Luang Pho Daeng ( th, หลวงพ่อแดง) was a Thai
Buddhist monk who died while meditating in 1973.
Early life
Luang was born in Thailand in 1894. He was briefly interested in becoming a monk in his 20s, but decided he would rather be
married instead. He raised six children with his wife.
Later life
After all of his children had grown, Luang (who was by now 50) decided to become a Buddhist monk, realizing his childhood dream. He was briefly an
abbot at a temple in southern Thailand, but moved to
Wat Khunaram
Wat Khunaram ( th, วัดคุณาราม) is a Buddhist temple on the island of Ko Samui in Surat Thani Province, Thailand. It is most notable for being the shrine of "the Mummy Monk", Luang Pho Daeng, who died in 1973 and directed ...
, near his childhood home. He practiced
Sokushinbutsu, a form of self
mummification.
Death
Luang died while meditating in 1973.
His mummified body is on display at the
Wat Khunaram
Wat Khunaram ( th, วัดคุณาราม) is a Buddhist temple on the island of Ko Samui in Surat Thani Province, Thailand. It is most notable for being the shrine of "the Mummy Monk", Luang Pho Daeng, who died in 1973 and directed ...
(temple) on
Ko Samui island in Thailand's
Surat Thani Province. The mummy is notable for sporting a pair of sunglasses, placed by the caretakers to hide the decomposed eye sockets to make the display less disturbing. A native
gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from .
Geckos ar ...
species use the body as a
hatchery, with
eggs being laid beneath the skin.
See also
*
Buddhist mummies
Buddhist mummies, also called flesh body bodhisattvas, full body sariras, or living buddhas (Sokushinbutsu) refer to the bodies of Buddhist monks and nuns that remain incorrupt, without any traces of deliberate mummification by another party. Ma ...
*
Sokushinbutsu
References
1973 deaths
Mummies
Place of birth missing
Thai Theravada Buddhist monks
1894 births
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