Hi all,
I’ve been searching for the name of a Thai monk who had an accident when he was young and was paralyzed.
He wrote a book outlining his life and his practice that was available as a pdf.
Does this sound familiar to anyone?
Thanks!
James
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Hi James,
It’s not familiar to me (or Google, it seems); hopefully someone will be able to help you. (@Khemarato.bhikkhu does this ring a bell?)
Welcome to the forum. 
Can’t say it does I’m afraid. Sorry.
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I don’t recall his name but I’ve seen a documentary about this monk.
Any Thai people on D&D? @Dheerayupa
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I’ve heard of a famous monk who had a car accident (he was already in robes), and nearly died. (The accident was so serious that he should have died.)
Phra Dharmsinghaburajarn (died 25 January 2016) has been widely known as Luang Por Charan.
His teachings focus on the law of kamma. Though some examples of the law of kamma that he cited may sound a bit too simplistic, he was widely respected and definitely believed to be a very good monk.
A disciple of his wrote a book based on his bio.
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Got his name!
A friend said it was พระโพธิธรรมาจารย์เถร (หลวงปู่สุวัจน์ สุวโจ) or Phra Bodhidhammacara Thera (Luang Pu Suwat Suvajjo).
He had an accident and was half-body paralyzed.
He passed away on 5 April 2002.
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Thanks everyone,
Digging into my poor memory:
I believe he had an accident as a child/teen diving into a pool or a river damaging his neck/spine.
He started practising while bed-bound.
One practice involved attending to the sensations in his forearms as he turned his hands over and back again.
Thanks so much @Dheerayupa!
I don’t suppose your friend knows where I might source his book?
Or does anyone know of an online repository of freely available Dharma pdfs?
I’m sure I came across one some time.
Warm regards,
James
Ajahn Suwat got injured during the last years of his life , here’s some bit of information by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, one of his students :
Several years back when I had my last visit with Ajaan Suwat, he had been in a car accident and suffered some brain damage, but his training in meditation hadn’t abandoned him. He was able to tell when the mind was sending him weird perceptions, skewed perceptions. As he said, that thing he got from his meditation, that didn’t change; but he began to notice that his brain wasn’t working properly. What saved him from falling for those perceptions was the mindfulness and concentration he had developed in his meditation. Even in his last months, he could recognize when the mind wasn’t functioning right.
While the OP is claiming that the monk he is talking about was injured while he was young.
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Thanks for pointing that out.
Yes, the monk I’m thinking of was injured as a youth.
This is his bio in the Thai language.
As for a monk who got injured during his youth,… will ask around. Apart from the accident, what else is particular about this monk you’re looking for?
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A young Thai monk staying at a California monastery was paralyzed in a car wreck about 20 years ago, but I can’t find any record of a book by or about him. He’s Phra Montree Napharakwong, still living at Sunnataram Forest Monastery in Escondido CA.
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Hi @Dheerayupa,
I’m just trying to get a copy of his book.
It was really inspiring and I’d like to read it again.
Perhaps Luang Phor Viriyang Sirintharo?
But a few months after discovering meditation, he said, he had an accident and was paralyzed.
When an ascetic visited him, Viriyang told him he would devote his life to meditation if the man healed him.
Viriyang recovered and then lived 20 years in the Thailand jungle to become a master meditation instructor, he said.
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