Representative image of Buddhist monks in Thailand.
Credit: iStock Photo
A discovery of 73 corpses hidden in a Thai temple has left social media flabbergasted.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the chief monk, Phra Ajahn Sai Fon Pandito, has claimed that the corpses were used to 'train' monks during meditation.
Adding to the discovery, about 600 crocodiles were also found in a pond inside the temple premises.
According to SCMP, 41 bodies were unearthed after the Thai police conducted a raid on November 22, at the famous Thiphaksong Pa Sangnayatham temple in Pho Thale located in Phichit province in Thailand.
The temple, which is known for its spiritual practices, is situated in a forest and spans up to 16,00 sq m.
The police found 4-5 coffins with the dead bodies in every area of the vast temple grounds that provide an open-air meditation centre, four dining halls for monks and visitors along with bamboo meditation pavilions.
In the temple's courtyard is the massive pond, surrounded by high fences, which houses over 600 crocodiles which can only be seen by the visitors from a distance.
According to the report, monks asserted that the dead bodies found in the temple premises were of those who had pledged their bodies to the temple prior to their deaths as most of them were disciples or kin of those disciples.
As evidence of their explanation to the police, the monks presented death certificates and donations agreements.
However, the police found 32 more bodies on November 26, at another temple in Bang Mun Nak in Phichit province.
It was later found that both the temples were associated with the chief monk who is known for his teachings on 'clairvoyance' and 'super hearing'.
According to the report, the chief reasoned that the corpses were used as a form of 'death awareness' to train the monks.
Defending himself, he claimed that the dead bodies helped the monks in overcoming their fear of death leading to a better and deeper spiritual practice.
According to SCMP, the police have seized the bodies, ordered closure of all activities in the two temples, and launched a probe into finding the real identities of the corpses is ongoing.
The National Office of Buddhism Thailand has also launched an investigation into the case.