Luang Pu Toh Indasuwanno and the traditions of Wat Pradu Chimphli
Phra Ratchasangwaraphimon, better known as Luang Pu Toh Indasuwanno, was the long-serving abbot of Wat Pradu Chimphli in Bangkok Yai. He was born on 27 March B.E. 2430 (1887) in Samut Songkhram and died on 5 March B.E. 2524 (1981), aged ninety-three years and 344 days after seventy-three rains. Chinese sources commonly call him Long Po Toh or Long Pu Toh. He must not be confused with Somdet To of Wat Rakhang: they were different monks from different periods and temples. Another account gives his birth year as B.E. 2429 rather than 2430; the calendar conversion remains unresolved.
The temple predates Toh. Bangkok Yai district records construction under That Bunnag over eight years spanning the late third and early fourth reigns. Toh developed an existing monastery rather than founding it. Its selection as a model development temple in B.E. 2535 came after his death.
Thai biographies give his lay name as Toh, the son of Phloi and Thap Rattanakhon, and the elder of two brothers; his younger brother was Chueai. He first studied at Wat Ko Kaeo near his home. After his mother died, a relative, the monk Kaew, recognised the boy’s diligence and took him to Wat Pradu Chimphli in Thonburi, placing him under the care of the abbot Phra Athikan Suk. That move from rural Samut Songkhram into a Thonburi temple environment began his lifelong association with Wat Pradu Chimphli.
After about four years of temple education, he ordained as a novice at seventeen in B.E. 2447 under Phra Athikan Suk. The biography says that his preceptor died one day later. Phra Athikan Kham then succeeded as abbot, while the lay couple Khlai and Phan continued to support the young novice. He studied doctrine and discipline and learned meditation with Phra Ajahn Phrom of Wat Pradu Chimphli. His novice years brought together instruction from monastic teachers and everyday care from lay supporters.
On 16 July B.E. 2450 he received full ordination at Wat Pradu Chimphli. The biography names Phra Khru Samanathammasamathan (Saeng) of Wat Pak Nam Phasi Charoen as preceptor, Phra Khru Akkharanusit (Phong) of Wat Nuannoradit as kammavacacariya, and Phra Khru Thammawirat (Choei) of Wat Kamphaeng as anusavanacariya. He received the monastic name Indasuwanno, studied both scriptural learning and insight meditation, and passed the elementary Nak Tham examination. Ordination, scriptural study and meditation shaped his early monastic life.
After Phra Athikan Kham left office, the Sangha appointed Luang Pu Toh abbot on 10 July B.E. 2456, when he was about twenty-six. He remained in office until his death, approximately sixty-eight years later. Bangkok Yai district’s temple history identifies his abbacy as a major period of development. That span covered two world wars, Bangkok’s urban expansion and changes in the social role of temples; his responsibilities encompassed administration, education, construction and community relations throughout those years.
Another biography credits him with establishing Wiriyabamrung primary school in B.E. 2455, later renamed Wat Pradu Chimphli School, and opening Dhamma and Pali education in B.E. 2475.
A B.E. 2554 Srinakharinwirot University study instead dates the district chief’s establishment of the school to 15 February 2475, initially teaching grades one to four in the temple hall before transfer to Thonburi municipality. Whether this and the 2455 account describe a predecessor and formal establishment remains unresolved.
Later biographies describe dhutanga journeys throughout Thailand and study with several masters. Names repeated in these accounts include Luang Pho Rung of Wat Tha Krabue, Luang Pho Nong of Wat Khlong Madan and Luang Pho Chum of Wat Ratchasittharam. Other monks, including Luang Pho Pan of Wat Bang Nom Kho and Luang Pho Sot of Wat Pak Nam, are often listed as contemporaries or spiritual colleagues.
On returning from his journeys, he is associated with religious works at Wat Pradu Chimphli, including a replica Buddha footprint. The Bangkok district account also treats his long abbacy as central to the temple’s prosperity. Temple care, monastic education and daily practice accompanied his long abbacy and connected the monastery with its surrounding community.
A biography dates the library’s construction from B.E. 2509 to 2511, with antiquities and scriptural study upstairs and four primary classrooms below. In 2522, replicas of the principal Buddha raised restoration funds. By 2524, most stupa and vihara work was finished, but ordination-hall repairs had not begun when Toh died.
A disciple biography names Luang Pho Nong of Wat Bang Nam Chon, Bangkok, as a pupil. It describes his life with Toh as a novice and subsequent instruction in meditation, sacred script and powder Pidta manuals. Teachings continued by pupils remain distinct from objects made or consecrated by Toh himself.
A biography describes a daily rhythm: meditation around four in the morning, communal chanting at eight and visitors in the afternoon. Thursdays brought monks and laypeople for meditation instruction. This reported routine gives teaching a tangible setting, beyond the amulets for which he became famous.
Ratchaburi’s local-learning archive traces another community to Phra Manit’s introduction of Toh to Tham Sing To Thong in B.E. 2509. Pupils bought land for a quiet retreat. Building permission followed in B.E. 2521, but formal establishment as a temple came in B.E. 2527, after his death. The retreat’s beginnings and its later institutional recognition were separate stages.
A devotional account also tells of illness during an epidemic. Toh reportedly dreamed of Luang Pho Ban Laem bringing blessed water; after following the dream’s guidance, he recovered. This devotional story is not a treatment to use in place of medical care.
A Guanyin tradition recounts illness during successive Nine Emperor Gods festivals, followed by recovery after Toh vowed annual vegetarian observance. He reportedly wore Mahayana robes for night meditation during the festival and received Guanyin’s teaching in meditation. The story also circulated among his Chinese disciples.
In the amulet field, Luang Pu Toh is especially associated with several Phra Pidta families. Familiar collecting names include Jumbo, Plot Ni and Lang Tao, alongside Phong Chae Nam Mon powder tablets, Somdet-form tablets, Phra Kring and medals. “Luang Pu Toh Pidta” is therefore not one issue but a large body spanning years, purposes, moulds and materials. A similar outline cannot establish a common date, temple or authenticity.
Each issue needs its own record: who requested or sponsored it, why it was made, when it was pressed or cast, who cut the mould, what materials were used, how many were produced, how Luang Pu Toh participated, how pieces were first distributed, and whether an object now has traceable ownership. Jumbo, Plot Ni, Lang Tao and later memorial pieces have their own production histories; the shared label “Luang Pu Toh Pidta” does not make them one issue or date.
In his final years, he suffered age-related illness and declining strength. Thai biography records a final serious illness in February B.E. 2524 and his peaceful death at 9:55 a.m. on 5 March. He received exceptional royal funeral honours: the body was placed at the Centenary Hall of Wat Benchamabophit, with a royally granted funerary urn and regalia, and royal patronage extended to the seven-day, fifty-day and hundred-day merit ceremonies.
One Chinese account gives 5 April B.E. 2524 as his death date, a month later than the 5 March recorded in the Thai monk database and biographies.