Mummified Monk – Wat Khunaram

Mummified Monk – Wat Khunaram on the island of Samui, is a very special temple indeed.

There are many many Temples in Thailand; up and down the country where ever you go, you are never far away from one of these most beautiful temples.

Every year thousands of young men are ordained as monks . These men and boys can serve from anywhere between a week or to several years at a time.

As it is traditional for boys to become monks and to learn and appreciate the Buddhist way of life.

The Beginning

In the year 1894 a baby boy was born into a loving family right here on the island of Samui, his name Dang Piyasilo.

He went to school, learned the ways of the force and became a popular fellow on the island.

By the time he was 21, his family decided that he should be ordained as a monk; and so it came to pass.

For 2 whole years, he would wake very early in the mornings make merit -say his prayers and meditate with the other monks.

Every morning, he would walk the streets with the other monks and seek out food from the local people. This is the way monks here in Thailand operate.

After serving 2 years at Wat Samarat he disrobe and decided to go back to his old way of life and join the rest of his family.

Shortly after this time, he found a beautiful local girl and they married. They went on to have 6 wonderful children all living on Koh Samui.

Once all their children had grown up and started families, Khun Dang decided that he would return back to the Buddhist lifestyle.

Buddhist Monk

He went on to occupy his mind with the Buddhist texts and meditations a skill with which he excelled in.

During this time he was given a new name  Phra Khru Samathakittikhun.

As the years went on Phra Khru Samathakittikhun became very well-known and would even travel the country praying and helping people.

He was very popular in Bangkok too.

He finally returned to Koh Samui where he became the abbot of the temple and stayed there for the rest of his days.

The week before he died, just before his 80^th birthday in fact, he went into a meditation trance. In this time he did not eat, sleep or drink for a whole week.

He spoke of images in a vision of his own death. It was at this time that he decided he did not want to be cremated like most other Thai people.

He wanted to be mummified and stored in a class case for the world to see and become the Mummified Monk at Wat Khunaram.

And even to this day, 40 years after his death, you can see the mummification process has worked perfectly, he remains of one of the most famous monks of Thailand.

Mummified Monk – Wat Khunaram

Many westerners may grimace a little at the first sight of Phra Khru Samathakittikhun Yet, to the local Thai people, those who come here, revere him, it is all perfectly natural.

As Thailand is primarily Buddhist, Thais believe that the end of life is the natural order of things.

Thai people believe that death is an opportunity to be reborn into a newer and better life.

His body is remarkably well preserved. Other than the wrinkling of the skin and the eyes which have dried up – they’ve been covered by sunglasses. The body is very good overall condition.

This is fascinating in itself if you consider the high temperatures Thailand is subjected to by the weather.

Mummified Monk – Wat Khunaram is located West of Hua Thanon and South West of Lamai beach on Route 4169.

You can get there either by Taxi or motor bike or by chartering a song thaew we can also arrange the trip for you.

As with all temples in Thailand, Wat Khunaram is open daily and rthere are several buddha statues buddha images.

It is free to enter but you can make a small donation if you wish.

As with all temples please dress appropriately, wearing long pants or sarong like dress, also please cover the shoulders too.

Here is another amazing tribute to Buddha at the Koh Samui Secret Garden.

Contact Easy Day Samui Tours