Phra Khun Paen — Wat Ban Krang (Samadhi Mold)
B.E. 2490–2492 (1947–1949) • Suphan Buri • Oversight by LP Mui (Wat Don Rai) & Phra Khru Aphat Silakhun
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Phra Khun Paen of Wat Ban Krang (Suphan Buri) in the Samadhi mold was produced c. B.E. 2490 under the direction of Phra Khru Aphat Silakhun (Phra Palat Thawi — nephew of Luang Por Mui of Wat Don Rai). Phra Palat Thawi instructed disciples to gather broken and damaged amulets from Wat Ban Krang and other old crypts across Suphan Buri as sacred admixtures. The series is traditionally noted as especially auspicious for Thursday-born devotees.
Pressing took place at Wat Ban Krang and, following ancient prescriptions, the firing (burning) was done only on Saturdays until the target quantity was achieved. In B.E. 2491 (1948) a principal consecration was held with seven revered monks:
- Luang Por Mui — Wat Don Rai
- Luang Por Taem — Wat Phra Loi
- Luang Por Toh — Wat Lat Tan
- Luang Por Thir — Wat Pa Lelai
- Luang Por Sai — Wat Ban Krang
- Luang Por Kham — Wat No Phuttakun
- Luang Por Pliang — Wat Suwannaphum
In B.E. 2492 (1949) a further blessing ceremony preceded deposition of the batch in the original chedi (pagoda), inviting a wider circle of masters:
- LP Nam (Ajahn Nam) — Wat Don Sala, Phatthalung
- LP Pae — Wat Phikun Thong, Singburi
- LP Pliang — Wat Suwannaphum
- LP Mui — Wat Don Rai
- LP Khaek — Wat Hua Khao
- LP Taem — Wat Phra Loi
- LP Toh — Wat Lat Tan
- LP Thir — Wat Pa Lelai
- LP Kham — Wat No Phuttakun
- LP Sai — Wat Ban Krang
In B.E. 2511 (1968) the chedi was opened for distribution. Devotees came in large numbers. During Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn’s period, 4,000 pieces were requested for soldiers in the Vietnam War; later, Field Marshal Praphas Charusathien requested 5,000 for the Black Panther Division. Subsequent distributions recorded include:
- 10,060 presented to His Majesty the King
- 4,500 to soldiers at Chiraprawat Camp, Nakhon Sawan (by Col. Amnuay Surachet)
- 1,500 to the Kamphaeng Saen Operations Battalion, Nakhon Pathom
- 8,900 to soldiers on the Aranyaprathet border in 1980
- 10,000 to the public for merit-making in 1981
Across the entire cycle—from material gathering to pressing, from Saturday firings to the B.E. 2491–2492 blessings—LP Mui remained centrally involved. Multiple Samadhi molds exist within the series, but all share the same reverent sourcing, careful ritual timing, and multi-lineage consecration that made Wat Ban Krang’s Khun Paen a post-war benchmark for Suphan Buri devotees.