Thai police investigate monastery for using bodies in meditation

BANGKOK (AFP): A Buddhist monastery in Thailand is under investigation after authorities discovered more than 40 bodies at the scene allegedly used for meditation practices, police said on Sunday.

Forty-one carcasses were found on Saturday at the Pa Nakhon Chaibovorn Monastery in Thailand’s Phichit province, a senior police officer told AFP.

“The bodies were accompanied by death and body donation certificates,” he said, adding that no charges have been filed so far.

He said police contacted relatives of the deceased to confirm that the bodies had been voluntarily donated.

“We are trying to ensure that none of the dead bodies have been stolen,” said the officer, who requested anonymity.

The search came days after police discovered 12 bodies on Wednesday at another monastery in neighboring Kamphaeng Phet province, Thai local media said.

The head of the Phichit province monastery, Phra Ajarn Saifon Phandito, told Thai television channel PBS that the use of corpses was part of a “meditation technique” he developed.

“Many of the people who come to learn are abbots and all these monks… pass on the knowledge,” he said.

“I don’t know how many people have adopted my technique.”

He also told another local TV station that “practitioners meditate in pavilions where coffins containing human remains are placed.”

Phichit police said they are working with authorities in other provinces to investigate how widespread the practice is. -AFP