Long, long, ago there was a saint monk, who was magically powerful named Chounlanaga. With the intention of having Buddhism exist to its longest extent of 5,000years, the Saint went all over Sri Lanka persuading people to contribute to a ceremony to cast a Buddha. The ceremony was to be held under the chairmanship of the King of Sri Lanka, the Pya Indra, Dhevadas, Brahmins and ascetics.

Once agreement was reached, Saint Chounlanaga started collecting from the people silver, gold, copper and brass wares as well as other ceremonial and worshiping necessities such as flowers, candles and incense-sticks. When the appointed time came, those who acted as chairmen of the ceremony picked up the materials collected and dropped them into the melting pot. After the process was finished, the newly-cast Buddha was named Pm Bang. Pm in Lao is a pronoun for referring to a Buddha, and Bang means, thin or little. The celebration was arranged and lasted for seven days. The ‘Buddhaphisek’, the religious praying ceremony conducted by a number of senior monks for making the Pra Bang a sacred Buddha, was also arranged on the night of the full moon.

The day the praying ceremony was opened, the Pra Bang was expected to have such great magical power that all the creatures and Dhevadas must worship respectively. Saint Chounlanaga brought with him five valuable magic crystals from a shrine where the ashes of Buddha were kept in order to put them in the body of Pra Bang. With the presence of all chairmen, the saint started his praying and blessing for the Buddha to be sacred. After he had done this, the first crystal went flying towards the Pra Bang and sank itself into the Buddha’s forehead; the second one rested in the Buddha’s chin; the third one in the right hand; the fourth one in the left hand; and the Pra Bang became famous for its magic powers.

Many centuries later, the King of Inthapatta City, Cambodia, went to Sri Lanka and asked for Pra Bang to be brought to this city. Many generations went by and then the Pra Bang was removed from Vienkham City to Moung Sua (now Luang Prabang, the former royal capital of Laos) by King Sayachakkapatti Phenepheo, the King of Moung Sua.