LUANG PHOR DUNE ATULO, WAT BURAPHARAM, SURIN

LUANG PHOR DUNE ATULO, WAT BURAPHARAM

Luang Phor Dune (Phra Rajavudhacariya Atulo) was born in the village of Prasat in Surin Province, Thailand on 4th October, 1888. He was the oldest in a family of 5 children and so took on much of the family responsibilities. In the mid-teens he became a lead actor in the provincial theatre. At the age of 22, he ordained as a Buddhist monk at Wat Jumapolsuddhavasa in Surin. After his ordination, he resided at Wat Kauko just outside the city of Surin where he practiced meditation under the guidance of Ajarn Luang Phor Aak. With the monks discipline not very strictly observed and with his crude duties of caring for cattle and building ox carts, he became disillusioned after 6 years and decided to look into the scholastic side of monasticism. He therefore went to a temple to study in the city of Ubon Ratchathani.

After studying for several years, he came to the conclusion that studies only offered memory and knowledge and not the real experience of practice. About this time, Thailand's most honored and reknown forest monk (Arjan Mun Bhuridatta) came to stay for the rainy retreats (vassas) near to the city. and later moved to another forest temple called Wat Rongong Samet. He remained there during the rainy retreats but continued to go wandering outside that time especially the deep virgin forests of Cambodia.

For the last 50 years of his life, he resided at Wat Burapharam in Surin. He entered Parinibbana om30th October, 1983 at the age of 96 years old.