Be At One With The Cabbage: Ming's Divine Veggie

In Suphonburi, Thailand (about one hundred miles northwest of Bangkok), a religious furor has exploded around Ming Su Hahn's Chinese-Style restaurant over what appears to be the image of Buddha in a head of cabbage. The small town, located on the Khum Suphon river boasts a large number of followers of Buddhism, and at least twenty altars where believers can stop on their way to work and say a quick prayer and burn some incense.

Ming, 36, who runs the Chinese restaurant with her Malaysian husband Ong, 42, was checking a small shipment of vegetables when something caught her eye. She pulled a few leaves of the cabbage apart, and a pattern of discoloration seemed to form the shape of Buddha, with arms extended upward.

"He looks happy, like he's smiling," said Ming.

Rather than risk being overrun with followers and media, Ming took the vegetable to a local monastery and presented it to the monks. "They were very appreciative, and believed it without a moments hesitation," says Ming.

Followers then began trekking to the monastery, giving the monks money and food, receiving blessings by touching the "sacred cabbage."

One man, Su-Sip Buck, claimed to have had his vision improved vastly by his contact with the cabbage. Another man claims that it helped his ailing pet cat eat once more.

As for Ming Su Hahn, she's noticed no changes in herself or her business. "If I helped these people, then I am grateful," she says.

sources

"Divine Vegetation," Esoterica magazine, April 1998, Volume 15 issue 143.

Photo courtesy of Ong Su Hahn and Esoterica magazine