Austrian man joins monkhood in Kalasin to honour Queen Mother
Foreign man embrace Buddhist life after inspiration from Thai abbot
An Austrian man entered the monkhood at a Buddhist monastery in the Isaan province of Kalasin to dedicate merit to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, on October 31.
The monastery, Wat Pa Sok Thep Sathit in Dong Ling subdistrict, Kamalasai district, Kalasin, held a mass ordination ceremony on October 31 to make merit dedicated to the Queen Mother. Twenty-one men took part in the ceremony.
Among the participants was a foreign disciple from Austria who deeply respects Phra Ajahn Suchip, the abbot of the monastery. He travelled from Europe to join the ordination and recited Buddhist chants in English during the ceremony.
According to a report by Hone Krasae, the Austrian man first visited the monastery with his partner six months ago and was inspired by Phra Ajahn Suchip. He told the media that he learned about the mass ordination ceremony during his first visit and decided to return to Thailand to be ordained.
The foreign monk revealed that he would remain in the monkhood for seven days to learn more about Buddhist teachings and to dedicate merit to the Queen Mother.
Thai netizens expressed admiration and surprise at the Austrian monk’s act of devotion in the comment section of the news report, wishing him success in his spiritual pursuit.
In a similar story, renowned Indian actor Gagan Malik, known for his role as Lord Buddha in the film Sri Siddhartha Gautama, entered the monkhood at Wat That Thong in Bangkok’s Ekkamai area in 2022. He initially planned to stay ordained for 15 days, but later extended his stay to four months.
Another well-known foreign monk in Thailand is English-born Ajahn Jayasaro. He entered the monkhood at Wat Nong Pah Pong in Ubon Ratchathani province in 1979, later became abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat, and now lives in a forest monastery in Thailand. The British monk was granted a royal title on March 9, 2020, and later received Thai citizenship.
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