Thai Amulet: Consciousness to Superstitious

Buddhism is one of the major world religions with over 470 million followers around the globe. Even though Siddhartha Gautham “the Buddha” was an Indian Origin the recent Indian coverage of the religion is only said to be 0.7% but over the years, worldwide it has gained immense popularity mainly in Thailand were 49% of the population follow Buddhism.

Originally the manufacturing of symbolic religious objects was not considered as a common practice in Buddhism, but throughout the year’s religion flourished and at the time and even now humans feel more comfortable praying towards pictures and statues that served as an object of worship, thus it marked the origin of Thai amulets.

The LP Ruay Wat Tako is a form of Thai Amulets. Roon Ruay Mahasetti BE2557 has gained popularity among collectors and disciples over the years. It is in the Top 10 Popular Coins of LuangPhor Ruay. The old materials mix for this batch is said to be over a 100 million Thai Baht worth in value and this batch underwent several consecration and blessing ceremonies presided by LuangPhor Ruay in accordance to strict traditions. Wearers often feedback on good sales, luck and strong protection. This piece code number is 191, is made of Nawa Loha 9 precious metals and a real gold mask. Total make only 199 pieces.

The manufacturing of these amulets is considered to be a sacred and delicate process which involves older monks chanting and casting spells to make the object holy in the last phase before giving away to traders. There is an Amulet market in Thailand whose sole purpose is to sell amulets. But the word ‘selling’ is considered offensive in Buddhist religion so the traders use the term “borrowing” for name sake to sell these amulets.

The main objective of Thai amulets is to bring the bearer a reminder to his consciousness the presence of Lord Buddha. But lately a lot of superstitious beliefs have been integrated to these objects, to attract more buyers. The amulet is considered as a protection from disease, witchcraft and accidents.

The older the amulet, more the protective power it poses. Thus it have led to an increase in fake manufacturers. But because of the increasing demand, certification authority for amulets have also come to existence to identify fake from real. The traders of amulets have three types of clients; the believers, collectors and retail sellers. There are amulets which even costs 10 million US dollars.

It is a wonder how an object whose mere intention was to bring consciousness of Lord Buddha to ones mind have turned out to be a luxurious object which drives wealth and good luck to its bearer. Having said that there are people who wears the amulet as a respect to the religion rather than belief in its power and also people with belief the other way round. But to sum up there is no harm caused by the amulet if you are smart enough to outsmart the sellers!! Scratch that lenders.