Huge crowds say farewell to revered Luang Phor Khoon
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TENS OF THOUSAND of people yesterday flocked to Khon Kaen University to pay their respects to the late highly revered monk Luang Phor Khoon Parisuttho.
As the morning procession passed them, large throngs of people along the route uttered the Pali word “Sadhu” and gave a wai to the late monk’s body.
University maintainance worker Surapol Seyso said that after hearing the procession would pass Sri Raj Road he and others camped there to bid a last farewell to the monk. “I visited Wat Ban Rai twice but never met Luang Phor Khoon. I always observe his teaching and will continue to do so ever after his passing,” he said.
Merit making and Abhidhamma prayer for Luang Phor Khoon will be held until Saturday at the university, where his body was donated to the Faculty of Medicine in accordance with his will.
The monk’s body was carried in a 100-car procession from Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital to the university, where rector Assoc Prof Kittichai Trairattanasirichai and medical experts examined the body for the donor’s registration.
The monk’s body was placed at the university’s 25th anniversary pavilion at 5am for Buddhist followers to bid him farewell before being moved at 2.30am to the university’s Golden Jubilee Hall, where the Abhidhamma prayer was held.
After the seven-day religious rite hosted by a joint committee comprising monks, Khon Kaen University staff, Wat Ban Rai disciples and related agencies in Khon Kaen and Nakhon Ratchasima, the body will be kept for one year before being used for dissection studies by medical students for two to three years.
His body will then be cremated and the ashes scattered in the Mekong River in accordance with his will.
The abbot of Wat Ban Rai in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Dan Khun Thot district passed away at the age of 91 on Saturday at Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital, where he was earlier treated for heart problems.
His Majesty the King graciously provided him with a mortuary urn, tiered umbrellas and water for the funeral bathing ceremony.
Meanwhile, Wat Ban Rai hosted a 100-day Abhidhamma prayer for the monk so people who cannot travel to the university will be able to pay their respects, Dan Khun Thot district chief Saksit Sakullikharesima said
A committee yesterday nominated Phra Khru Pavana Prachanart (Luang Phor Nuch) from Wat Nong Bua Thung in Nakhon Ratchasima to be the acting abbot of Wat Ban Rai.
Nakhon Ratchasima Cultural Council chairman Bancha Yindee said the ritual at the university was in accordance with the monk’s will. He urged people who cannot travel to Khon Kaen to make merit for the late monk at temples.
It has been reported that an amulet market in Nakhon Ratchasima is booming as worshippers look for Luang Phor Khoon amulets.
Several old models could fetch five-to-seven-digit prices, while the amulet case and frame-making service is also booming because many people want their Luang Phor Khoon amulets well protected.
