The revered abbot Luang Phor Khoon passed away at 11.45am on Saturday, according to the fourth statement of Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital. He was 92 years old.
The news was announced shortly after Luang Phor Khoon’s condition worsened on Saturday morning.
Earlier in the day, Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital said the abbot of Wat Ban Rai in Dan Khun Thot district of Nakhon Ratchasima had developed internal bleeding in his chest. He also had a respiratory malfunction and his heart stopped beating.
Dr Som-ard Tangcharoen, the hospital's director, said on Saturday morning that the senior monk's condition had worsened as his pulse was not stable. He developed gastrointestinal bleeding and his kidney stopped functioning. A team of physicians had been preparing to perform dialysis on him.
People queue to pay their respects to Laung Phor Khoon at Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital on Saturday. (Photo by Prasit Tangprasert)
Luang Phor Khoon was rushed to an intensive-care unit on Friday morning after his heart stopped beating. Nurses on duty at his temple applied chest compression and after they detected a weak pulse, the abbot was rushed to the hospital.
Followers of the abbot gathered at the hospital to follow up his condition and offer moral support.
In his will made in mid-2000, Luang Phor Koon asked that his body be donated to the Faculty of Medicine of Khon Kaen University within 24 hours of his death.
After his body is returned, he wanted a simple funeral and prohibited his disciples from seeking a royal cremation. His remains are to be floated in the Mekong River.
On Saturday afternoon, His Majesty the King presented an urn to the late Phra Thep Witthayakhom, the official clerical title of Luang Phor Khoon.
Phanom Sornsilp, director of the National Office of Buddhism (NOB), said the Office of the Sangha Supreme Council, the clergy’s governing body, had already reported the death to the Royal Household Bureau.
His Majesty the King presented an urn with a chat benja or five-tiered umbrella to the late abbot, said Mr Phanom.
By tradition, a senior monk with a high clerical title will be granted a royal coffin, said Mr Phanom, adding that royally sponsored water would be provided on Sunday.
The NOB has ordered its branch office in Nakhon Ratchasima to arrange funeral rites in compliance with the late abbot’s will, said the director.
Laung Phor Khoon was born in Korat and entered the monkhood at the age of 21.
Inside the Laung Phor Khoon museum at Wat Ban Rai in Nakhon Ratchasima. The museum was built by his followers to celebrate his 84th birthday in 2009. (Post Today file photo)