

There is a mystery held to be the inheritance and accumulated wisdom of the ancients, passed down by word of mouth: the lore of katha (magic) and charms (khrueang-rang). Those learned in charms in the Lanna kingdom relate that the people of the ancient realms of Suvarnabhumi held an animist belief fused with the Mantrayāna (tantric) strands of Buddhism and of Brahmanism-Hinduism, producing a distinctive belief-system expressed in the various systems of yantra-numerals (lek yan).

The Buddhist peoples of Suvarnabhumi — Cham-Mon, Khom-Khmer, Burmese, Tai Yai (Shan), Tai Khoen, Tai Lue, Lao, Malay, and Siamese — commonly share a culture bound up with incantation, katha, and charms. Those most expert in yantra-numerals were the monks: in ancient times they condensed the suttas into sacred letters arranged as grids or line-figures rendered as numerals, or as images tattooed or incised on cloth, skin, wood, metal, and so on — and used them to make votive tablets, Buddha images, and sacred objects, held to be holy and to possess protective power.

What is intriguing is another account holding that charms arose together with humankind itself, before thought and intellect had developed: when faced with danger from animals or nature, people feared death and ran seeking protection, and whatever seemed good they clung to as a refuge. Later scholars call this "the holding of khun-sai" — taking hold of a superior quality: what helps toward good is "white" khun-sai (white magic); what brings death or ruin is "black" khun-sai (the magic of Māra). The word sai derives from the Pali seyya, "more excellent, better" — as in akataṃ dukkaṭaṃ seyyo, "the evil deed is better left undone" — which, rendered in Thai as sai, means "more excellent, better."

— that is, to develop ever better forms, until humans of higher wisdom can transcend this khun-sai altogether. The Buddha completed the study of all four Vedas — the Ṛg-veda, Yajur-veda, Sāma-veda, and Atharva-veda — yet never proclaimed them to be the truth. Instead he boldly declared: "I have awakened to omniscience (sabbaññū) through four things that are genuine and excellent, not false — called…"

…the Four Noble Truths, namely: 1. Dukkha (suffering) — bodily discomfort, or decay and deterioration. 2. Samudaya (origin) — the cause that gives rise to suffering. 3. Nirodha (cessation) — extinguish the origin (the cause), and suffering ceases. 4. Magga (path) — the way leading to the cessation of suffering (it has eight branches). Just these four — no charm or amulet whatsoever.

The belief in incantation, katha, and the various yantra-numerals is a science of belief that has accompanied humankind since antiquity. One cannot say for certain from which people this esoteric branch originated, or who first devised it — but it can be said that in the ancient civilizations whose archaeological record survives for later study, such as Egypt, Greece, and Rome, all had a foundational belief in gods, deities, spirits, incantations, katha, and yantra-numerals — a universality shared across the world.

In the cultures of Asia, the civilization of the Aryans of the Indus valley and other ancient Indian groups likewise held this belief, developing it into great religions bound to supreme gods — Shiva and Narayana (Vishnu) in Hinduism. Even in Buddhism this belief in incantation appears — in the Mahayana school seemingly more prominently than in the Theravada.

Later, the culture of this Indian (Jambudvīpa) civilization travelled to the lands of Southeast Asia, through the spread of both Hinduism and Buddhism, shaping the thought and belief of the region's ethnic groups and becoming, ever since, distinctively local forms that persist to the present.

On another side of the great culture-origins — ancient Chinese civilization — there was likewise a belief in these yantra-numerals. The outward forms of the two main streams may differ in minor detail, but the conceptual system…

…or their essential heart resembles one another inseparably. That is: at the outset there is the idea of the cosmic center or cosmological diagram, together with myths recounting the powers of the great gods and the hosts of deities of primordial times. What is special about the yantra-numerals is precisely their demonstration of the relationship with — and the primacy given to — the four elements: earth, water, wind, and fire. Numerals stand as the "force" of the yantra diagram, and letters signify sacredness — blended seamlessly with newly arrived religious ideas and the group's original native beliefs.

In the Asian region there also arose a Southeast Asian integration — for example the Khmer, Burmese, and Mon, ancient cultural groups of the land called Suvarnabhumi, and the various Tai (Thai) groups such as the Tai Yai (Shan), Tai Yonok, Tai Lue, Tai Khoen, Tai Ahom, Tai Siam, and so on. All held Hindu and Buddhist ideas that developed into sacred yantra-numerals imbued with deep philosophy — faith, thought, belief, custom, and way of life bound together as a marvelous cultural inheritance from ancestor to descendant.

Considering the Buddhist foundation of belief in Thailand, one finds that in the Thai way of life, from birth to death, there is no small connection with saiyasat (occult) belief. Some may not stop to consider it, or may think saiyasat unbelievable, impossible in the real world — because saiyasat differs from science, which demands systematic proof.

…and reliable research procedures to support various theories. Yet looking back at one truth about saiyasat, incantation-katha, and yantra belief, we see that this branch of knowledge has remained immortal across hundreds and thousands of years. The essence of these precious marvels has been preserved and handed down in an unbroken stream of faith, rooted deep in the consciousness and customary life of the Thai people — as evidenced by yantra-numerals recorded in samut khoi (khoi-paper folding books), phap sa (mulberry-paper books), and bai lan (palm-leaf manuscripts), and by oral learning memorized mouth-to-mouth, "from teacher to pupil," with the heart's condition — "faith" (saddhā) — as the key factor.

Without proof convincing the learner it is truly as excellent as claimed, a pupil would hardly devote body and life to a teacher to study saiyasat. Many people, many lives, may have met mysterious, unbelievable events — harmed unto death by black-magic khun-sai, or inflicting suffering on an enemy through malice.

In truth saiyasat has both a white side — goodness — and a black side — wickedness — always coexisting. Where one binds, another must unbind; where there is a sky, there must be something above it. If the reader studies these matters thoroughly, one can affirm the immense development of belief in this domain. Thus, considered well and with discernment, these are hardly groundless, unreasoning things.

Viewed impartially, everything is fair. Taking another, most impartial view, we may see in what our ancestors devoted their intellect to devising something we can integrate into daily life — cultivating a sound understanding that lets us reasonably examine the profound philosophy embedded in the structure of the yantra-numerals. Studied deeply, it may yield answers revealing the evolution of the beliefs of the ancient Thai — beliefs sustained by the power of faith and by traces of religion that anchor the mind, expressed as the thought, belief, and faith of the Thai people throughout time. For the wise, erudite masters of old habitually wove the fine points of religious doctrine into potency and sacredness — an enticement drawing later generations to study, like a treasure-map (lai thaeng) leading people to the true essence of the religion, its highest point.

The Lanna Land: Another Origin of Charms The kingdom of "Lanna" has a long history — per town-legends or chronicles, myths, lore, and archaeological evidence showing their interrelations. One may reckon the origin of communities or ancient states arising along the major rivers, such as the Mekong, Kok, Ping, Wang, Yom, and Nan.

From around the 16th Buddhist century onward, into the historical period with inscriptional evidence — stone inscriptions, palm-leaf (bai lan), phap sa (books made of…

…mulberry paper) — mention many ancient cities in the Lanna region, e.g.: Yonok Nakhaphan Singhanawat Chaiburi Si Chang Saen (present-day Chiang Saen district, Chiang Rai); Hariphunchai (present-day Lamphun); Chaiyanarai (present-day Chiang Rai); Noppaburi Si Nakhon Phing Chiang Mai (present-day Chiang Mai); Phu Kam Yao (present-day Phayao); Alampang Khelang Nakhon (present-day Lampang); Mueang Yang and Woranakhon (present-day Tha Wang Pha and Pua districts, Nan); Nanthaburi Si Nakhon Nan (present-day Nan); Wiang Kosai Nakhon (present-day Phrae); and others.

These are examples of important cities in the long history of the Lanna kingdom, which flourished greatly in politics, governance, and religion. Its major religions — the heart of a diverse ancient art and culture — were: the spirit religion (animism), the original faith; Brahmanism, blended with spirit belief; and Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. From these came a fusion of faith, thought, belief, culture, custom, and way of life — so intertwined that spirit-worship and Buddhism seem inseparable — rooted deep in every particle of the Lanna bloodline. This remains a mystery without ready explanation regarding saiyasat, white and black magic, hidden in the ancient Lanna communities by master adepts (chom khamang wet) who never revealed their true selves to anyone.

Love, Loss, Longing — the Most Popular Incantations The experienced elders relate that the extraordinary incantations of this mysterious Lanna land are in no way inferior to the saiyasat of any land on earth. However fierce and formidable a science or spell — one that once worked cannot be undone — the saiyasat healers of Lanna have again and again cured it completely. To the point of: making one live, or die; making one love and be infatuated by love-charms so it can scarcely be reversed; making people part, or return and reconcile as before. It is no hard matter for them to bring boundless prosperity — jewels, rings, silver and gold, all manner of wealth — through holy great-incantations; or to bring collapse, death, ruin, and suffering through every calamity — all by incantation-katha.

Many will have heard of the noble monks (ariya-sangha) of Lanna endowed with higher knowledge (abhiññā), such as Kruba Chao Sri Wichai, or "Kruba Sinlatham" as Lanna Buddhists call him — renowned in every direction for the merit and faith-power of the goodness he established on the Lanna land. This traces back to the noble Lanna monks of old, truly expert in the Magadha-Pali language, who composed countless Buddhist scriptures — a great treasure later generations study endlessly to this day.

For this reason, in the present age too, monks of excellent virtue have arisen who follow that good path — greatly revered by ordinary people, who call them "Kruba" or "Kruba Chao" to honor the dhamma-power of each such virtuous monk, per the belief that the Pali incantation-katha of the Perfectly Self-Awakened Buddha are…

…incantations more excellent than any others, bound to triumph over all black magic — though this too depends on how deeply the practitioner has reached the essence of the religion.

The Great Royal Teacher of "Ang": Worship by Fire The religious belief fused with the original native belief developed into the esoteric science this book discusses — and not only that: in the old Lanna royal court there were persons skilled in incantation-katha, as shown by a high court title called "Maha-rat-khru Ang." The word "ang" refers to incantation-katha whose rite involves worship by lamplight. That is, ang is one of the saiyasat disciplines of Lanna, drawing its beliefs chiefly from Burmese and Tai Yai (Shan) influence. Ang has many special virtues when its sacred rite is done correctly — worshipping the sacred great-yantra by lamplight (or worshipping a candle by its flame, later called bucha yan, "yantra-worship"). It confers excellent benefits: healing grave illness; matters of love — making people love or part; driving out ghosts, demons, and evil; summoning fortune, power, destiny, money and valuables; promoting well-being; and making oneself charming and well-liked — what is called maha-saneh or maha-niyom (great charm / great popularity), which everyone desires. Before the ang science entered Lanna, this branch was practiced in Burma or along the Thai-Burmese border. The ang science holds within itself both the power of evil and the power of good, according to how much wickedness or goodness lies in the practitioner's own subconscious.

Great Yantras and Their Transmission The great yantras and the potent, sacred rites of Lanna are handed down generation to generation, from teacher to pupil — who must be selected until one truly of outstanding qualities is found — among people of the same family: father to son, grandfather to grandchild, or as suits a worthy one of that bloodline to receive the transmission. It is believed that the script making a yantra sacred is the dhamma-script, called "tua mueang" (Tham Lanna), because since antiquity the Lanna inscribed the Buddhist teachings in the tua-mueang script, whose spelling follows Pali.

A further belief: the Pali language, which the Perfectly Self-Awakened Buddha chose as the vehicle for his teaching, is a sacred language. When inscribing it on palm-leaf, or writing it in phap sa or other books, one must not place those letters in a low or unfitting place. The Tham Lanna script is thus exalted, sacred, worthy only of reverence. Even throwing written dhamma-script into a rubbish bin is deemed wrong and most improper. The Lanna masters therefore used the Tham Lanna script for yantra-cloth and for inscribing sheets of brass, silver, gold, and nak (gold-copper alloy).

Even in the ang rite — which requires writing a yantra and making it into a candle-wick for worship — the rites vary in fine detail as the teachers prescribe, just as central Thai people favor the Khmer script for yantra rites. This may be because the Khmer language, besides drawing chiefly on Indian influence, also has a relationship…

…connected with the rites of Hinduism or Brahmanism, which give central importance to rites relying on incantation.

If one examines the Lanna yantra-cloth, the yantra grids use Burmese numerals chiefly — the Lanna call the Burmese numerals "hora" numerals, held best for saiyasat rites. For inscribing the Buddhist teachings, however, they use the "numerals within the dhamma" (lek nai tham), the specifically Lanna numerals. The reader will find these Burmese numerals on nearly every yantra-cloth in this book, because in early Lanna culture the Lanna received various beliefs from the land of Pagan (Bagan), which had flourished earlier; the Lanna then developed the yantra forms into their own distinctive style, fitting the beliefs of the various groups — the Tai Yonok, Tai Khoen, Tai Lue, and Tai Yai (Shan) dwelling in Lanna — seamlessly.

Tattooing Yantras on the Body — This Importance Yantras appear not only on mulberry paper, sheets of brass, gold, or nak, or written on cloth. Writing a yantra on such materials means it does not stay permanently on one's person; sometimes the owner leaves it at home or fails to carry a particular yantra along — and since a yantra has many benefits, in old times it was favored to tattoo the yantra onto one's own body, best of all.

Tattooing yantras on the body is popular throughout Southeast Asia — indeed this belief appears in every corner of the world.

Thus the Tai ethnic groups are another people who value it no less than others — one may say the image of yantra-tattooing is deeply bound up with the old Thai way of life, seemingly inseparable between the warrior-male and the yantras tattooed on his body, as readers will have seen in films of Thai national history today.

By the evidence for tattooing yantras on the bodies of Lanna men — the people of the upper North of Thailand — many murals in important temples show that Lanna men favored tattooing yantras over their bodies until it looked as if they wore black trousers or a full suit of clothes. Some elders relate that in old times they tattooed the legs in patterns from the waist down to the ankles, the torso front and back, the arms, even the fingers; some tattooed up to the neck and the crown of the head. This fashion was widespread among the Burmese and Tai Yai (Shan), who tattoo yantras no less than the Lanna.

Because any man who did not tattoo his legs and torso would be gossiped about as being like a woman — lacking the endurance to bear the tattoo needle's pain — and how could he then head a family? If he had no tattoos, he might as well wear a sarong like a woman. This was shameful for every young man in Lanna, who had to learn katha and incantations and approach a community master expert in yantra-tattooing to do the work — with a teacher's fee, called khan tang, as the tattoo-master set. Some patterns take many days each; tattooing the whole body may take months or years — for the tattoo is not only proof of a man's endurance…

…but is also the bearing upon one's body of incantations and yantras of miraculous power — for invulnerability (kong-kraphan chatri), great charm (maha-saneh), great popularity (maha-niyom), and the beauty within yantra patterns composed of letters, numerals, and various powerful animals — giving rise to pride in one's identity and confidence in society.

Although today the belief in yantra-tattooing in Lanna has declined greatly — owing to the technological progress entering Lanna communities and the changed duties of men, since the old courtship custom (aew sao) no longer exists because electric light has reached every people and village — this beautiful custom has sadly faded from Lanna society. This book will present examples of murals depicting Yonok-Lanna, Burmese, and Tai Yai (Shan) men tattooed over their bodies as described above, to aid the reader's understanding, as follows.

Katha are regarded as symbols of sacredness. Originally the ancients used katha as a skillful means to rouse the spirit and build self-confidence, founded on "faith" (saddhā) — and from that arose sacredness. As for reciting katha: the reciter must recite according to the original Pali-Sanskrit and ancient letters only — with no translation, because translation distorts the "sacred" wording, robs it of potency, and weakens it in both power and "force" (raeng). Therefore translating or paraphrasing a katha is simply not done. Whoever would use a katha should strictly keep the old tradition, training to recite it exactly per the original root text, pronouncing each word clearly as in the original — only then can it be used effectively. Importantly, before using any katha the practitioner should be endowed with high moral virtue and practice the Dhamma; only then can the "katha" be used to full effect. Before speaking of the innumerable extraordinary katha-incantations and great yantras, the compiler offers a supreme katha of Lanna for the noble reader to read and chant — bringing supreme blessing to yourself and your family — the katha of Kruba Chao Sri Wichai (Phra Kruba Sri Wichai, Sirivichayo), the great "meritorious one" (ton bun luang) of Lanna, as the beginning of receiving the great katha and yantras of this special book.

The Thirty Perfections (Barami 30 That), after the manner of Kruba Chao Sri Wichai (Grants benefit in right practice and good conduct, until merit and perfection arise, reaching happiness and prosperity.) [Pali, transcribed — recited untranslated per the tradition; glossed here for legibility:] Tāna pāramī sampanno, tāna upapāramī sampanno, tāna paramatthapāramī sampanno ("Endowed with the perfection of giving; endowed with the higher perfection of giving; endowed with the ultimate perfection of giving…")