Luang Phor Klan Thammachoti

Luang Pho Klan Thammachoti (born 1847 – died 1934) was a renowned Thai Buddhist monk and meditation master of Wat Phra Yatikaram in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province.^[1]

He was born in 1847, during the late reign of Rama III, at Aranyik Subdistrict, Nakhon Luang District, Ayutthaya Province, to a poor family. His given name was "Klan". As a child, he worked hard to help his parents, which developed his strength and determination.

At the age of 27, he was ordained at Wat Lokayasutha Sala Pun, with Phra Yantrai Lok (Sa-ard), later known as Phra Thammarachanuwat (At), the chief monk of Ayutthaya, as his preceptor. Phra Khru Kuson Thammathada of Wat Khun Yuan (Wat Phrom Niwat) and Phra Athikan Chuen of Wat Phra Yatikaram acted as chanting witnesses. He was given the monastic name Thammachoti, meaning “bright in the Dhamma.”^[2]

After ordination, he resided at Wat Pradu Songtham, where he studied Buddhist scriptures and learned sacred arts and protective incantations. Having mastered these disciplines, he went on pilgrimage (tudong) through forests and mountains, encountering wild animals and meditating in solitude. One evening, he arrived at Wat Phra Yatikaram and, finding it peaceful and suitable for meditation and Vipassanā practice, decided to remain there.^[3]

Luang Pho Klan was known for his powerful meditative concentration and mastery of protective magic (wicha chatri or “light-body technique”), believed to confer invulnerability. According to his attendant, Luang Pho Un, who studied meditation under him, Luang Pho Klan possessed immense spiritual power and profound practice.

He died in 1934 at the age of 87, after a lifetime dedicated to monastic discipline and meditation practice.