41 Bodies Found at Thai Monastery "Meditation Technique I Developed"

Abbot: "Accepted Body Donations... For Meditation Practice"
Police Investigation Launched... To Examine Practice Methods

More than 40 corpses were discovered at a Buddhist monastery in Thailand, prompting police to launch an investigation. The monastery claims that the corpses were used for meditation practice and were donated, while another monastery where about 10 corpses were recently found is making similar claims, leading authorities to conduct an inquiry.

Thai police investigating the monastery where the body was found. Photo by Bangkok Post

On the 25th (local time), AFP and the Bangkok Post reported that 41 corpses were found on the 23rd at the Pa Nakhon Chaibobon Monastery in Phichit Province, northern Thailand, and that police are investigating their origin.

The monastery where the corpses were found claims, based on death certificates and body donation documents, that "the families of the deceased donated the bodies." Police explained that they are contacting the bereaved families to verify whether the bodies were actually donated and whether the deaths were natural.

The monastery asserts that the corpses were used for meditation practice. The abbot told local media, "The use of corpses is part of a 'meditation technique' I developed," adding, "Monks meditate in spaces where coffins containing corpses are kept." He further said, "Many monks visit the monastery to learn this meditation technique." However, he added that he does not know how many places apply this meditation method.

Earlier, on the 20th, 12 corpses were found at another monastery in nearby Kamphaeng Phet Province. Among the corpses found at that time, four were recently deceased bodies, and the remaining eight were skeletal remains. Police stated that most did not have death certificates but did have body donation documents.

The abbot of that monastery also claimed that the corpses were used for meditation classes and that the families voluntarily donated them. Some practitioners even claimed to have gained supernatural auditory and visual abilities after participating in meditation using the corpses.

Authorities said they are investigating how widespread this type of meditation practice is nationwide. The National Office of Buddhism (NOB) of Thailand is taking the incident seriously and plans to examine whether the monastery’s claim of using corpses in practice violates Buddhist doctrine and whether the meditation method is appropriate.