CHIANG MAI: Local religious foundations and Thais recently joined forces in a ceremony to celebrate a sculpture of renowned monk Kru Ba Sri Wichai as part of a campaign for the late monk to be added to Unesco's eminent personalities list.
The event was led by the Achan Warin Buawilatlert Foundation, the Khuang Phrachao Lanna Foundation, and the Committee of the Upper Northern Region's Senates Meet People project. It was attended by staff from more than 10 embassy and consular offices, including Sri Lanka, Nepal, and India.
Warin Buawilatlert, chairman of both foundations, said the ceremony was set to be a part of a proposed campaign for the monk to be added to Unesco's list.
The embassy staff were also presented with sculptures of the late monk in various sizes, as well as his amulets and the Tripitaka (Buddhist scriptures) to be housed in their countries, including Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Kru Ba Sri Wichai will be the third Thai monastic proposed for Unesco status, followed by Kromma Phra Paramanuchitchinorot in 1990 and Buddhadasa in 2005.
The Unesco proposal is planned to be submitted in 2026 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the monk's birth in 2028, he said. The foundations are gathering information regarding the monks to submit to the government, said Mr Warin.
Kru Ba Sri Wichai was born in 1878 in Ban Pang, a village in Lamphun's Li district. At 18, he was ordained as a novice before entering the monkhood three years later. He was known for his strict vegetarian diet, not smoking and drinking, and praying alone in forests. He also led groups of villagers to renovate old temples and pagodas in the North.
After he died in 1939, his relics were separated into seven parts and distributed among the northern provinces as a method of boosting pilgrimages to the region.
The late Kru Ba Sri Wichai. (Photo: Dhamma Thai Facebook Page)