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TRADITIONS & UTENSILS

 

 

 

  mummified monks

 

Thailand

Thailand, has a number of mummified monks whose uncorrupted bodies are put on display in glass caskets, as a reminder of the transience of human existence. On Koh Samui, in southern Thailand, there is the mummy of Luang Pho Daeng (fig.), a revered Buddhist monk who in 1973 died whilst meditating and was hence preserved in the samahti pose.

LOCATION DIRECTIONS

 

Then in Kanchanaburi, in central Thailand, there is the mummified body of Luang Poo Thiang (fig.), i.e. a highly venerated Buddhist monk who was a former dean, abbot and a kejih at Wat Muang Chum.

LOCATION DIRECTIONS

 

  mummified monks

 

  mummified monks

 

And in northern Mae Hong Son, a plaque at the casket of a monk mummy emphasizes the transitory nature of life with the warning: ‘In the past I was like you; in the future you will be like me’.