Body found near Sravasti Abbey consistent with description of missing monk

A body was found in a pond near the Sravasti Abbey where a 64-year-old monk went missing in November during a walk.

The Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday that they received a report about a body floating in a pond near the abbey. Investigators said the clothing on the body was consistent with missing monk Geshe Tenzin Chodrak, whose birth name is Dadul Namgyal.

Residents of the abbey told police the pond had been frozen but just recently thawed. The remains were retrieved by police who borrowed a canoe from a neighbor, the news release said.

Namgyal went for a walk on the evening of Nov. 7 on the abbey’s 300-acre property and did not return. He was last seen wearing a jacket, winter shoes, warm socks and a hat.

The monastics noticed that he did not appear for community prayer and called for a search.

Rescue crews used dogs, drones and a helicopter to search for Namgyal, but the search was suspended after the sheriff’s office had “exhausted” their efforts, Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee said previously.

An autopsy was requested to determine identity, as well as cause and manner of death.

According to previous reporting by The Spokesman-Review, Namgyal joined the Buddhist abbey in early 2023 as its first male resident teacher. He has been a monk in the Tibetan tradition for more than 40 years.

Namgyal recently retired from Emory University’s Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-based Ethics. He also served as senior resident teacher at Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta and was senior translator and interpreter with the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, where he helped develop a science curriculum for Tibetan monks and nuns.