Somdej Toh - Biography

Biography

Somdej Toh was born in Kamphaeng Phet Province, possibly the son of King Rama I. He studied the Buddhist scriptures of the Pāli Canon with several Buddhist masters. After becoming a well-known monk, he became the preceptor for Prince Mongkut, later King Rama IV, when Mongkut became a monk. During Rama IV's reign Somdej Toh was given the ceremonial name Phra Buddhacharn Toh Phomarangsi.

He was noted for the skill of his preaching and his use of Thai poetry to reflect the beauty of Buddhism, and for making amulets call Somdej. The amulets were blessed by himself and other respected monks in Thailand. He also appears in many versions of the story of the ghost Mae Nak Phra Khanong.

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Persondata
Name Toh, Somdej
Alternative names
Short description Thai buddhist monk
Date of birth 1788
Place of birth Amphoe Tha Ruea, Ayutthaya, Thailand
Date of death 1872
Place of death Bang Khum Phrom, Bangkok, Thailand
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