Auspicious News – The Passing of Luang Pu Boonma, Phra Racha Mongkol Wachirdhamma
Luang Pu Boonma Kampheerthammo, a revered forest meditation master at Wat Pa Sihphonem in Sakon Nakhon province, died peacefully on May 6, 2025, at age 96 after decades of devoted Buddhist practice.
On the morning of Wednesday, May 6, 2025, Phra Racha Mongkol Wachirdhamma Wichai (Luang Pu Boonma Kampheerthammo) of Wat Pa Sihphonem in Sakon Nakhon province passed away peacefully. He had been receiving medical treatment for illness at his quarters within the temple, with doctors attending to him, but due to his advanced age, recovery was beyond medical capability. This loss deeply saddens the community. He was a forest meditation practitioner of profound virtue, a refuge for villagers and people throughout the region, whose heart was filled with compassion. He devoted himself to serving Buddhism for many decades. Born on Monday, October 1, 1928, in Ban Kham, Sakon Nakhon province, to parents named Khaeng and Chada Thiam-umphorn, he completed primary education before leaving school to help his parents farm rice at age 17. He ordained briefly to study Buddhist teachings for one rain season, but World War II forced him to return to help his family farm. He later married, had one child, and lived a worldly life until a series of family tragedies—the death of his sister, his mother, and his wife—led him to contemplate mortality and the impermanence of life. Realizing that making merit before death would create support for the future, he decided to ordain. He gave his son to his in-laws to raise and entered Wat Phra Thaduthon in June 1951. He took full ordination on July 10, 1951, at age 24 at Wat Bodhisombhorn in Udon Thani, receiving the ecclesiastical name "Kampheerthammo," meaning "one of profound dharma." He studied with Luang Pu Singh Sahadhamma at Wat Phra Thaduthon, practicing intensive meditation without sleep during night hours for three full months. After his rain season retreat, he traveled to study with revered forest masters including Luang Pu Khao Anallayo and Luang Pu Luy Chanthasaro. From 1971, he spent twenty-nine rain seasons in various forest retreats with his teacher Luang Pu Kamboo Thammadharo, meditating in remote locations known as places of mysterious phenomena, alternating with periods returning to his teachers. From 1980 onward, he permanently remained at Wat Pa Sihphonem.
