Special Behind-the-Scenes Feature of the Sculpting Model of Luang Pu

Interview with Phra Prajuab Boonyagaro, the most venerable Phrarajbhavanavisudh ( Luang Phaw Dhammajayo)'s assisant in sculpting the 1.5 times Life Size Preliminary Model of the Next Phra Mongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro) Pure Gold Statue which Luang Phaw Dhammajayo sculptured with his own hands. The most in-depth information which has never been revealed anywhere before is here.

 

 

Q:  what is the Beginning of the Sculpting Luang Pu Sod Preliminary Enlarged Model?

 

A: At first, when Luang Phaw came to our fine arts department and told me to make another copy of the original clay model, enlarging it to be 1.5 times life size and have the same lap length scale as the present golden statue in Phramongkolthepmuni Hall, I was curious why. I thought we already had the model, why would we need another one? Then, it dawned on me that Luang Phaw felt confident and ready to make an enlarged copy of the original clay model he's been developing for ten years.
 

Q: How dedicated was Luang Phaw when sculpting Luang Pu Sodh Preliminary Enlarged Model?

A: . The day after Luang Phaw came to express his wish, he was ready to start the work right away. I could feel Luang Phaw's dedication for this piece of work. But the preparation processes took me a while. I decided to start with the head first. I carved the clay with rough details and made it ready for Luang Phaw to sculpture it on the table. I could feel his dedication and supreme respect for Luang Pu Sod. Some days, it was raining heavily, I thought Luang Phaw would not come but he did. Some days, the weather was very hot, I saw him covered in sweat but he did not stop. He continued with his work. The weather was no obstacle to him. Some days Luang Phaw felt dizzy, he would just ask his attendant for some medicine and cloth to cover his head and kept on sculpting and did not go back to his residence. His mind was with Luang Pu all the time. He wanted to make this enlarged model to be exactly like Luang Pu. His wish was to bring Luang Pu back to life again. 

 
       Moreover, during sculpting, Luang phaw had to stand for many hours. He did not stop to sit. I myself would get cramps or pain in the legs and would want to sit after standing for an hour but Luang Phaw would keep on standing for 2-3 hours straight. And when he saw the skin details of the palm of the hands were not right, he would use himself as an example, holding in the palm of his hands in meditation position and tell me to have a closer look of what an elderly's skin looked like. He wanted to make this model as real and alive as Luang Pu Sodh himself.

 

Q: Can you explain Luang Phaw's skills in sculpting?

A: As we know, Luang Phaw did not graduate with a degree in sculpting but I noticed that his skill was better than an assisting monk who has a degree in this field. Then, I learned to know that Luang Phaw got his skills from the insight, his Dhamma within. He used his insight to sculpt the model to look just like Luang Pu himself.

 

 

Q: Can you explain about Luang Phaw's joy in sculpting Luang Pu Sodh's Model?

 

A:. When Luang Phaw was sculpting, if he was satisfied with the work, even thought the work was not complete yet, he would smile. Once he said "We are making great merit with Luang Pu Sodh. I'd actually love to cast his statue in diamond but it is too difficult to get it nowadays. Luang Pu was not an ordinary person. Some people don't know who he was, where he was from, what he has been doing or how important he was to mankind and all the beings within the Three Realms. If we could meditate and see for ourselves actually how important he was, we would feel like we could do anything for him, regardless of any difficulties or obstacles.
 

 

Q: Do you have any special techniques in sculpting Luang Pu Sodh's Model?

A: Before sculpting Luang Phaw would say " Luang Pu Sodh, please come and be with me so I can sculpt this model to look just like you". This reminded me of the past when I first worked on the previous model and asked Luang Phaw how to sculpture well. Luang Phaw answered that all I needed to do was to ask Luang Pu to come and be with me and sculpt according to the way Luang Pu guided me. I only needed to ask him which part needed to be  removed or mounted, then just remove or mount parts accordingly, that's all. After hearing it, I thought that if I was able to do what Luang Phaw could do, that'd be so great!

 

Q: How about Luang Phaw's Attentiveness to details?

A: We used many pictures of Luang Pu Sodh which were shot from many perspectives but there was one particular photo that we focussed on the most. Luang Phaw wanted to make Luang Pu Sodh's preliminary model to be as real and alive as Luang Pu himself. We therefore had to capture all the details to be as accurate and precise as possible. For example, when sculpting his eyebrows, Luang Phaw told me to literally count the number of hairs in his eyebrows and study their shapes since Luang Phaw wanted all the shapes and proportion of each feature to be precise. He was very meticulous which encouraged me to do the best I could for this piece of work. Sometimes, he told me to re-measure some parts again and when I re-measured it, I'd find the mistakes he mentioned. He could notice any little mistake right away, even as small as 2-3 millimeters, which no one could tell from afar. Moreover, it seems he could read my mind and would point me towards where there was a mistake.

 

 

When the Teacher sculpted the Master

 

Luang Phaw Dhammajayo sculpted Pramongkolthepmuni
(Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro Wat Pak Nam Bhasichareon)'s Preliminary Model with his utmost love, respect and worship.

 

Shall we dedicate ourselves too?

We shall dedicate ourselves to make Luang Pu Sodh come back to Life in Gold

 

  

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