Passed away "Venerable Luang Pu Buaket" the abbot of Wat Pa Pang Kued Kittitham passed away peacefully amid the sorrow of disciples at the age of 92.
On 6 May 2026 GMT+7, reporters reported that Phra Ratchawatcharapathomkhun (Venerable Luang Pu Buaket), abbot of Wat Pa Pang Kued Kittitham in Inthakhil Subdistrict, Mae Taeng District, Chiang Mai Province, passed away today at 09:29 a.m.
Venerable Luang Pu Buaket had been ill with coronary artery disease and neurological problems. His Majesty the King granted him royal patronage at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital. He then recuperated at Wat Pa Daraphirom in Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai, under close care by medical professionals and attendants until he passed away peacefully there.
Meanwhile, the Faculty of Medicine, together with administrators, faculty members, students, staff, and alumni of the Faculty of Medicine at Chiang Mai University, posted condolences mourning the passing of Phra Ratchawatcharapathomkhun (Venerable Luang Pu Buaket Pathumsiro), the revered monk of Wat Pa Pang Kued in Mae Taeng District, Chiang Mai, at age 92, with 72 years in monkhood. The monastic community and disciples also widely posted tributes upon hearing the news of his passing.
Venerable Luang Pu Buaket was born on 31 May 1934 GMT+7 in Ban Suan, Village No. 2, Na Kluea Subdistrict, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province. He was a highly respected senior monk among disciples. He undertook many ascetic wanderings throughout the Eastern, Northeastern, and mostly Northern regions of Thailand. This led him to resign as abbot of Wat Chong Lom Na Kluea and as district monastic chief to fully dedicate himself to practice. He became skilled in both samatha and vipassana meditation, capable of instructing, training, and guiding practitioners to reduce, abandon, and renounce defilements.
He also recognized the benefit of establishing temples in various locations, especially in the North, such as: 1. Wat Mae Pang, Santikhiri Subdistrict, Mae La Noi District, Mae Hong Son Province, now the largest forest monastery in Mae Hong Son; 2. Wat Khao Nok Yoong, Ban Ruk Ta Baek, Na Khun Krai Subdistrict, Sri Samrong District, Sukhothai Province; 3. Wat Pa Kaew Nanthaporn, Mae La Noi Subdistrict, Mae La Noi District, Mae Hong Son Province; 4. Wat Pa Pang Kued Kittitham, Inthakhil Subdistrict, Mae Taeng District, Chiang Mai Province, where Venerable Luang Pu currently resided during the rainy retreat.