Thailand's spiritual leader dies, aged 100 Nation mourns passing of Supreme Patriarch.

Thailand's spiritual leader dies, aged 100

Nation mourns passing of Supreme Patriarch.

Bangkok:  Thailand's Supreme Patriarch died Thursday at the age of 100, plunging the deeply Buddhist kingdom into mourning for its most senior monk.

Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, the country's top Buddhist leader, died of a blood infection following recent surgery for an intestinal infection, according to a statement from Chulalongkorn Hospital where he had been receiving treatment.

He had been hospitalised for more than a decade. Details of his funeral have not yet been announced.

The respected cleric -- a friend of the Dalai Lama -- was born Charoen Gajavatra on October 3, 1913 in the western Thai province of Kanchanaburi and ordained as a novice when he was 14 years old.

He became Supreme Patriarch in 1989 and was revered among Buddhists worldwide.

Last year the World Fellowship of Buddhists bestowed the title of "Sangha Leader of the Buddhist World" on the Supreme Patriarch at a meeting in Japan.

In recent years Thailand's Buddhist clergy has been beset by scandals with local media reporting cases of drug-taking, drinking, gambling and visiting prostitutes among monks.

Source: ucanews.com/AFP