He wasn’t supposed to disappear. Not him. Not a monk whose life was built on presence. In June 1993, Luang Pi Anan entered Tham Luang Nang Non — the cave beneath the Sleeping Lady Mountain in Chiang Rai — carrying a candle, water, and a book of chants. He had gone there many times before on silent retreats. This time, he never returned.

No body. No robe. No signs of struggle. Just a candle stub, an empty flask, and silence.

For villagers, the cave had claimed him. For monks, he may have crossed into the great release — maha-vimutti. For others, he became part of the mountain’s living legend. Decades later, when the world watched the 2018 rescue of twelve boys and their coach from the same cave system, locals said it was no coincidence: the cave had once taken a life, and now it returned thirteen.

This episode retraces Luang Pi Anan’s story — his life, his devotion, and the enduring mystery of his disappearance. From whispered legends of naga guardians to the ritual candles still lit each June, this is a story where fact and faith, silence and presence, meet in the dark.

Sources: Chiang Rai oral history, testimony from monks and villagers, local newspaper archives, and coverage of the 2018 Tham Luang rescue. Our thanks to those who keep his memory alive and shared their accounts so this story could be retold.

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