We recently took a field trip to Southern Thailand to check out a
potential ministry opportunity in Nakorn Sri Thammarat province and,
among other things, we observed how much the people there are into a
particular amulet called Jat-Tu-Kham-Rama-Thep. In fact, the amulet
comes from Nakon Sri Thammarat and is so immensely popular right now
that people come from all over the country to buy up these amulets and
resell them at a 30-60 fold profit. Jat-tu-kham, unlike a lot of other
amulets, is not a Buddha image but is an image of an ancient king of
Nakon Sri Thammarat who has been elevated to divine, or angelic,
status. Every place in Nakon is selling these things - restaurants,
beauty shops, malls, convenience stores - everyplace. It's idol
madness, really.
Something really notable about the Jat-tu-kham,
besides the fact that it is so immensely popular with Thai people, is
the probable reason why it is so popular. I recently read an article in
a Thai national newspaper's weekly magazine that said the Jat-tu-kham
amulets are popular because what the amulet promises corresponds to
Thai people's current needs - i.e. the desire to have money and get
rich! The economy is down and people want something to help them make
money (or get rich, perhaps). Listen to some of the names of the
different editions (or models) of the amulet that