Bangkok: Villagers in Mae Phrik Bon are protesting the relocation of the remains of "Kru Ba Yat," the former abbot of Mae Phrik Bon Temple, and have submitted a letter to the governor and the Buddhist Office requesting an investigation into the Phromthada Buddhasathan hermitage in Chiang Mai province.
According to Thai News Agency, an update on the case involves hundreds of villagers surrounding Wat Mae Phrik Bon in Mae Phrik Subdistrict, Mae Phrik District, Lampang Province. They gathered to protest against a group attempting to remove the remains of Phra Khru Withan Phatthanaphon (Kru Ba Yat Akkatecho), the former abbot of Wat Mae Phrik Bon, from the temple. The situation nearly escalated into a riot before Mae Phrik Police Station intervened to quell the disturbance and invited those involved to find a solution at the Mae Phrik District Office.
Initially, the group of individuals who came to remove the remains of Kruba Yat from the temple claimed to have a will that Kruba Yat had bequeathed to Kruba Traithep Chanthawanno. They presented a document, identified as a "Will Regarding the Appointment of a Manager for the Remains," dated October 15, 2020, authorizing the relocation of Kruba Yat's remains to the Phromthada Buddhasathan hermitage in Chom Thong District, Chiang Mai. However, the temple committee and villagers did not believe it was a genuine will.
Today, nearly 500 villagers from three villages - Ban Mae Phrik Bon, Ban San Khilek, and Ban Rom Mai Yang - gathered at the temple to prepare offerings and participate in a ceremony to pay homage to the preserved remains of Kruba Yat, which are enshrined in a glass coffin. They prayed for his protection of the villagers and for his remains to remain at the temple forever. Following this, they performed the traditional Songkran (Thai New Year) water-pouring ceremony for the abbot and monks.
Afterward, the villagers brought flowers, savory and sweet foods, liquor, and tobacco to the shrine of Mae Thao Chan, the village guardian spirit shrine located at the edge of the village in the middle of the rice fields. Every year during the New Year festival, they perform a ceremony to pay respects, ask for forgiveness, blessings, and good fortune, praying for peace, happiness, and prosperity. This time, they also asked for protection of the remains of Phra Khru Vithan Phatthanaphon, preventing anyone from taking his remains from the temple.
While the village committee was collecting signatures from villagers to submit to the Governor of Lampang Province and the Director of the Provincial Office of Buddhism in Lampang, requesting an investigation into the Phromthada Buddhasathan hermitage in Chom Thong District, Chiang Mai Province.
The daughter of Kruba Yat revealed that she saw him sign the will, but she doesn't know if he did so willingly.
The daughter of Kruba Yat, Ms. Pornnipa or Tai, whose signature is on the will presented by Kruba Traithep Chantawanno's team to remove Kruba Yat's remains from the temple, said that she remembers visiting her father at the hospital that day. Upon arrival, she found a group of people she didn't recognize, with Kruba Traithep in the room, and a lawyer reading the document to her father, asking if it matched his wishes, but he remained silent. She stated that her father signed and fingerprinted the document himself, without coercion. She was asked to sign as a witness, but she declined, preferring to read the document first before the lawyer brought her to sign downstairs. At this point, she declines to comment further, as the matter has escalated, and she wants the relevant authorities, including the Buddhist Office, to decide on the best course of action, as she understands both sides of the issue.
Meanwhile, another granddaughter of Kruba Yat revealed that she actually thought that when Kruba Yat was still alive and able to speak, the side that came to take his remains should have called a meeting of the villagers and informed them. But today, the villagers are unaware of what happened. Everyone respects and loves Kruba, and no one would have allowed his body to be taken. If things had been done correctly from the beginning, this problem wouldn't have arisen. But now, the villagers are confused and questioning what they want to do with Kruba's remains, because he has been at this temple all his life.