The story - Pee Jook KumanThep is a powerful ‘Golden Boy’ carved from a wood. He is a boy with a topknot and stands 3 feet tall. He is typically seen, with a chain around his neck, standing with his right palm facing outwards and left palm facing inwards. Pee Jook possesses very strong powers and his miracles are renowned worldwide.
LP Mai, the current abbot of the temple, shared that the original idol of Pee Jook was discovered in the temple about 170 years ago. According to the local legend, this miraculous Pee Jook was originally found at the river bank within temple compound. It was believed that Pee Jook had found his way to the temple by floating down down the Mae Klong River - which originates in Kanchanaburi.
In the olden days, the temple was in a state of disrepair. The temple had limited funds to restore the ordination hall and to build a funeral pyre, a bell tower and monks’ living quarters. One night, as the abbot back then was meditating in front of the Buddha at the ordination hall, he suddenly heard a voice calling out to him The abbot quietly gazed through the candlelight and saw a tan skinned boy with a topknot on his head. He did not wear any garment but wore beads around his neck. The boy calmly shared with the abbot that he would assist him to find money to restore the temple.
The abbot, puzzled, then asked: “My boy, how could we possibly restore the temple? Just the temple hall would cost more than a million baht. And how about the temple hall for sermons, the monks’ living quarters, bell tower, funeral pyre and so on? How do I raise the funds for these projects topknot boy?”
The boy said: “First, you have to call me elder brother Jook because I’m very much older than you and I’ve lived in this temple for a long time. Don’t worry, I’m confident that you can restore the temple. There are talisman in the temple. You can blessed and give them away for free, devotees will soon visit the temple and you will raise enough money for the restoration projects.”
When the abbot finished meditating, he stood up and started to look for the talismans that the boy had talked about. His eyes suddenly saw the statue of a boy covered with thick dust and he gently cleaned it and found that this talisman looks exactly the same as the topknot boy he saw in his vision during meditation. He was excited and happy that Pee Jook came to offer help in restoring the temple.
