Luang Pho Daeng () was a Thai
Buddhist monk who died while meditating in 1973.
Biography
Daeng was born in 1894. He was briefly interested in becoming a monk in his 20s, but decided that he would rather be married instead. He raised six children with his only wife.
After all of his children had grown, Daeng, then in his 70s, realized his earlier dream and finally decided to become a monk. He was briefly an
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
at a temple in southern Thailand, but moved to
Wat Khunaram near his childhood home.
Daeng died while meditating in 1973.
His mummified body is on display at Wat Khunaram. The mummy is notable for sporting a pair of sunglasses, placed by the caretakers to hide the decomposed eye sockets to make the display less disturbing. A native
gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from .
Geckos are unique among lizards ...
species use Daeng's body as a
hatchery
A hatchery is a facility where eggs are hatched under artificial conditions, especially those of fish, poultry or even turtles. It may be used for ''ex situ'' conservation purposes, i.e. to breed rare or endangered species under controlled ...
, with eggs being laid beneath his skin.
See also
*
Buddhist mummy
* ''
Sokushinbutsu
is a type of Buddhist mummy. In Japan the term refers to the practice of Buddhist monks observing asceticism to the point of death and entering mummification while alive. Although mummified monks are seen in a number of Buddhist countries, espe ...
''
References
1894 births
1973 deaths
Mummies
Place of birth missing
Thai Theravada Buddhist monks
{{Theravada-stub