Manomayitthi – Thailand Mind Power Meditation & Mantra
There is a mystical (occult) Buddhist meditation in Thailand that often is practiced by monks engaged in “magic” psychic practices, such as the making of sacred amulets and incantations (mantras) that are alleged to grant good fortune and happiness.
This Thai meditation is known as “Manomayitthi” (มโนมยิทธิ) which means the magical power of the mind. It was practiced perhaps most famously by the monk named Luang Phor Lersi Lingdam (หลวงพ่อฤาษีลิงดำ), who was a master of this meditation practice and a well-known creator of powerful amulets and incantations, such as the Million Dollar Mantra (คาถาเงินล้าน).
Thai monks who practice Manomayitthi are said to be able to unleash the sleeping giant within. That is the divine psychic power that exists within each individual.
There are several Thai temples which teach how to practice occult Thai meditation, such as Wat Tha Sung (where LP Lersi Lingdam served as abbot). Other temples where it is taught often have abbots who are disciples of LP Lersi Lingdam, who passed away in 1992.
For those who are interested in Mystical Thailand, and would like to practice this Thai meditation at home, here are simplified instructions.
How Thai Monks Meditate for Mind Power
1. Understand that while the mind power meditation is often described as “magic,” there is nothing magical about it. This occult meditation is simply releasing the mental powers of your mind that currently lay dormant.
2. No one in Thailand should undertake this meditation with the goal of becoming a village fortune teller, “mor doo” (หมอดู) or to undertake some other activity to impress people or gain wealth for simply personal gain. One must approach the meditation with pure intent, with a genuine desire for enlightenment and a desire to help others.
3. Eliminate any worries from your mind. Let them all be gone. Focus your mind on spreading kindness throughout the entire universe. Feel a kinship and love for all living things, and be joyful.
4. Remember that we were born to die. That you are not your body, which you have borrowed simply for a time to learn its lessons. Feel the land of Nirvana or Heaven as a pure state of happiness and joy, not as a place.
If it helps, visualize the face of the serene, smiling Buddha or another sacred figure. Try to see that face with perfect clarity.
5. Once your mind is at ease, and you feel completely at peace, ask a question that needs answering or a problem that needs solving (if you have one).
Then focus on your breath: your inhales and exhales. Begin saying mentally to yourself the “Na Ma Pa Tha” prayer (mantra).
When breathing in, say “Na Ma” (นะ มะ). When exhaling, say “Pa Tha” (พะ ธะ). Pray comfortably. Don’t force it to be too slow or too fast. Continue this prayer until your mind gradually tells you to stop.
6. Now pay attention (but don’t concentrate!) on the thoughts and feelings that arise in your mind. Make no judgements about these thoughts but examine them peacefully and curiously.
If you asked a question or sought an answer to a problem, consider how these thoughts and feelings relate to that.
Contemplate the nature of your perceptions. What is it that you think you know and why? Practice seeing things with your heart, and not with the eyes. Please forget your eyes. Then ask, what does the heart see? What kind of thing does it see?
7. Then go about your day, occasionally focusing again upon your breathing, and repeating the “Na Ma Pa Tha” mantra prayer a few times.
Manomayitthi Meditation Prohibitions
The following prohibitions or warnings have been laid down for Manomayitthi meditation practitioners in Thailand.
Read the Full and Newly Edited Version of This Essay
in Why Thailand: Short Essays on Thai Culture, Language, and Life
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