The Thamkrabok Monastery is located about 130 km north of Bangkok (Thailand) between Saraburi and Phraputthabat on the way to Lopburi. Visitors are welcome. Around 100 monks (Phra, brown robes) and 20 nuns (Tschih, white clothing) live in the monastery.
The only meal of the day is taken at 7 a.m. At 6:30 p.m., the communal “Tschanting” [chanting of the monks] takes place.
All buildings, roads, and monuments of the monastery are built by the monks and nuns.
One of the monastery’s activities is the world-famous drug detoxification treatment.
Following the monk tradition, the monks and nuns go on a several-week pilgrimage on foot (Thudong) every year in April. They sleep on mats under white umbrellas. The monastery is closed during this time.
The official balance of all treatments over the last 30 years is extremely impressive, especially when compared to figures in Germany, where drug abuse is trivialized: Of the approximately 75,000 treated, around 70% have been discharged as cured, about 25% relapsed, and about 5% are considered incurable and treatment could not be continued for the terminally ill.
So far, the monastic community has received only one major recognition, namely the 1979 Magsaysay Prize, named after the then President of the Philippines, which can be described as an award for special merits. This recognition cannot sufficiently express how advanced the healing possibilities in Thailand are, which has also been underscored by international documentary films. Even if the cause of drug consumption may not have been sufficiently combated, it is still very impressive that such healing successes probably only exist in Thailand, but these are still too little noticed.
The treatment method in Tham Krabok is described by the majority of patients as the “hell of life.” Almost all who want to be treated here come voluntarily. Men, women, and alarmingly many young people, including foreigners from all over the world, then drag themselves to Tham Krabok or are brought. Probably no one suspects that a at least two-week “hell of life” actually awaits them all.
Before the start of treatment, everyone is first registered. Then everyone must hand over their belongings and put on the uniform clothing, red shorts and white shirts. A monk assigns each person their sleeping mat, with the rooms for men and women naturally separated. A brief information about the history of the temple and the treatment method follows. Together, they then implore the assistance of Buddha with an offering.
Already on the first evening, each patient must drink a small glass of herbal tincture and a larger bucket of water. It takes only five minutes, then what everyone calls “the expulsion of the devil from the body” begins. In long rows, they kneel in the temple courtyard, and while shaken by severe cramps, they constantly vomit and spew out the tincture in large fountains. For each patient, this means the highest physical exertion and a high degree of fear, as the whole body seems to burst uncontrollably. The poison of the drugs is supposed to be flushed out of every pore of the body. This is accompanied by the very strict supervision of the monks. Medical staff is in the background for support, should a patient not be able to physically manage the treatment alone.
On the second day, most of those treated experience hysterical breakdowns and sometimes escape attempts, because the treatment method is continued strictly without pity. The herbal extract does not have to be taken every day; now steam baths from a similar herbal tincture are also taken regularly. Occurring fever attacks and muscle cramps now belong to the hard daily routine, which are somewhat alleviated by cold showers. For very weakened patients, however, a tonic is also administered.
But not only the medical aspect is considered; in parallel, a ten-day psycho-program runs. This includes meditation, prayers, and offerings as well as discussions about the social backgrounds of each individual’s drug consumption in group and individual conversations. The future life without drugs in society is also discussed. This important counseling has a high priority in the entire treatment. Light work programs, accompanied by musical entertainment, are intended to give each patient back some of their lost psychological and physical strength.
It is not uncommon for patients to want to stay in the temple after treatment, some forever. Most are allowed to do so, since all costs incurred are covered by donations and state aid. During this rehabilitation, where no further medical indications are made, each patient can retrain. New agricultural techniques, handicrafts, educational hygiene programs, and other possible earning opportunities are in the foreground for all, especially for women. Many have thus been taught skills they did not possess before and which became a secure source of income for the future. Most stand on their own feet for the first time after therapy and can support themselves.
The monks explain the healing successes as follows: The treatment method itself and the herbal extract are currently the means par excellence. Nevertheless, almost 70% of the healing successes are based on the religious-psychological treatment, about 30% on the herbal extract. The basis of the extract is around 100 plant species. The preparation itself must follow a specific recipe. Almost 80% of the required herbs and plant species already thrive in the immediate vicinity of the temple, the rest comes from all over Thailand and India.