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I was watching this talk about Ajahn Achalo, and he mentioned about visiting a senior monk who was a “Bodhisattva practitioner,” who gave him a prediction about his temple.
My question is: Does anyone know what lineage is this Bodhisattva practice could fall under? Is Mahayana practiced in Thailand in such a way?
At ?t=1420
There are many Thai rishis (ฤๅษี) , hermit sages, who allude to bodhisatta vows.
I have met one called Ruesi Kesa-Kaew (ปู่ฤาษีเกศแก้ว), who is a friend of Luangpor Piak (a disciple of Ajahn Chah) and who does so. This is a video of the asram where he resides most of time:
Very interesting. How did he become a rishi?
I received a reply about this very question from Ajahn Achalo, himself. Very thankful for the time he took to write this response.
It’s curious… for although there are high level Bodhisattva practitioners in Thailand, they are rarely referred to as such. It is actually my Arahant teacher who tells me which ones are Bodhisattva practitioners when I ask him. Tahn Ajahn Anan can simply see these things with the abilities of his purified mind. That monk who you mention - Luang Por Klien is about 100 years old now and in quite poor health, not really teaching or receiving guests unfortunately. Perhaps this discretion is out of deference to the general paradigm of Theravada as many people understand it… to aspire to Arahantship as swiftly as possible?
As far as I can tell, there are not actually Bodhisattva or Mahayana lineages practicing here in the Theravada form
anyway (Although there are some Vietnamese Mahayana monasteries I believe) Rather there are a few great monks
who practice within our form. Many of the truly great ones have passed away recently sadly, and it is rare that their
students are as gifted as them. Luang Por Uttama, Luang Por Soopha come to mind as great monks who were clearly Bodhisattvas. Both actually walked to India and back as younger monks! They passed away in their ninetees I believe. The ‘Bodhisattva monks’ often clearly have psychic powers and use them to help people overcome their challenges by giving advice in all realms of life - in a more obvious and public way. Arahants with psychic powers will tend to share these abilities only with closer students, and have more of a focus upon teaching the basics of Buddhism. A wisdom approach.
อาศรมปู่ฤาษีเกศแก้ว
หมู่ที่ 8 ตำบล บ้านขาม อำเภอเมืองหนองบัวลำภู จังหวัด หนองบัวลำภู Thailand https://g.co/kgs/GtnzxA
Thank you! Out of curiosity how did you find out about him? I haven’t met another lay westerner that knew of him.
You’re welcome 
I met him through a Brazilian bhikkhu (Ajahn Mudito) who’s a disciple of LP Piak
Just because it’s a great story and relevant to the topic:
Yes, surprised that wasn’t posted sooner. Had a great convesation with Hasapanno Bhikkhu over email about this one.
There is a famous monk named Kruba Boonchum who is a bodhisatta in the Kruba Siwichai lineage. I have heard from sources I trust that he has also recieved a prediction from a teaching Buddha. He did a tudong to the Himalayas when he was 18 and does some sanskrit/tibetan chanting as well as pali. He does retreats for many years at a time. He has a cave in Lampang Thailand, Burma, and Bhutan. He accurately predicted that the boys that got trapped in the cave in Thailand would be ok which made him famous. He is very well respected among the sangha in Thailand.
The monk that Ajahn Achalo mentions, LP Soopha, actually passed away at 118. No one knows who his teacher was but he taught him yoga to rearrange the subtle elements in his body so as to extend his life.
What was your impression upon paying respects to him? Dis you feel alot of metta?
He is a cool guy. Interesting hair style.
I like the color and pattern of his robe. It is dark green / brown, with beehive patterns.
Interesting to read this topic.
Out of curiosity, do you know what they mean by Bodhisattva when referring to themselves?
It is my understanding that the word has many different meanings according to different traditions:
Do you know which of these suits the monks above?
You mentioned Kruba Boonchum receiving a prediction from a teaching Buddha, do you know which? Are we talking authentic Buddhas (such as Gotama, Kassapa etc…) or the tibetan lamas/tulkus/nirmanakaya kind?
Thanks
What exactly do you mean by “receiving a prediction from a teaching Buddha” ? 
In a past life, Kruba SiVichai studied under a previous Buddha (Shakyamuni is our current one, and there have been an infinite number before him), and that Buddha gave him the prediction of his eventual Buddhahood.
Was he a direct student? I wonder if there are records of the teachings of this lineage.
Sounds like a neat trick. Any idea how to do this?
This collection is so remarkable, so incredible. Reading these quotes and stories has filled me with such joy that it brought tears. Thank you for sharing, Venerable 
Welcome to the Forum samma-vayamo. I hope you’ll find much to interest you here, and if you have any questions just ask. 
Thanks.
Do you know if he personally made the claim or if it’s something that was deduced by his disciples/followers?
