Hermit’s forest meditation takes an eternal detour in remote Thailand

A 58 year old hermit was found dead during meditation in a deep forest in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. The rescue team had to walk to the scene due to the inaccessibility of vehicles. The body was later transported by motorcycle from the mountain today.

Jiraphan Suinwai, head of the Naprat Chiang Mai Rescue, stated that on Sunday, October 1, they received a report of a monk’s death in a hermitage near a cave in Mae Tiem Village, Mae Win Subdistrict, Mae Wang District, Chiang Mai. He, along with the rescue team from the Meng Luk Gui Suk Poh Association and police officers, rushed to investigate.

The hermit was found sitting in a meditative position with an oxygen tube in his nose. Villagers identified the deceased as a hermit and mentioned he had several chronic diseases.

Unable to use vehicles due to the dense forest, the rescue team had to walk approximately 2 kilometres to reach the site. They responsibly wrapped the body in white cloth, securing it with a rope for transportation. The body was then taken away for the family and the police to conduct further procedures, reported Khaosod.

Local villagers passing by helped the rescue team by lending their motorcycles to transport the body down the mountain. With one rescuer driving and another sitting at the back carrying the body, they successfully delivered it to the relatives at Lao Pao Temple, Doi Lor Subdistrict, Doi Lor District, Chiang Mai for the subsequent religious ceremony.

In related news, a Thai man stumbled upon the dead body of a Russian man in a pool of a house in the Saiyuan Med Village in the Rawai sub-district, Mueang district of Phuket. The Russian man reportedly died while he was engaged in meditation beneath the water’s surface.

Officers from Chalong Police Station investigated the house after being notified of the Russian man’s drowning where they discovered the lifeless body of 23 year old Ivankiv Ivan Oliegovich at the bottom of the 1.8 metre-deep pool. Read more about this story HERE

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