“That day, the Buddha decided to travel north to avoid crossing paths with her, who
was traveling from the south. And the first city he had to go to was one of the
Pañcanagara cities, in the Pañcāla region. This region was vast, with sub-districts or
vassal cities, including Chiang Muan, Chiang Yuen, Chiang Kham Nuea or Chiang Rai,
and Chiang Kham Tai, with the capital city being Chiang Saen. The first city in the group
that the Buddha reached was Chiang Kham Tai, a city located on the banks of a small
river, which is the source of the Achiravati River that flows to Savatthi. Later, about
1800 years after the Buddha’s passing, a city ruler named Phaya Yaw was appointed by
the capital city of Chiang Saen to govern this city. He developed the city into a
prosperous trading center, accumulating a lot of wealth, until he established himself as
independent and declared independence from being a colony of Pañcanagara. He
renamed this city Phaya Yawadi. Over time, the city residents tended to shorten the
name to Phaya Yaw, Phaya Yaw, until it became Phayao today,” Lord Phoche explained.

“Oh… Phayao province. Can you tell me the location of this ancient city, in case I have
the opportunity to explore it?” I asked.

“Today, this city is located in the middle of a reservoir called Kwan Phayao. Originally,
this city was a lowland area with fertile soil due to sediment from the river mouth,
accumulated since ancient times. The city had a network of small canals for
transportation and a large pond for cultivation and consumption. The city was once
abandoned because the people were conscripted to fight in the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
And less than a hundred years ago, the government built a dam to store water for use
in the dry season, which flooded the entire city, turning it into the large lake you see
today,” Lord Phoche explained.

“Oh! That’s a pity,” I said.

“At that time, the Buddha traveled with dozens of close disciples. If I mentioned their
names, I think you would be very familiar with all of them, because they are all those
who are known to have attained the highest truth and are enlightened ones in the
history of Buddhism. But there is one person you may not know, and his story is not
recorded in history, or if it is, it is not accurate,” Lord Phoche said, as if raising a point.

“Who is he?” I asked immediately.

“Phaya Asoka of Kosinarayana,” Lord Phoche replied.

“Do you mean Emperor Ashoka?” I asked.

“Different person. That Emperor Ashoka was prominent more than two hundred years
after the Buddha’s passing. This Phaya Asoka lived in the same era as the Buddha,” he
replied.

“And who is this Phaya Asoka?” I asked.

“The words Phaya or Phra Jao mean king. Everyone called him Phaya Asoka of
Kosinarayana. It was during the time he traveled to meet the Buddha in Savatthi and
attained enlightenment. He volunteered to help the Buddha’s work, which coincided
with the Buddha’s intention to travel to spread his teachings in various territories. So,
he asked to accompany the Buddha with a number of his attendants. Therefore,
everywhere the Buddha went, he would pray and look for suitable locations for his
religion to establish itself in the future. When he found a suitable place, such as a
foothill near a community, a cave, or a suitable area to become a temple or a city in the
future, he would pluck some of his hair, place it in a small container, and give it to
Phaya Asoka to bury it underground at that location,” he explained.

“Why did the Buddha do that?” I asked.

“Firstly, it was to make a prayer that in the future his religion would flourish in this
place. Secondly, it was to create a symbol for his disciples who would come to spread
the religion in the future, and also to be a place to enshrine the Buddha’s relics later. So,
it’s easy to observe that wherever there is a *chedi* (pagoda) that enshrines the
Buddha’s relics or hair relics, it means that the Buddha had been to that place and
performed a prayer ceremony to establish it.”

“And thirdly, it was to leave a trail for Achita’s group to know that they were following
the right path. It would be confirmation or a treasure map for them to follow correctly,”
he replied.

“Oh… and how would they know where the Buddha had buried the hair relics?” I asked.

“When the Buddha decided where to bury his hair relics, Phaya Asoka would order the
attendants who followed him to dig a hole to bury the container and find the most
durable material in the vicinity. Where there was sandstone, they used sandstone;
where there was granite, they used granite; where there was laterite, they used laterite,
to carve into shape. They would roughly shape the stones into short cylindrical pieces,
depending on the size of the stone, and then stack them to form a stone pillar. Then
they would place it above the location where the container was buried. Or in some
places where there was laterite or brick, Phaya Asoka would order them to stack it into
a small *chedi* instead. And because the Buddha would stay in each place for no more
than two or three days, all the work had to be completed in time.”

“So, everywhere the Buddha stayed, you would see Phaya Asoka directing his followers
to transport stones, shape them as desired, and stack them into stone pillars or
*chedi*. He would direct himself, or sometimes even do it himself, because he wanted
it completed quickly. The image that the villagers saw was Phaya Asoka pointing and
ordering the construction of those pillars to be finished within one or two days. So, the
villagers nicknamed him ‘Phra Jao Tan Jai’ (the Instant Lord) because everything had to
be completed instantly.”

“Oh, oh… so the Phra Jao Tan Jai statues that I often see in temples are statues of this
Phaya Asoka?” I asked.

“Yes. The legend of Phra Jao Tan Jai and the construction of relic *chedi* in Buddhism
often go hand in hand. Later, after the Buddha’s passing, this Phaya Asoka traveled to
build *chedi* to enshrine the Buddha’s relics in many places where the Buddha had
already made symbols,” he replied.

“That’s how it is. I’ve always been curious about who Phra Jao Tan Jai is and why
people like to ask for blessings from him, especially those who want immediate
fortune, until it became a trend that temples that want a lot of donations must build a
Phra Jao Tan Jai statue for people to worship. It turns out it’s Phaya Asoka. The story is
getting interesting,” I commented.

“Yes, and this event is the beginning of the legend of Phra Jao Liap Lok (the Lord Who
Traveled the World) recorded in ancient scriptures that have been copied and passed
down, and you are also a part of this legend,” Lord Phoche elaborated.

“Oh… that’s exciting and makes me feel proud,” I said.