The Legend of Luang Poh Phra Thong

One of the pleasures of having a large photo essay book like THAILAND 180º on your coffee-table is that you can pick it up and flip through it for a travel experience whenever you like. Even though I’ve looked at the photos countless times, I still rediscover images that I haven’t seen for a while. Such was the case last night when I saw the picture of a half-Buddha image, Luang Poh Phra Thong, located at Wat Phra Tong in Phuket, Thailand.

I did some research, and it reminded me of the spellbinding legend behind this statue. I say spellbinding because I knew there was a lesson behind the incredible story. As you read the legend, think of what meaning is behind it, and we’ll talk about it in the comments.

Luang Poh Phra Thong

Many years ago, a boy was plowing a field with his faithful water buffalo in the village that is now known as Thalang. After tolling for hours, he tied his buffalo to an object sticking up from the ground. Both were tired as they had been trying to extract the object from the earth for many hours. As they relaxed, they fell into a deep sleep and died!

The father was stricken with grief. Not only had he lost his son, but he also had lost his means of farming, his buffalo. A few nights later, as the father lay sleeping, he had a vivid dream. In the dream, he saw the image of a Buddha, buried in the field. He ran outside to the paddy, and in the moonlight, he examined the protruding object. It was then that he realized that the object sticking out of the ground was an ushnisha, the top part of a Buddha statue!

The next morning, he told the villagers about his vision and showed them the ushnisha. The villagers immediately began digging, sensing the auspiciousness of finding an ancient Buddha image. Suddenly, a swarm of bees emerged from the ground and attacked those excavating. The legend mentions that those merely watching were spared!

The Burmese Invasion

Years passed, and all efforts to unearth the statue failed. It seems disaster struck again and again. Try as they may, they could only uncover the head and torso of the image. One day a Burmese army attacked Thalang. When the soldiers came upon the half-exposed Buddha image, they were filled with the desire to extract it and take it back to their country, Burma (now Myanmar).

Therefore, they laid down their weapons, picked up shovels and began to dig. As they dug, thousands of tiny ants bit them, killing hundreds of the Burmese soldiers. After that, things grew worse for the men as the ruler of Nakhorn Si Thamarat attacked and drove the Burmese out of the kingdom. With renewed vigor, the people of Thalang continued their attempts to uncover the statue.

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Finally, one glorious morning in 1750, a monk on a pilgrimage from Sukhothai had a vision as he watched the men toiling in futility. “Build a temple on this spot to enshrine the Buddha image, leaving the bottom half buried,” he said. The townspeople agreed and built Wat Phra Thong, where it stands today. Some time afterward, they refurbished the face and torso of the image as it appears in the photo above.

The Meaning Behind the Legend

I suspect there is a deeper meaning to the story, and that’s why it’s been retold for generations. Perhaps, it teaches us to cherish and protect what we have, rather than always desiring more. What killed the boy and his buffalo? Maybe their spirits were simply liberated. The top part of the Buddha image, the ushnisha, delineates the crown chakra, which is the link to man’s divinity in Hinduism and Buddhism. In other words, it is a strong field of energy and a link to redemption for believers. What do you think? Please let me know in the comments below.

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