Why temples produce amulets?

[peacock]

There are thousands of Buddhist temples in Thailand, where past and present, thousands of monks and nuns practice Buddhism. Among them, hundreds of them are well renowned monks, known for their perfect practice of Buddhism as well as mystical power from their amulets.

Millions of Thai Buddhist amulets have been made by these temples over the centuries. These amulet pendants are created for various purposes, such as:

• A remembrance of Buddha and the various deities
• To celebrate the anniversary of birthdates of Kings, enlightened monks, temples, or festival
• For well being of devotees
• In times of crisis such as creation of Indochine Chinnaraj 2485 for Thai soldiers in World War 2
• For temple fund raising

Old and new pra (pendants) abound in the "open" market where pra collectors as well as devotees seek to acquire them, be it for functional use or for collection. New pras from famous temples or famous monks are very popular among the devotees and collectors, and within a few days of circulation, they are no longer available.

From the hobby perspective of pra collection, it has also evolve into a form of investment for some, as these pras usually become rare and hard to find in the "open" market and will enable the collector to receive high return yields when they sell them in the "open" market in future. Temples rarely keep much stock of the old pras and their stock is usually for the temple collection for archival purposes.

From the functional perspective of pra collection, many devotees believe in the power and prowess of pras made by certain eminent monks, for various purposes such as good health, reduced debt accumulation, enhance interpersonal relationship, avoid danger and harm etc. Some of these pras, old and new, can be very hard to find, with the older pras being more expensive.

Old pra or new pra, there is no fixed price value and there is also no such thing as old pras are more powerful in their function. The prowess of the pra lies in the monk who made them, not so much in the age of the pras. As for the price, it is a willing seller and willing buyer situation. It is like someone likes the pra you are wearing which has done you good, do you bear to sell it and how much you want to sell it for?

In conclusion, for those who acquire pra for the functional use, acquire those which you feel good and like, never mind the price or the age of pra. It is one's cultivation and motive that is more important. Wearing a pra and doing bad deeds, the pra will not help you.