The Present Chief Abbot of Phothivihan Temple
Has been 45 years as Chief Monk of Wat Phothivihan, born on June 09,1933 to the family of Chinese in the village of Kg Tok Kong in the district of Ketereh near Kota Bharu the capital of Kelantan in Malaysia. He was given the Chinese name of Lee Ah Hwa and was the eldest in a family of 5 brothers and a sister. As a kid he attended the Chinese primary School in Ketereh and completed up to standard four. He left school after that because of problems faced including that of transportation. Soon after leaving, he was accepted by Phra Kru Ariyasangworn or Phor Than Lek as a temple boy at the Ariyakhim Temple in the district of Pauh Lima in Kota Bharu. Under the guidance of Phor Than Lek he learnt Dhamma and soon became proficient in a short time. At the age of 18 he left the temple and found occupation as a businessman dealing with sundry goods in the village of Kok Lanas in Keterah. He spent 2 years as a businessman.
At the age of 20, the minimum age for monkhood, he stopped his vocation and joined the monk hood at the Tendong Temple near the town of Pasir Mas, under in charge of Phor Than Long.
At this temple he learnt the theory and practical of meditation under the personal guidance of Phor Than Long himself. During his 4th vassa he left for the Vipassana Meditation centre at Lamphu Temple in province of Narathivat in southern Thailand to study intensive meditation. He spent 2 months under the tutorship of Ven Acharn Deng the Abbot.
At this temple he learnt the theory and practical of meditation under the personal guidance of Phor Than Long himself. During his 4th vassa he left for the Vipassana Meditation centre at Lamphu Temple in province of Narathivat in southern Thailand to study intensive meditation. He spent 2 months under the tutorship of Ven Acharn Deng the Abbot.
Soon after returned to Kelantan he again left for Bangkok to further study meditation and Dhamma. He stayed at Wat Mahathaat and Wat Rangang and spent about a year in Bangkok. Without having really completed his studies he decided to leave for home as he found the city too busy. Back in Kelantan he once again stayed in Wat Tendong near Pasir Mas. Although his formal education in the theory and practical of Buddhism and meditation was incomplete but he was able to guide others in the practice of the Dhamma and meditation as well.
Soon after, the Head of the Thai Sangha or the Buddhist Order in Bangkok despatched a letter to the Head of the Thai Sangha in Kelantan who is residing in Wat Uttamaram in Repek near Pasir Mas appointing Than Hua as the Abbot of Wat Phothivihan which was without Head monk. Than Hua was reluctant to accept the appointment feeling himself not qualified to hold the post. However, after the encouragement of the Head of the Thai Sangha in Kelantan he accepted the post and moved to stay in Wat Phothivihan in 1960.
As a first step he initiated immediate repairs to existing buildings, built a small rest house, had a well dug to ensure adequate water supply and planted a 'Tanjong' tree in front of the temple. After staying in the temple about 2 years he went to Penang where he stayed for 2 years in order to learn English. Back to the temple once again he built a small building as his residence and prepared himself for intensive study of the Dhamma. During his 9th rains he passed stage one Grade of the Royal Dhamma Examination (Nag Tham Tri). Thereafter he passed successively stage 2 during his 10th rain (vassa) and final stage 3, he completed his highest Grade of the Royal Dhamma Examination during his 11th rain. At the sametime, he also studied Buddhism by correspondence conducted in English by the Buddhist Missionary Society of the Brickfields Temple in Kuala Lumpur.
In 1984, Abbot received the rank of Phra Khru awarded by His Majesty, the King of Thailand for his services rendered to Buddhism
Phra Kru Prasasprachakorn with his awarded by His Majesty, the King of Thailand.
Gallery Photo
His Photo during on his missionary at Alaska USA
