Chapter 8: Tung Lek Tung Tong: The Metallic Banners of Deliverance, Infernal Rescue, and Funerary Metaphysics
Unravel the funerary metaphysics of Lanna's Tung Lek Tung Tong: 11 elemental banners delivering souls from hell, and the casket alms bowl riddle.
The Metaphysics of Metal Banners and the 11 Somatic Elements
In traditional Lanna mortuary rituals (Huean Yen or the "Cool House" funeral vigil), the most evocative ritual implement resting atop the coffin lid alongside a monk's alms bowl is the "Tung Lek Tung Tong" (Iron and Brass Banners). Though commonly referred to by this abbreviated twin moniker, this set of small, centipede-shaped articulated metallic banners actually represents eleven foundational physical media utilized by the Bodhisatta as objects of ascetic meditation (Kammaṭṭhāna) across eleven monumental incarnations:
- Prince Temiya (Renunciation): Meditated upon Earth (Din)
- Prince Mahajanaka (Perseverance): Meditated upon Sand (Sai)
- Suvannasama (Loving-Kindness): Meditated upon Wood (Mai)
- King Nemi (Resolution): Meditated upon Lead (Takua / Jeen)
- Mahosadha (Wisdom): Meditated upon Tin (Hiak)
- Bhuridatta (Morality): Meditated upon Unhusked Paddy (Khao Plueak)
- Candakumara (Patience): Meditated upon Brass/Copper (Tong)
- Narada (Equanimity): Meditated upon Unhusked Paddy (Khao Plueak)
- Vidhura the Wise (Truthfulness): Meditated upon Polished White Rice (Khao San)
- Prince Vessantara (Giving): Meditated upon Silver (Ngoen)
- Prince Siddhattha (The Final Life): Meditated upon Pure Gold (Thong Kham)
Because reciting all eleven elemental substances was cumbersome, the northern folk compressed the title to "Tung Lek Tung Tong." The liturgical chanting of the Pali Chat Phra Chao linked to these banners is revered as an esoteric vehicle capable of severing the heaviest karmic fetters of the deceased.
Scriptural Parables: Deliverance from Hell and Samsara
The classical treatise Anisong Tan Tung Lek Tung Tong records powerful exempla demonstrating the transcendental efficacy of these banners:
- The Forest Monk Reborn as a Gecko: A monk who formed a dying attachment to a hollow tree (Ton Ko) was reborn within it as a gecko (Tokto). Distraught, he appeared in his kin's dreams; upon their sponsoring the 11 metal banners alongside 108 sand stupas and grain mounds, his soul was liberated into the celestial spheres.
- The Karmic Cure of the Heiress: A woman who in a past life sprinkled itchy velvet-bean powder (Ma Mui) onto the bed of her husband's concubine was reborn into luxury, but plagued by untreatable full-body pruritus at age 14. The Buddha prescribed the keeping of the Five Precepts and the donation of 11 metallic banners, curing her torment instantly.
- The Banner Tail in the Cauldron: A sinful man was cast by underworld guardians into the boiling bronze cauldrons of hell. Yet, because he had once donated a long white cotton banner to a monastery, the banner's tail miraculously dipped into the abyss, lifting him out of the infernal fires directly to heaven.
The Alms Bowl and Monastic Robes on the Coffin Lid
Complementing the metal banners, an alms bowl filled halfway with white rice, flowers, and incense is positioned on the coffin. This serves as metaphysical viaticum, equipping the wandering soul with an immaculate offering to present before the sacred Chulamani Stupa in Tāvatiṃsa Heaven.
Furthermore, the Triple Monastic Robes (Pha Trai) draped over the casket substitute for the modern Central Thai practice of Pang Sukula extraction. In ancient Lanna, robes were consecrated directly to the Buddha image prior to cremation, ensuring the deceased soul rests perpetually beneath the cooling shade of the saffron cloth, ascending to heaven by holding fast to its sacred hem.