Luang Phoo Song / หลวงปู่สงฆ์ (also Luang Phor Song / หลวงพ่อสงฆ)
Apr 30, B.E.2433(1890) - Aug 2, 2526(1983)

Luang Phoo (= reverend grandfather) Song Chanthasaro was born on Apr 30, B.E. 2433(1890) under the sign of Tiger in Chumphon. Although his family name is not known, his father was Mr. Daeng and his mother Mrs. Nui. They were a poor peasant family. As a young boy he admired art, dance and shadow-plays. When he was 18 he entered a temple for 2 years, studying Buddhist disciplines but had to leave after 2 years to help his family at the farm. Shortly afterwards he entered the temple again and spent there one rainy season. As he was practicing meditation, he started realising that jungle is a far better place to carry on the Dhamma practice than the temple. In the end he left the temple and stayed in the jungle avoiding all the harm from wild animals, malaria and other dangers. He was travelling around the province without a real destination, practicing meditation in search for the eternal truth. In the end he spend 7 years wandering in the jungle. His hair and beard had grown long and his robe got worn out. His pilgrimage lead him to Phuket, Burmese border by Pratchup Kiri Khan, Kanchanaburi and Suphanburi. After that he decided to go back home and settled next to the current Wat Sala Loi location. He was decided to continue his search for satisfaction here.

In B.E.2462(1919) he was invited by local villagers to stay in a "kuti" - a small monk-dwelling house the villagers built in the jungle. He agreed and decided to enlarge and rebuild the "kuti" into a real temple which was named Wat Chao Fa Sala Loi(shortly Wat Sala Loi). Nobody but a few novices was let into the temple as well as no money was allowed to be kept there.

Luang Phoo Song had spent all his life teaching in the temple, searching for the truth and speaking the truth. His words always came true and they were believed to be holy. He kept refusing any titles even to be called the Abbot.

Luang Phoo Song passed away quietly at Wat Sala Loi on Aug 2, B.E. 2526 at about 10:00am. He was then 94 years old. The glass coffin with his corpse has been accommodated at Wat Sala Loi. The corpse has never decomposed, it just dried up to have stayed at the same condition ever since. Surprisingly, his nails and hair are still growing on his dead corpse and have to be cut from time to time.

**Information obtained in English from MrYeeshkul's Thai Guru Monks: Luang Phor Song