Two days ago my friend Werner stopped by at my house on the way to Lutz who lives just 10 km from here.

Three hours later he posted this story in German on the internet:


Ban Kha is a small village in Isaan, in the province Nakhon Ratchasima. Maybe 150 to 200 persons live there from growing rice and on the support of their children, who have found work in the 50 km distant Korat or even further away.

Ban Kha is a typical Isaan village like there are thousands like it, but still I come there often because my friend Lutz lives there with his Bua and her family, who are always happy when Don and I pay them a visit.

In Ban Kha, this ragged-looking village, there is even a wat, whose only monk, who was also the abbot, died two years ago. For a long time this position was vacant, but finally the villagers succeeded in persuading an itinerant monk to stay with them.

A nice person he is, Lutz told me, educated and open to the villagers and supportive. He even visits the sick and provides them with mundane and secular advices when they have problems.

Now a few days ago this abbot was ordered by his superiors to a larger Wat, where there were meditations together with other monks and the local followers.

I don't have an idea how something like that works and how deep a person moves from reality into another consciousness. In any case this abbot had gone far from all earthly in his meditation.

Probably he did think in his subconsciousness of his ailing king and in his sunken state he saw him sitting opposite himself, also dressed in a monk's robe.

His king and also meditating, he looked once again more intensive. and instead of face and body he saw a scull and sceletted hands sticking out of the robe.

The fright of this sight probably brought him back immediately to this world. Sweating, pale and his whole body shaking he caused great sensation among the other monks and the followers. Of course they wanted to know what he had just perceived that had put him into such a state of shock.

Not foreseeing what would ensue next on him he told the people present of his experience.

And now happened what is the reason for me to write this down.
The listeners were completely shocked and it isn't known who first talked of Lèse Majèsté and police.

It is hard to believe; these people have hit the poor abbot from Ban Kha and chased him from the temple and followed him with affronts and violence even further.

How the abbot got back to his village the next day he cannot tell anymore. in the morning the villagers found him in his Wat. Bloody with open wounds on his whole body, his wet robe torn, the male villagers of Ban Kha cleaned him and the women brought ointment and bandages to treat his wounds and rice and fruit juice for invigoration.

Dressed in a clean robe again he told the followers what had happened to him.and very soo the people who had been so helpful moved away from him.

Lutz and his wife who also were among the ones taking care of him do continue to take care of him. the poor man locked himself in and always when he hears a motor he thinks it is the police to come and take him.

Four days have gone by and nobody but Lutz and Bua takes care of this poor man.


Werner's true story might serve as a Xmas story...