The life of Luang Pu Thim of Wat Phra Khao
A farming family and two ordinations
Wat Phra Khao in Bang Ban, Ayutthaya, was the temple long associated with Luang Pu Thim Attasanto. Chinese collectors also call him Long Po Tim or “Fat Tim.” He was neither the Thim of Wat Lahan Rai in Rayong nor Ajahn Tim of Wat Chang Hai in Pattani. Before becoming a revered elder, he had known farming, military service and family life.
Thai biographies name him Thim Chumchokdi, born in March B.E. 2456, the fifth of six children of Phrom and Kim. He attended school at Wat Phikun, then returned to farming after completing primary four. The temple was therefore part of his childhood, not merely the setting of his later fame.
Following about fifteen months of military service beginning in B.E. 2477, he first ordained at Wat Phikun in July B.E. 2478. Biographies name Pui of Wat Khwit as preceptor, Lim of Wat Pho Kop Chao as kammavaca teacher, and Abbot Lio of Wat Phikun as anusavana teacher. He disrobed after one rains retreat, resumed family responsibilities and later had four children. This ceremony was distinct from his second ordination in B.E. 2491.
War interrupted his farming life again. Biographies recount service in Cambodia in B.E. 2484 and a further wartime recall. Later, serious illness during an epidemic brought a personal turning point: he prayed for time to practise and serve Buddhism. Recovery was followed by sustained observance and a renewed wish to ordain. The narrative presents this as a spiritual experience, not a treatment method.
On 10 April B.E. 2491, he ordained again at Wat Phikun under Luang Pho Sang, Phra Khru Udom Samachan of Wat Nam Tao, receiving the name Attasanto. His commitment now extended beyond a brief customary ordination to discipline, study and meditation. Both his solitary practice and his later responsibilities grew from that decision.
Contemplating death and living in the forest
At Wat Phikun, two bodies entrusted to the temple became subjects of contemplation. Accounts describe him lighting candles beside the coffins and confronting bodily decay and his own fear. Another passage places him at Wat Nam Tao for about a month, discussing practice with Sang. His preceptor was also a teacher whom he consulted directly.
He moved to Wat Phra Khao in B.E. 2492. The setting was then wooded and the accommodation dilapidated, far removed from the orderly buildings of later years. He chose a small, secluded hut. Before administering a busy temple, he had sought quiet practice in modest surroundings.
A story preserved in Chinese recounts a dream during his years of practice. A white-robed practitioner advised him to contemplate death. A shooting victim was subsequently buried near his dwelling; fearing involvement, he left temporarily.
The Chinese tradition also recounts two forest encounters. Repeated knocking disturbed his hut at night, yet he continued meditating. On another occasion, a large monitor lizard fleeing people approached him. According to the story, he extended loving-kindness towards it; the animal stopped, licked his feet and then left.
Villagers later asked him to lead Wat Si Khot, also called Wat Santikaram. According to the Thai biography, he initially refused and accepted only after Sang intervened. After three rains retreats there, he returned to Wat Phra Khao. Sources differ over whether his abbacy there began in B.E. 2498 or 2504; the appointment record remains necessary.
Another Chinese account recalls a walk across the fields to visit Jong. A horsefly settled on Thim and drew blood. Despite the pain, he let it feed until it flew away. The story presents this small encounter as an occasion for practising patience and generosity.
Teachers and a documented disciple
Thai reports also name Jong of Wat Na Tang Nok and Sot of Wat Paknam among his teachers, alongside Ajarn Chu in Pak Kret and the Khao Wongkot centre in Ban Mi, Lopburi. These links indicate study beyond one temple, but a list alone cannot establish the date or precise content of every transmission.
A named disciple is Luang Pho Chai Attathamo, Phra Khru Udom Nawakan of Wat Ban Daeng. Accounts identify Thim as both his preceptor and a teacher whom he consulted.
Chai also studied under Yot, a former abbot of Wat Ban Daeng and a pupil of Jong of Wat Na Tang Nok. Sang of Wat Nam Tao provided further meditation and asubha instruction. His training thus connected several Ayutthaya lineages, with distinct roles for each teacher.
A disciple's account recalls a journey in B.E. 2518, when Thim planned to travel by public transport to Bangkok to collect his first commissioned portrait medals. Chai heard of the trip, accompanied him and helped carry the medals back. The history of those early objects preserves a memory of their time together.
Temple building and local education
Thim completed the three Nak Tham levels in B.E. 2492, 2493 and 2500. These were monastic Dhamma examinations, not university degrees. In B.E. 2510 he became a local ecclesiastical chief and preceptor. He received the title Phra Khru Sangwon Samanakit in B.E. 2512 and a higher rank under the same title in B.E. 2520.
Thim was a longstanding patron of Wat Phra Khao School. He supported building work and scholarships, directing help from the temple towards the facilities and financial assistance that local children needed for their education.
His temple work also survives in its architecture. A new ordination hall was built during B.E. 2540–2545, with murals of the Buddha's life, Jataka stories and Buddhist cosmology. The teak mondop uses lacquer-and-gold decoration to present religious themes. The temple developed into a place for encountering sacred art as well as devotional objects.
The local authority’s temple guide describes five rooms inside the teak mondop, with gilded wooden lotuses on the ceiling. Alongside the Buddha’s life and Jataka stories, its lacquer-and-gold paintings depict the thirteen ascetic practices, ten contemplations of bodily impurity, insight knowledge and the qualities of the Triple Gem. The decoration also gives visual form to Buddhist practice.
Biographical accounts date repairs to nine monks' residences to B.E. 2499–2500 and a chanting hall to B.E. 2501. They also list roof, gable and wall repairs, a resting pavilion, crematorium, bathrooms, concrete water tank and a bridge between residences and the preaching hall: facilities used by monks and villagers alike.
Public honours recognised his community service. Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya Rajabhat University awarded him an honorary master's degree in social sciences for development in B.E. 2549. A Sema Dhammachakra award followed in B.E. 2550 for public assistance and community development. These honours are distinct from his Dhamma examinations and ecclesiastical rank.
Amulets and devotees' memories
Objects associated with him include portrait medals, Khun Phaen, fish-shaped charms, yantra cloths, photographs and betel-quid balls, or luk om chan mak. The latter are particularly linked to his reputation for kindness. Reports portray a simple life and equal treatment of visitors. Such objects carry personal memories alongside their collecting histories; individual authenticity still requires separate investigation.
After Thim’s death, a disciple who recalled having ordained under him in B.E. 2536 told of the elder predicting his lifespan. Thim had said he would live to ninety-six; when the disciple was preparing to disrobe, the elder asked whether he still remembered those words.
On the day of Thim’s death, amulets were rapidly bought at the temple and nearby shops, and some prices rose. His standing and the affection of his followers also reached into the collecting market. Individual objects still need their own production and ownership histories, however; that day’s demand does not guarantee later prices.
Final years and remembrance
Followers celebrated his ninety-sixth year in March B.E. 2552. On 22 March he died at the chest hospital in Nonthaburi, where contemporary news reported treatment for breathing difficulties and a lung infection. Disciples and villagers arranged commemorations at Wat Phra Khao. Reports published that day give 22 March, while a later June report gives 21 March; the precise time also varies between accounts.
In June that year, acting abbot Phra Khru Samu Sunthon Suntharo announced commemorative plans including the casting of a portrait and the intended placement of Thim’s remains in a pearl-inlaid glass coffin on 30 June. Devotees later related that his body had not decomposed, believing this to reflect his spiritual practice.
On 29 June B.E. 2552, acting abbot Sunthon reported removing medals from Thim’s coffin the night before. The temple planned to offer them to devotees to fund Wat Phra Khao School’s assembly hall, following Thim’s wishes.
His memory also reached a wider record. A 2010 report states that followers had obtained his permission in B.E. 2548 to collect biography, teachings, event photographs and temple-amulet information. Alongside personal instruction, this was another form of transmission: preserving scattered memories for later readers.