A pile of 41 bodies found in a Thai monastery called "alarming"... "for meditation."

Bangkok Post Press Screen

More than 40 bodies have emerged from Buddhist monasteries in northern Thailand, shocking them.

According to AFP and the Bangkok Post on the 25th, police are continuing their investigation after 41 bodies were found on the 23rd at the Panakon Chaibobon Monastery in the northern province of Piccit.

Police have a death certificate and a body donation certificate, but are trying to determine whether the body was actually donated or died of natural causes.

The monastery is claiming to have used the body for meditation. The abbot told local media, "The use of bodies is part of the 'meditation technique' I developed," adding, "The abbot meditates in the space of the coffin containing the body."

He added that many monks visit monasteries to learn the technique, but he does not know how many places they are applying it.

Earlier on the 20th, 12 bodies were also found in a nearby monastery in Kampeng Pet. Most of them did not have a death certificate, but there was a body donation certificate, police said.

The abbot also claimed that the body was donated voluntarily by bereaved families for meditation classes.

In addition, some practitioners claimed that they gained supernatural auditory and visual abilities after attending a meditation class using a body.

Authorities said they are investigating how widespread this behavior is. Thailand's National Bureau of Buddhism (NOB) will also examine whether the monastery's claim that the body is used for practice violates Buddhist doctrine and whether the method of practice is appropriate.

Lee Yu-na, reporter for the digital news team