During World War II, Bangkok was occupied by soldiers of the Axis-more than a million in all. The Allies bombed Bangkok ceaselessly. In spite of the city being under attack, Luangpu did not evacuate the temple. On the contrary, he intensified his activities owing it to the in creased number of people who came to take refuge at the temple.
At the outbreak of World War II, Luangpu showed a keen interest in the news. Even though he knew through his insight which side would win the war, he told Chand, his number one disciple, to check through meditation what the outcome of the war would be. Chand meditated and returned to report to Luangpu that the Germans had no chance of winning because of the atrocities they had committed and the bad kamma they had brought upon themselves.
During the war there was a shortage of food throughout the country. But Luangpu felt that it was not safe for the monks of Wat Paknam to go on alms rounds. In addition, wartime martiallaw prohibited the transport of strategic materials-including rice. Luangpu would instruct Chand to have the meditators in the temple invoke the virtues of the Dhammakaya to provide sufficient food for the temple community each day.
Once, the rice in the temple storeroom was nearly depleted and there was no prospect of a fresh supply for the next day. Even if one were to buy a cargo of rice, there was no guarantee that one would receive it. The nun in charge of the storeroom was at her wit's end and went to inform Luangpu. Luangpu told her, "Do not fear. The rice is on its way."
It turned out that martial law did not deter the generosity of temple goers who were determined to support the monks. They used a motorboat to tow a barge from faraway provinces and plied from one side of the canal to the other collecting donations of food from well-wishers until the barge was full. The cargo of alms food was then hidden beneath a layer of banana leaves and sugar cane before towing the boat downstream to Wat Paknam right under the oblivious noses of the authorities to moor in front of the temple. Rice was unloaded and carried to the storeroom, filling it up, to the amazement of all who bore witness.
Luangpu had long been renowned for the special compassion he displayed towards foreigners. If any foreigner were to attain Dhammakaya in meditation, he would express his happiness for days on end. Luangpu extended this same compassion to the warring nations of the War. In spite of the hostilities and the obvious temptation for nationalist feeling, Luangpu and his meditators regarded a world at war with impartiality. Neither nationality nor the occupation of Thailand caused them to view one side or the other as their enemies. They saw all humans as equal and prayed for harmony and a quick end to the hostilities without bloodshed. Indeed, his standard blessing given to all who attended the temple was that all be prosperous, that the rice be plentiful in the fields, that the rain fall according to season, and men everywhere give up fighting amongst themselves.
Wat Paknam was located very close to the river lock between the mouth of Bhasicharoen Canal and Bangkok-Yai Canal. This was a place of strategic significance and a target for Allied bombing. Luangpu had an unshakeable faith that the omnipotence of the Dhammakaya would protect Wat Paknam and its congregation from the bombs. Temple atten dance increased because Wat Paknam gained a reputation for safety in the time of air raids. The public believed that Luangpu had some sort of magical power. Whenever air-raid sirens were sounded, the people of Bhasicharoen would hasten to the temple precincts rather than shelter in the air-raid bunkers.
Luangpu heard the explosions of bombs falling on Bangkok almost on a daily basis but remained unmoved. He ordered Chand and his nuns to use the power of the Dhammakaya to avert those bombs and have them fall in the ocean or in uninhabited areas. Indeed, in 1941, many of the Bangkok newspapers gave the front-page coverage to the manifestation of miracles at Wat Paknam, seeing bombs being intercepted by miraculous hands to fall in the water or in uninhabited areas of the forest. Apart from bombs missing their targets because of interception, another reason why bombs fell harmlessly in unpopulated areas was because bomb-aimers could not find targets located in the city. Interviewed later in a docu mentary, one bomb-aimer reported: "When close to the target, Bangkok from the air would miraculously appear looking like a forest or farmland," and the mirage would persist until the bombers gave up their mission and turned homeward.
In 1945, Luangpu envisioned through meditative insight a horrendously devastating new weapon of mass destruction-a horrific bomb. The weapon had been built by the Allies to bring the war in Asia to an end. They were planning to test this new weapon by dropping it on Bangkok. Bangkok was the most obvious target because so many soldiers from the Axis occupied the city. "What would happen to us if we were hit by this weapon?" Luangpu asked the meditators. Chand informed him that the whole city would be razed to the ground; the land would be "flattened like the surface of a drum", and the whole population annihilated.
Upon hearing this Luangpu ordered Prayoon, a senior member of his congregation, to take all of the temple assets and leave the city, going as far away as he could. Luangpu told him, if his efforts were to be successful Prayoon should know within seven days whether he would be able to return to the temple in safety. Luangpu locked the doors of the meditation workshop from the inside, allowing no one to enter or leave. Food and drink would be sent in via the supply box. The workshop group sat in perpetual meditation behind closed doors for seven days and nights, invoking their meditative powers to save the country. For a reason known only to Luangpu and his meditators, the bomber and the bomb never arrived in Bangkok. The Allies had for some reason changed their minds.
