On February 27, 2024, in a Buddhist temple in the Banbung district of Chonburi province, Thailand, a 49-year-old local resident named Ek attacked a monk.
Ek and this monk, named Best, were actually friends, and Ek regularly visited him in the temple. But on that day, Ek was under the influence of methamphetamine and his behavior became very aggressive.
He struck the monk with a lamp, then ran into the main hall of the temple and began smashing the Buddha statues standing there. He overturned them to make them break. Meanwhile, Best fled to other monks, who then called the police.
When the police arrived, Ek was still raging in the main hall of the temple, locking all the doors and windows, and he had already smashed almost all the Buddha statues in the temple. The police shouted at Ek to surrender, but there was no response, and by that time, the main hall had become suspiciously quiet.
Then the police broke down the doors, and when they rushed into the hall, they saw a shocking scene – Ek was lying in a pool of blood, with a Buddha statue protruding from his chest. The sharp tip on the head of the statue pierced Ek’s chest.
It was presumed that Ek climbed onto the largest statue to break it, but lost his balance and fell off, landing chest-first on the head of another Buddha statue. Ek died very quickly. The edge pierced his lungs and heart.
Monk Best later expressed remorse, saying that he and Ek had jointly purchased a dose of methamphetamine and that for such a serious transgression, he would leave the monastic order as punishment.
When the news reached the local media, many people called Ek’s death a karmic punishment for defiling the temple.
