Recently, Thailand’s “Bangkok Post” reported a spine-chilling and deeply unsettling story:
A Buddhist temple abbot in Thailand was found to have concealed at least 73 bodies, using these corpses to “train” monks in meditation.
What’s even more chilling is that the temple grounds also housed a pool with over 600 crocodiles… 
Let’s start with the incident’s origins — five days ago, police in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, received a tip-off about a temple suspected of conducting “spirit communication” rituals that seemed suspicious.
Upon arriving at the scene, they discovered 12 bodies inside the temple!
This caused a stir, but further investigation revealed that these bodies were actually those of deceased monks within the temple, making it a misunderstanding.
However, due to the public outcry, police across Thailand began similar investigations into temples and various meditation sites.
Unexpectedly, they uncovered an even more terrifying secret in another temple…
This incident took place in Ban Noi Town, Pho Thale County, in northern Thailand’s Phichit Province.
On November 22, police conducted a raid on a well-known temple called Thiphaksong Pa Sangnayatham.
This temple is nestled in a serene forest, surrounded by a peaceful environment and a harmonious atmosphere. Translated, the name of the temple means “The Forest of Holy Monks’ Dharma,” a place for monks and devotees to meditate and practice.
However, police discovered 41 unidentified bodies there…
According to Thai media reports, this temple is located in a tranquil forest, surrounded by many devotees, and even the land was donated by followers.
The entire temple spans about 16,000 square meters, with a grand open-air meditation center in its spacious courtyard for monks and devotees to practice. Additionally, there are four dining halls within the temple for visiting practitioners and tourists.
More uniquely, the temple is dotted with bamboo meditation huts…
But within these meditation huts, police found 4-5 coffins in each.
These bodies lay quietly there, and even more bone-chilling, these huts were less than 500 meters from where the monks performed their merit-making rituals!
And in the temple’s courtyard, besides these bodies, there was another inexplicable sight — a massive pool of crocodiles.
This pool, surrounded by high fences, contains over 600 crocodiles. Devotees and meditators entering the temple cannot approach the poolside, only practicing from afar outside the fence.
This pool, as reported, serves as a wishing pool…
The elements of the crocodile pool, corpses, and meditation huts seem to intertwine in this temple’s atmosphere, creating an inexplicable sense of dread.
What’s the story behind these bodies? Why were they placed under the meditation huts?
The police launched a further investigation. When questioned, the temple’s old abbot stated that all the bodies were donated by devotees with proper death certificates and related documents.
According to the abbot, these bodies were not involved in any criminal activity; their presence was entirely legal, intended to aid monks in meditation and contemplation, serving as a “memento mori.”
The abbot told the police that this method was his own “innovative” approach.
He used the corpses for meditation training to help monks diminish their fear of death through close contact, thereby elevating their spiritual practice.
In simple terms, he had monks meditate beside the corpses to more deeply contemplate the impermanence of life and death.
The abbot believed this form of meditation could both build courage and enhance spiritual cultivation. As for whether this technique was widespread, the abbot claimed he was unaware, only knowing that many monks had come to learn this method.
However, this practice of using corpses as meditation objects left the police utterly shocked, barely believing their ears.
They quickly reported this to their superiors and began investigating the prevalence of this behavior.
At this point, another temple closely related to this one caught their attention: not far away was another temple named Wat Pa Sivilai — where the old abbot had once practiced.
In fact, the current abbot of this second temple had taken over from the first temple’s abbot.
Upon visiting the second temple, they indeed found 32 more bodies.
The abbot of the second temple admitted that most of the bodies were those of deceased devotees and their families, who had agreed to let the monks perform rituals for their souls and burials.
It was clear that these two temples had significant connections, and they seemed to be conducting similar “corpse meditation” practices.
Consequently, the police decided to temporarily suspend the operations of these two temples and launched a thorough investigation into the origins of these bodies.
They began examining corresponding death certificates, reviewing related documents, and confirming the identities of the deceased through DNA testing.
More importantly, they needed to verify whether the deceased’s families had consented to donating the bodies to the temple to ensure there was no misconduct.
Additionally, they needed to further check whether this violated laws related to cemeteries and crematoriums.
As the situation unfolded, Thailand’s National Office of Buddhism also got involved, evaluating this behavior.
A spokesperson from the Phichit Province Buddhist Office revealed that he had visited this temple years ago and observed the “corpse meditation” scene.
However, such practices are not common in the Buddhist community, and the temple had not previously disclosed having so many bodies.
Therefore, he was also shocked when he learned of the matter from the media…
However, he also pointed out: if the donation of these bodies was indeed legal and voluntary, then the temple’s practices might not be illegal.
Nevertheless, whether this practice aligns with morality and the basic teachings of Buddhism is still worth considering…
In Buddhist philosophy, contemplation of death is often part of spiritual practice. Many Buddhists meditate on death, practicing “the contemplation of life and death” to help themselves transcend fear and attachment to death.
But if the donation of these bodies was not entirely voluntary, or if there was any coercion or deception involved, then this practice would certainly be inappropriate.
Buddhism emphasizes compassion and kindness. If corpses are used as tools for meditation while disregarding the wishes of the deceased and their families, it would likely go against the core Buddhist teachings — respect for life, respect for each individual’s choice and dignity…
