| Luang Pho Daeng | |
| Birth Date: | 1894 |
Luang Pho Daeng (Thai: หลวงพ่อแดง) was a Thai Buddhist monk who died while meditating in 1973.[1] [2]
Daeng was born in Thailand in 1894. He was briefly interested in becoming a monk in his 20s, but decided he would rather be married instead. He raised six children with his wife.[3]
After all of his children had grown, Daeng, then in his 50s, realized his childhood dream and decided to become a monk. He was briefly an abbot at a temple in southern Thailand, but moved to Wat Khunaram near his childhood home. He practiced Sokushinbutsu, a form of self mummification.
Daeng died while meditating in 1973. His mummified body is on display at the Wat Khunaram (temple) on Ko Samui island in Thailand's Surat Thani Province. The mummy is notable for sporting a pair of sunglasses, placed by the caretakers to hide the decomposed eye sockets to make the display less disturbing. A native gecko species use the body as a hatchery, with eggs being laid beneath the skin.