Worshippers attend last rites of monk

Worshippers attend last rites of monk

Hundreds of thousands mourned the revered Luang Phor Khoon, as a five-kilometre procession carried the late monk's body to be donated to science. (Photos by Thiti Wannamontha)
Hundreds of thousands mourned the revered Luang Phor Khoon, as a five-kilometre procession carried the late monk's body to be donated to science. (Photos by Thiti Wannamontha)

Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the funeral procession of the late Luang Phor Khoon in Khon Kaen province Sunday to pay their last respects to the revered monk, whose body was later moved to Srinagarind Hospital to be donated to medical study.

Followers of the former abbot of Wat Ban Rai in Nakhon Ratchasima gathered on both sides of the pavement along the five-kilometre procession route from the Golden Jubilee Convention Hall at Khon Kaen University (KKU) to the Faculty of Medicine at Srinagarind Hospital.

A total of 109 monks, and 15 vehicles, joined the procession to carry Luang Phor Khoon's body from the hall to the Faculty of Medicine.

They included those in search of good luck, who took advantage of the auspicious occasion to try to boost their fortunes.

People placed personal belongings, such as clothes, hats, wallets and ID cards, along the roads where Luang Phor Khoon's procession passed to receive good luck.

Residents also collected the flowers used in the funeral rite after the ceremony, believing it will bring them blessings.

Students and devotees sit in front of a large portrait of the late Luang Phor Khoon on the last day of funeral rites for the revered monk, at Khon Kaen University.

The procession moved along Kalla­prapruk Road, passing by the Office of Forensic Science, Wat Pa Adunyaram and the Queen Sirikit Heart Centre of the Northeast, before finally ending at Srinagarind Hospital.

Local authorities had boosted security in preparation for the event. An inbound lane was closed for the procession and to allow through disciples who had travelled to pay their last respects.

A one-way road around the convention hall helped ease traffic congestion as the number of pedestrians participating in the rites surged.

Luang Phor Khoon's body was donated to the Faculty of Medicine to fulfil his last wish to dedicate his body to medical students studying anatomy.

At the hospital, the body will be embalmed. Students will then be able to study their "teacher" for another two years before it is cremated.

Meanwhile, Sunti Pichetchaiyakul, a renowned Thai sculptor, has cast a statue of Luang Phor Khoon for KKU's Faculty of Medicine to stand in front of the basin which will be used to preserve the body.

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