A Buddhist monk in Thailand cut off his head – for his birthday – in the hope that the terrible sacrifice will bring him luck in the afterlife, according to reports.
Thammakorn Wangpreecha, 68, an 11-year-old monk, built a guillotine next to a religious statue depicting the god Indra doing the same, the British Metro reported.
The monk’s nephew, who found the body decapitated, said he left a note behind.
“He said that beheading was his way of praising the Buddha, and he had been planning this for five years now,” Booncherd Boonrod said.
“His desire was to give his head and soul so that the Lord could reincarnate him as a superior spiritual being in the next life,” the nephew added.
Hundreds of followers of the dead monk later descended on Wat Phu Hin Temple in Nong Bua Lamphu to prepare his body for burial – placing it in a coffin, with its head in a separate coffin, to be burned at the stake. a forest.
“He achieved his goal and knew the enlightenment,” one of his followers, Yu, told the news media.
The National Office of Buddhism has urged the local government to help spread the message that people can offer free money or captive birds as a sacrifice, rather than give up.
“Temple executives and abbots should review their practices and take care of other monks in their temples. This incident is a possible proof of the negligence to do so, “said Sipbowon Kaeo-ngam bureau spokesman, the International Business Times reported.
“We need to prevent such unpleasant situations from happening again,” he added.