Luang Phor Kaew Phrommasaro

Luang Pho Kaew (Thai: หลวงพ่อแก้ว; 1850–1919, B.E. 2393–2462) was one of the most venerated Buddhist monks and meditation masters of the Mae Klong River region.^[1] He was renowned for his spiritual power and mastery of sacred arts long before the era of other famous masters such as Luang Pu Khong Dhammachoto of Wat Bang Kaphom and Luang Phor Bai Thammachoto of Wat Chong Lom.^[2] His sacred objects, including various amulets, talismans, and cast medals, are highly respected.^[3] Among them, the most famous is the first issue of his cast portrait coin (Wat Block), created in 1916 (B.E. 2459). Other notable designs include Buddha images from the same year and amulets with bald-headed and pointed-head styles, all reputed for their protective power and invulnerability (kongkrapan).^[4]

Luang Pho Kaew was born in 1850 (B.E. 2393), near the end of the reign of King Rama III, in Bang Khae Subdistrict, Amphawa District, Samut Songkhram Province. He was the second of three children born to Mr. Thian and Mrs. Niam Thongphan. He was ordained as a novice in 1860 (B.E. 2403) at Wat Bang Khae Yai, Amphawa District, at age 10, and was fully ordained as a monk in 1870 (B.E. 2413) at the same temple, with Luang Pho Pheng as his preceptor. He received the monastic title Phrommasaro (พรหมสโร) and studied the Vinaya and Buddhist scriptures at the temple.

His first training in Buddhist esoteric knowledge came from his father at age 15, as his father was a soldier in the service of Krom Phra Ratchawang Bowon Wichaichan and was well-versed in sacred disciplines. He later studied with his preceptor, Luang Pho Pheng of Wat Bang Khae Yai, and with Phra Ajahn Ket of Wat Thong Noppakhun, Phetchaburi Province — who was also his elder brother.

In 1881 (B.E. 2424), local villagers invited him to become abbot of Wat Chong Lom due to his growing fame for spiritual powers. He served as abbot there for six years before transferring to Wat Puang Malai, where he remained abbot until his death. Luang Pho Bai Thammachoto then succeeded him as abbot of Wat Chong Lom.

Luang Pho Kaew was believed to possess clairvoyant abilities, able to perceive both nearby and distant events — past and future — with remarkable accuracy. He was later appointed as Phra Khru Vinayathamm (พระครูวินัยธรรม), an ecclesiastical title within the royal monastic hierarchy, though the exact presiding senior monk who granted this appointment is not clearly recorded.^[5]

He died in 1919, during the reign of Rama VI, at the age of 69, having spent 49 rains retreats in the monkhood.