Luang Phor Jaran Titthadhammo

Story by Luang Phor Jaran Titthadhammo

There was a devotee, a C7-level civil servant living with her* mother, just the two of them. She didn't know that her real biological mother is actually her adopted mom’s sister, who raised her from a young age. She also didn’t know who was her father as she had never seen him.

She came to this temple twice to meditate, 7 days each time. The first time she meditated for 7 days, nothing happened. But the second time she came here to meditate, her real mother appeared to her in her dream, dressed in white, around 3 to 4am in the morning.

She hugged the devotee, and then said, “My child, I have risen from the underworld. I am your real mother. Do you know that your mother hanged herself over the bed where you slept? I hanged myself but I have a child who practice the kammathan and whose merit supported me to leave the lower realms.

I understand a lot of things already. If a person commits suicide, there is no need to go and tamboon to make merit to offer him or her. Because he or she certainly won’t be able to receive the merit.

The highest merit is the merit produced by the kammathan practice (meditation).”

The devotee continued recounting what happened. 

She said that her mother hugged her, telling her the truth. Her father went to get a new wife or mistress and came back home. The auntie was angry and took a gun to shoot at him. So the father did not dare enter the house. Since then, her father had not returned.

The mother told her that she had a difficult time after committing suicide. Her punishment was to dig the ground, and when she was hungry she had to eat from the rubbish dump. Every day was a torture. 

But when her child practiced the kammathan and shared merit, she was released from her punishment. 

Therefore, mom was very grateful to her child. Then she continued,

“My child, 4 gold chains, 3 diamond rings, I left to your auntie. Did she give them to you?”

The devotee realised one thing. At the point of death, you will retain that particular appearance. 

You do not age or grow old as a spirit. Because there was a photo of her real mother at the house, she always thought she was her aunt. But the spirit still looked exactly like that. 

After the devotee awoke from the dream, she went to rouse her aunt up from her sleep, asking whether her real mom was her aunt. Her aunt was so shocked and asked how did she know. 

And then the devotee asked about the possessions her mother left behind, which her aunt said were still around. Just that she hadn’t given her yet because she hadn’t married and started a family yet. 

What I want to leave with you here is this. When a loved one passes away, there is nothing as beneficial for him as the merit from the kammathan (meditation). After you dedicate the merit to him or her, you will find out where they have gone. 

If they have gone to heaven, when we tamboon sangkatan, they will receive via anumodana. 

But they won’t be able to receive food offerings like this. Because they only partake of divine food. 

If they are reborn in the lowest levels of the hell realm, if we tamboon sangkatan and dedicate the merit to them, they will not be able to receive it. We have to pray and practice the kammatan before they can receive the merit. 

Luang Phor Jaran Titthadhammo

Wat Amphawan, Singburi Province

*Admin assumed the gender of the devotee as Luang Phor Jaran’s account was gender-neutral