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funds to consult monks of repute before choosing lucky numbers for the national lottery. When coming to Wat Paknam, however, such people would be disappointed because Luang Phaw taught: "Wat Paknam has no holy water, no lucky numbers, no spells, no fortune telling. All we have is the stopping of the mind! What do you want from the Buddha's Teachings—the bark or the heartwood?" Shortly after the World War II, around 1955, black market lotteries were rife in Thai society. Normally anyone asking for luck on the lottery would be chased out of the temple. One day however, a regular in the congregation, who practiced meditation sporadically and had more than a modicum of intelligence came to Luang Phaw asking for lucky numbers to ameliorate his poverty. Luang Phaw didn’t say a word, but turned to one of his novices for paper and pencil. Luang Phaw scribbled briefly on the paper and sealed it in an envelope. The layman put out his hand to receive the envelope but Luang Phaw withdrew the envelope from reach saying: "Don’t you forget, this lottery is going to be the most important of your life. It will help you both in this lifetime and the next. It’ll bring you riches both this life and in the hereafter." The layman was ecstatic, smiling broadly and thinking of his riches. Luang Phaw had his conditions however: