ASTROLOGY
Jyotish - The Vedic Astrology of
Lanka India Nepal and Tibet

 Arhath Pari Nirvana

Photo: Buddhist monk

By Serge Kreuts

The mummified Monk can be visited at Wat Khunaram, on the street from Lamai Beach to Nathon, about eight kilometres south of Lamai Beach. The mummy is the body of a formerly rich Samuian who, in advanced age, rejected all worldly possessions to devote his attention to his spiritual well-being. He died in 1973 at the age of 79.

As legend has it, a few days before his death, he instructed his followers to build a coffin for him. Legend further insists that the corpse of the monk, who had died exactly on the date he allegedly had himself predicted, simply "refused" to decay. Therefore a glass coffin was built in which the corpse is exhibited to this day.

To Thais the alleged fact that the monk's body "refused" to decay without human interference counts as a Buddhist miracle - or rather as proof that by Buddhist enlightenment achieved through meditation, every law of nature, or rather, every law of the physical world, can be overcome (Buddhist perceptions of the world are considered laws of nature by Buddhist).

The mummified monk is probably the one Samui attraction among those listed here, which remains most vivid in the memories of most tourists. Perhaps this is due to the macabre fact that the corpse of a person, who died more than 20 years ago, is exhibited as a tourist attraction (there are a few pilgrims coming to the site, but most visitors are tourists).

And: who has actually seen a mummy before? In the opinion of the editor, the corpse, although leathered, still looks surprisingly human - so human, in fact, that after some time of observation one can imagine the person alive - which is a lot more difficult with a sculpture.

As the mummified monk is a Buddhist place of pilgrimage no entry fees are charged for the visit. But a clearly visible glass box invites donations. Visitors are expected to sign into a guest ledger. There are signs discouraging the taking of photographs, but every visitor receives one photograph (independent from eventual donations). If you want to make your own shots, ask first .