Luang Pu Chue Panthamutto (หลวงปู่จื่อ พันธมุตโต), the abbot of Wat Khao Ta Ngoh Udomphon (วัดเขาตาเงาะอุดมพร) in Chaiyaphum province, northeastern Thailand, died peacefully on August 23, 2026, at age 83 after 51 years in the monkhood. The temple has scheduled a royal bathing-water ceremony for 10:00 a.m. on August 24 in its main hall, where royally bestowed water will be poured over his body before the hall opens to monks and the public from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for paying respects. Known nationally as the monk who tamed the water, his passing has drawn renewed attention to the amulets he consecrated over five decades.
A Life Spent Fighting Drought
Born on June 17, 1943, in Chaiyaphum, Luang Pu Chue was ordained on November 15, 1975, at Wat Sri Kaeng Khro (วัดศรีแก้งคร้อ), becoming a principal disciple of the revered forest master Luang Pu Phang Jitthakutto (หลวงปู่ผาง จิตตคุตโต). He later settled to meditate on a remote hillside in Nong Bua Rawe district, where lay supporters built him a simple hermitage in 1979; it was formally registered as a temple in 1985 and grew into the roughly 200-rai Wat Khao Ta Ngoh Udomphon. In 1980, after seeing farmers across three districts suffer from chronic drought, he led monks and villagers in building earthen dams across the Sa Yang Tha stream to store water for irrigation. Local lore holds that when the dam wall cracked one rainy season, he stamped on the fissure three times by hand — and the structure has held for decades since, cementing his reputation as "the deity of the water" (เทพเจ้าแห่งสายน้ำ). He went on to serve as an advisor to Chaiyaphum's Thammayut sangha administration and was granted the royal ecclesiastical title Phra Racha Phawana Wachirakhun.
Why Amulet Collectors Are Paying Attention
Each year on his birthday, Luang Pu Chue oversaw the casting of commemorative amulets, the best known of which is his Phra Pidta (closed-eyes Buddha) series, popularly nicknamed the "debt-release" (ปลดหนี้) amulet for its promise of helping wearers escape financial trouble. Because his reputation rests on decades of hands-on irrigation work rather than national fame, his amulets have mostly circulated within northeastern Thailand and are far less internationally known than the figures profiled in our guide to the Nine Great Monks of Thailand. Following the pattern seen after other respected regional monks' deaths, his surviving amulets — particularly early batches that were never remade — are likely to see reduced supply and rising local prices in the coming months.
What It Means for Overseas Collectors
For buyers building a protection-focused amulet collection, Luang Pu Chue's passing is a useful reminder that regional master monks often only attract wider attention after death — which is also when counterfeits and inflated "rare, sold-out" marketing tend to surge. Anyone considering his Phra Pidta series should prioritize pieces with temple or recognized authentication-body backing and verify the consecration year and ceremony records through official channels rather than relying on unverified seller claims. No announcement has yet been made about a memorial amulet batch from Wat Khao Ta Ngoh Udomphon; we will follow up as details of the funeral rites and any commemorative releases emerge.
Source: TOPNEWS; Komchadluek