As per local reports, the temple is situated in a serene forest and sits in an area of 16,000 square metres. It enjoys a huge following among devotees, with several of them even donating land to the place known for its spiritual practices.

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It has a meditation centre, four dining halls, and bamboo meditation pavilions. The coffins with the dead bodies were found in these pavilions, with each of them containing four to five corpses.

Monks said bodies were given to them by individuals

The monks said that the bodies belonged to people who had pledged their bodies to the temple before their deaths, with most of them being disciples of the temple. To prove this, they even gave the police death certificates and donation agreements.

On Nov. 26, police found 32 more corpses at a temple in the Bang Mun Nak district. Investigations revealed that Abbot Phra Ajahn Sai Fon Pandito was connected to both temples. The abbot visits several temples and is popular among devotees for his teachings on “clairvoyance” and “super hearing”.

He told the police that he was not doing anything illegal, and the bodies were used for a kind of meditation and to help the monks overcome the fear of death. The abbot said the corpses helped with a form of “death awareness” training in meditation. He said that the practice was his "innovation" and aimed to enhance the monks’ mental resilience and discipline.

The National Office of Buddhism Thailand has launched a probe into the matter, while the police are working to ascertain the identities and origins of the dead bodies. 

Reference: WION