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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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Thais Take Coffin Naps to Fix Karma

$5 buys a few minutes in monastery's gaudy pink boxes

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(Newser) – As Thailand's economy slows and its government falters, growing numbers of deeply superstitious citizens are jostling into a pink coffin to "die," the Telegraph reports. At about $5 a head, monks in a monastery outside Bangkok officiate over the "dead bodies" in the coffins, before ushering in the next group of people hoping to rid themselves of bad karma.

"As I lay there listening to the chanting of the monks, I feel relaxed," said one regular. "When I got up I was thinking of good things, thinking of the Buddha image in the hall. I felt good."

Thais pay around $5 each for floral offerings and a cash donation to the monks.
Thais pay around $5 each for floral offerings and a cash donation to the monks.   (Flickr)
my friend to go into priesthood
my friend to go into priesthood   ((c) Deer do)
Reacting to economic woes, many superstitious Thais are performing a ceremony of lying in a coffin to improve their
Reacting to economic woes, many superstitious Thais are performing a ceremony of lying in a coffin to improve their   (AFP)
Every week thousands of customers flock to Wat Prammanee monastery in Nakhon Nayok to get a fresh start in life.
Every week thousands of customers flock to Wat Prammanee monastery in Nakhon Nayok to get a fresh start in life.   (Magnum Photos)
Bangkok funeral ceremonies.
Bangkok funeral ceremonies.   (Magnum Photos)
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