Perhaps give 10,000 baht reward to anyone reporting a Monk not following Buddhist principles strictly.  That will not only be an inducement to the population but no doubt it will act as a signal for 99% of so called Thai Monks to immediately renounce the monkhood.

3 hours ago, Nickelbeer said:

I thought they were forbidden to carry money?  What gives?? Do they allow them to drink in the monastary?

A small story from a Village in The North.  One of my Wife's Nephew's joined the Monkhood aged 12 and his Mother made a very big show of it; 15,000 Baht to the Temple, big party for the whole Village, the Boy was Paraded through the Village on the back of a Donkey to the Temple, normal practice in these parts, lots of pictures taken of him being carried into the Temple etc etc and when all the Ceremony was over the serious drinking began and went on for the rest of the day and into the night, i've never seen so many drunk Monks in one place, and all this with the Local Police joining in as well.. !

 

Over the course of the next six months the Boy would come home fairly frequently to see Mum and each time he would bring money; as much as 5,000 Baht per trip and give it to Mum.  I saw this happen twice with my own eyes and asked my Wife what it was all about and she said the Head Monk told him to take some money home to Mum as the Temple had too much money and if it was left at the Temple people would want to steal it.  I said ..''Well; who would want to steal money from a Temple ?''    Wife said...''The Monks will steal it for Booze''  !

13 hours ago, Nickelbeer said:

Does the PM imagine that he has any authority over the clergy? I thought they had their own hierarchy.

They do.  They may answer to the King, maybe.  

fact is, thai sanhga is sponsored by the state to the tune of some 50%, some 5bln bht yearly.

That's why the government can object to head sanhga nomination, as was the case the last time. So instead of the most senior monk, and with support from the most of sanhga council, so lesser important monk is selected by the prime minister - making him a stooge for the government affairs (like telling budhists who to vote at election time, at constitutional referendum and many other political matters). At the same time they will purge red monks in Isaan and elsewhere throwing at the any random accusations and forcing them to leave monkhood. 

15 minutes ago, internationalism said:

fact is, thai sanhga is sponsored by the state to the tune of some 50%, some 5bln bht yearly.

That's why the government can object to head sanhga nomination, as was the case the last time. So instead of the most senior monk, and with support from the most of sanhga council, so lesser important monk is selected by the prime minister - making him a stooge for the government affairs (like telling budhists who to vote at election time, at constitutional referendum and many other political matters). At the same time they will purge red monks in Isaan and elsewhere throwing at the any random accusations and forcing them to leave monkhood. 

And I had the silly idea that religion here was removed from politics.

3 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

A small story from a Village in The North.  One of my Wife's Nephew's joined the Monkhood aged 12 and his Mother made a very big show of it; 15,000 Baht to the Temple, big party for the whole Village, the Boy was Paraded through the Village on the back of a Donkey to the Temple, normal practice in these parts, lots of pictures taken of him being carried into the Temple etc etc and when all the Ceremony was over the serious drinking began and went on for the rest of the day and into the night, i've never seen so many drunk Monks in one place, and all this with the Local Police joining in as well.. !

 

Over the course of the next six months the Boy would come home fairly frequently to see Mum and each time he would bring money; as much as 5,000 Baht per trip and give it to Mum.  I saw this happen twice with my own eyes and asked my Wife what it was all about and she said the Head Monk told him to take some money home to Mum as the Temple had too much money and if it was left at the Temple people would want to steal it.  I said ..''Well; who would want to steal money from a Temple ?''    Wife said...''The Monks will steal it for Booze''  !

my first trip to LOS and I saw a bunch of monks on the back of the baht bus. most had tattoos and looked like hardened  gangsters. from that moment on, I was always weary of the "Thai Sangha. "

Edited May 9, 20224 yr by BayArea

A figure head at the pinnacle of corruption comment on morality or rectitude.

16 hours ago, jacko45k said:

It seems to provide both a sanctuary and a place to to do penance! This is the job of a justice system and a jail!

Let them become jailhouse monks for the length of their sentence. Surely jails if nowhere else have a desperate need of such good and benevolent people. And think of all the souls they could save there.

16 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Step 1. Stop allowing criminals into the monkhood for 'merit making' !

Anyone should be allowed. Rehabilitation should be encouraged. You must be living in the Dark Ages.

39 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Anyone should be allowed. Rehabilitation should be encouraged. You must be living in the Dark Ages.

Better than living in the dark ages and being a Thai apologist.

15 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Every week when we go to Supermarkets we see Monks pushing Trolly's around and buying the best quality foods and as much Whiskey as they can carry.   They obviously think the best way to reach Nirvana is to eat, drink and be merry !   Still; you have to blame the naive Sheeple for giving them all the money to do it with....Idiots !

Aside from the presence of umpteen million shrines and temples, I fail to see anything Buddhist about this country. The Buddha seems to serve as little more than a good luck charm for a people whose chief concerns are money and social status.

20 hours ago, jacko45k said:

It seems to provide both a sanctuary and a place to to do penance! This is the job of a justice system and a jail!

It’s the ultimate “get out of jail free card.”

 

Not unlike those churchgoing folks in the West who “did some terrible <deleted>, but Jay-sus forgives me.”

DANG, no more meth parties with under-agers or Russian Roullete "winner takes all" competitions at 3am in the morning WEEKDAYS.

I was a monk for 7 years in Thailand.  Spent most of that time in a small country temple in Lopburi province.  Yes I seen some monks doing things they shouldn't have been, but by and large most of the monks acted appropriately.  You can't judge them all for the acts of a few.  

10 hours ago, khaowong1 said:

I was a monk for 7 years in Thailand.  Spent most of that time in a small country temple in Lopburi province.  Yes I seen some monks doing things they shouldn't have been, but by and large most of the monks acted appropriately.  You can't judge them all for the acts of a few.  

What happened to the one bad apple approach.... ?

Particularly if it is the top apple....

I love how this guy just "orders" people to do things without any attempt as to how it should be done or how to achieve those goals (orders).