All researchers and serious collectors of Thai Buddhist Amulets will be familiar with the name “Benjapakee”. This word has also been quoted as Benchaphakhi in the Thai media. Benjapakee is the term used to describe the five sets of Thai Buddha Amulets; these are the most sought after, precious and sacred sets of amulets and therefore can be considered the most powerful, rarest and most collectable of all Thai Amulets. The word Benjapkee is broken down as Benja = five & Pakee = associates. The history of Lord Buddha is well known but the association with the Benjapakee five amulets is not widely made. The origins of the Benjapakee is as follows:
Lord Buddha finally gained enlightenment on the full moon day of Kason (May) 528 BC. He was just 35 years old and this is the day that he sat under the huge sacred banyan tree on the bank of the Naranjara river at Buddha Gaya. Here on this day he became the Supreme Buddha, the fully enlightened one. Upon his enlightenment, he realized that the Dharma that he attained might be elusive and complicated for many normal people to understand which made him hesitant to share his experiences with anyone. After much consideration he decided that his Dharma could be of great benefit and his teachings might help and save many people.