Thai monks rebuked over 'ostentatious' jet ride

[Tchooptip]

It happens exactly the same in the Catholic Church and others religious congregations. I would eradicate religion from humanity if I could!

"Eradicate" religion, not more,! I advise you to change your pseudo from italian guy to little Mussolini!

[Tchooptip]

There is a lot more information about this lot on other forums.And you can openly discuss it.

Agree.

What's the word...'sensitive' ? or....

"careful"? We don't want to get in trouble with the local authorities.

Edit: please no more comments regarding moderation.

A pity you have to explain evidence

[connda]

Sorry, but the Vinaya is the Vinaya. I was shocked by monk behavior six years ago when I first got here. Now I'm no longer shocked. I just realized that only about 10% of the monks in Thailand truly adhere to the Vinayas and most of those are forest monks or ascetics. But it 's the one's that go in for the "worldly pleasures" and social status within and outside the Sangha that concern me the most. I'm just a practicing layman, but I can tell when someone is missing the point. I just call a spade a spade; not a heart, diamond or club.

There is a quite famous monk in Thailand that has written several books on Thai Buddhism. In them he states that Thai Buddhism has moved so far from the teachings of Buddha with all the amulets, fortune telling,etc that goes on, it is now just a farce. Needless to say, the mainstream Thai Buddhist establishment don't like him very much, but can do little about it because he strictly follows Buddhist Rules.

There have been attempts at reformation before. Doesn't looked to have work very well. I shouldn't be too hard on the Thai Sangha. I still think that only 10% of the monks maintain a strict practice, but there are maybe another 40% or more that meet the needs of the villages scattered throughout Thailand with many of the Wats being rather modest places. Then we get into the cities where gaudy seems to be the rule and not the exception. Money, money, money.

There are still good Wats and monks out there, but they are like gems scattered through the jungles.

[Several]

There were problems like this even when Buddha was alive. A number of the rules (vinaya) relate to property, value of robes donated, requests for better things from followers. Even hiding curry under rice so that you get more curry is banned. Greed is on of the three main 'enemies' and anybody indulging in it will have to face his Kamma from it. Monks included.

[Scott]

Another poster brought up a different topic which is running here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/648182-monks-arrested-on-charges-of-procuring-a-young-boy/

[hellodolly]

This is an unfortunate situation...it simply doesn't look good. I am a long time Buddhist and lived in Thailand for 2.5 years but was Buddhist many years before them. What really matters is the quality of the monk's renunciation. It is very difficult to say if the monks are attached to the wealth appearances or not but they probably are. It is unfortunate for these monks to be seen is this way but it appears to be the truth about them. In any case, they aren't setting the right example for renunciant monks.

I am not sure if I follow you on becoming attached to things. Just because they were obviously in a private jet and the chances are high it is not theirs. As for the sun glasses and bag how do we know they are real and not fake. What I am getting at is how do we know they are attached to them for all we know they could just as easily walk away from them. Like myself a reborn again pagan I buy nothing I can not walk away from.

Perhaps you would want me to believe that they are not attached to their clothed either. I don't buy mine my loving wife makes them.

[katana]

Came across this video today on the Thai news of a supposed monk caught on CCTV stealing an Iphone 4 while collecting alms in Chomburi.

http://youtu.be/LR9I_VaAbEw

[Sing_Sling]

^ Careful or the police chief of Phuket will charge you with causing the country to lose face

No surprises there

Edited June 22, 2013 by Sing_Sling

[vijer]

Err ahh, who cares. As far as we know that haven't molested any children, condoned the killing of innocent people by suicide bombers, etc.

Many people care, that's why it is a big deal . . . the fact that you find it to be a non-issue speaks volumes about you, not others.

Think about it in terms of a wider ill - just read the story above your post, which you must have seen. This aura of invincibility . . .

You obviously cannot understand sarcasm.

[giggles]

this certain monk claims supernatural powers and claims he can walk on water ,hence he gets the best toys

[kimamey]

this certain monk claims supernatural powers and claims he can walk on water ,hence he gets the best toys

Does he ever prove it?

[kimamey]

The jet was chartered by a devotee, so what`s the problem?

The problem is they should have refused the offer, simple as that

Makes you wonder what's going on in the minds of those that offer things like this.

[Sing_Sling]

Err ahh, who cares. As far as we know that haven't molested any children, condoned the killing of innocent people by suicide bombers, etc.

Many people care, that's why it is a big deal . . . the fact that you find it to be a non-issue speaks volumes about you, not others.

Think about it in terms of a wider ill - just read the story above your post, which you must have seen. This aura of invincibility . . .

You obviously cannot understand sarcasm.

Sarcasm being the lowest form of wit doesn't help . . . but a nice back-walk on this after copping flack - well done

[giggles]

this certain monk claims supernatural powers and claims he can walk on water ,hence he gets the best toys

Does he ever prove it?

not as far as i know ,it just says he can on his website ,so unproven so far

[Payboy]

this certain monk claims supernatural powers and claims he can walk on water ,hence he gets the best toys

Does he ever prove it?

not as far as i know ,it just says he can on his website ,so unproven so far

Walking on water is no big deal, I run on alcohol.

[hellodolly]

It happens exactly the same in the Catholic Church and others religious congregations. I would eradicate religion from humanity if I could!

"Eradicate" religion, not more,! I advise you to change your pseudo from italian guy to little Mussolini!

I just love it when those self righteous bigoted people come on and blame every thing on religion. They ignore that the Monks and Priests and other religious leaders are only a small percentage of the offenders.

They also over look the fact that it is not the religion committing these acts it is people.

Makes you wonder what they want to do to the food industry when a clerk is found to be a pedophile.

If we had a time machine we could send them back to ancient Greece.

[Tchooptip]

It happens exactly the same in the Catholic Church and others religious congregations. I would eradicate religion from humanity if I could!

"Eradicate" religion, not more,! I advise you to change your pseudo from italian guy to little Mussolini!

I just love it when those self righteous bigoted people come on and blame every thing on religion. They ignore that the Monks and Priests and other religious leaders are only a small percentage of the offenders.

They also over look the fact that it is not the religion committing these acts it is people.

Makes you wonder what they want to do to the food industry when a clerk is found to be a pedophile.

If we had a time machine we could send them back to ancient Greece.

Makes you wonder what they want to do to the food industry when a clerk is found to be a pedophile.

Maybe ​boycott every single shops restaurants and supermarkets of the country LOL

[vijer]

Err ahh, who cares. As far as we know that haven't molested any children, condoned the killing of innocent people by suicide bombers, etc.

Many people care, that's why it is a big deal . . . the fact that you find it to be a non-issue speaks volumes about you, not others.

Think about it in terms of a wider ill - just read the story above your post, which you must have seen. This aura of invincibility . . .

You obviously cannot understand sarcasm.

Sarcasm being the lowest form of wit doesn't help . . . but a nice back-walk on this after copping flack - well done

No you still don't understand it do you, Catholic priests molested thousands of boys and well I can't think of any that killed anyone. So is a couple of fake monks taking a ride from a rich guy who thinks this will get him into heaven important? No. Same with the guy who crashed his 34 million baht Lamborghini and says his Buddha amulet saved his life. Really?

That said, still who cares. And I could go on to say how stupid all religions are, but you might start to cry. Yes, it says volumes about me, if you believe in religion you have a VERY WEAK MIND.

So read it again, I wasn't back peddling I was making a snide comment, as opposed to making a real comment. Trying to talk with religious nuts is like trying to teach a pig to dance, it annoys the pig and wastes your time. Same with you it appears!

[giggles]

the monk was supposed to give an explanation on sunday as what he has been up to ,but no sign of him yet ,back from France i presume ,as that was where he was alleged to be

[Sing_Sling]

Think about it in terms of a wider ill - just read the story above your post, which you must have seen. This aura of invincibility . . .

You obviously cannot understand sarcasm.

Sarcasm being the lowest form of wit doesn't help . . . but a nice back-walk on this after copping flack - well done

No you still don't understand it do you, Catholic priests molested thousands of boys and well I can't think of any that killed anyone. So is a couple of fake monks taking a ride from a rich guy who thinks this will get him into heaven important? No. Same with the guy who crashed his 34 million baht Lamborghini and says his Buddha amulet saved his life. Really?

That said, still who cares. And I could go on to say how stupid all religions are, but you might start to cry. Yes, it says volumes about me, if you believe in religion you have a VERY WEAK MIND.

So read it again, I wasn't back peddling I was making a snide comment, as opposed to making a real comment. Trying to talk with religious nuts is like trying to teach a pig to dance, it annoys the pig and wastes your time. Same with you it appears!

So first it was sarcasm and not they were snide remarks . . . I guess it poses a problem, in terms of comprehension, when you don't even know what you mean

carry on then

[Several]

Believing in Buddhas teaching does not mean you have a weak mind at all. You investigate it for yourself through meditation which strengthens concentration, and you abstain from intoxicants which reduce brain capacity.

Repeating "religion is bad" continually won't make it so. Its like saying music is bad. There are many different types, nobody likes them all and we usually have a favourite. And remember that skepticism is aslo a belief.

[vijer]

No you still don't understand it do you, Catholic priests molested thousands of boys and well I can't think of any that killed anyone. So is a couple of fake monks taking a ride from a rich guy who thinks this will get him into heaven important? No. Same with the guy who crashed his 34 million baht Lamborghini and says his Buddha amulet saved his life. Really?

That said, still who cares. And I could go on to say how stupid all religions are, but you might start to cry. Yes, it says volumes about me, if you believe in religion you have a VERY WEAK MIND.

So read it again, I wasn't back peddling I was making a snide comment, as opposed to making a real comment. Trying to talk with religious nuts is like trying to teach a pig to dance, it annoys the pig and wastes your time. Same with you it appears!

So first it was sarcasm and not they were snide remarks . . . I guess it poses a problem, in terms of comprehension, when you don't even know what you mean

carry on then

Here, I got you a thesaurus, hope it helps.

snide

adjective nasty, sneering, malicious, mean, cynical, unkind, hurtful, sarcastic, disparaging, spiteful, insinuating, scornful, shrewish, ill-natured He made a snide comment about her weight.

[EyesWideOpen]

"The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion."

Denis Diderot (October 5, 1713 July 31, 1784) was a French philosopher and writer.

Hmmm I wonder if these monks are being used for a bit of deflection from a recent bout of bad government news.... :-)

[Bagwan]

It happens exactly the same in the Catholic Church and others religious congregations. I would eradicate religion from humanity if I could!

"Eradicate" religion, not more,! I advise you to change your pseudo from italian guy to little Mussolini!

I just love it when those self righteous bigoted people come on and blame every thing on religion. They ignore that the Monks and Priests and other religious leaders are only a small percentage of the offenders.

They also over look the fact that it is not the religion committing these acts it is people.

Makes you wonder what they want to do to the food industry when a clerk is found to be a pedophile.

If we had a time machine we could send them back to ancient Greece.

You ae overlooking the fact that organised religion is organised by people, and they arrange the tenets and practices of their ideology to suit themselves. All organised religion lends itself to the acquisition of power over others. It is my belief that the gifts of free thought and free will were bestowed on me and I make good use of them. If, after my demise I find myself at the Pearly Gates and am asked why I held agnostic views, my reply would be that the stories that were spun to me defied the machinations of the feeble brain I was issued with and a logical reason to acccept the teachings of any religion escaped me.

BTW who comprises the 'we' who haven't got a time machine so that those they disagree with can be transported back in time? Are they those who wear dog collars, or wear pretty frocks and ridiculous hats, or grow long beards and wrap towels around their heads who spend their lives trying to exercise control over others by spouting their opinions at every opportunity - just like the <deleted> on the adjacent bar stool? The good shepherds rounding up sheep?

[Unkomoncents]

It happens exactly the same in the Catholic Church and others religious congregations. I would eradicate religion from humanity if I could!

"Eradicate" religion, not more,! I advise you to change your pseudo from italian guy to little Mussolini!

I just love it when those self righteous bigoted people come on and blame every thing on religion. They ignore that the Monks and Priests and other religious leaders are only a small percentage of the offenders.

They also over look the fact that it is not the religion committing these acts it is people.

Makes you wonder what they want to do to the food industry when a clerk is found to be a pedophile.

If we had a time machine we could send them back to ancient Greece.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that the percentage of Priests (or others in the Catholic hierarchy) in the Catholic Church who were accused of pedophilia was considered to be relatively high (but we can' t really know because the Vatican is famed the world over for its secrecy), which is part of the reason why the last Pope, in an unprecedented move, actually retired from the Papacy. It's so ironic how, in the past, the only people who could have rightly been called bigots would have been the religious folk and the clergy. Just amazing the way things turn. Evil always inevitably crushes itself, as evil is, by nature, selfish. Just look at Islam. Many worry about the spread of radical Islam. I would cheer it on, as it almost certainly spells its own eventual demise. Perhaps not in this lifetime, but the only thing I'm sure of: the way things are today won't be the way things are tomorrow.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Unkomoncents

[Sing_Sling]

No you still don't understand it do you, Catholic priests molested thousands of boys and well I can't think of any that killed anyone. So is a couple of fake monks taking a ride from a rich guy who thinks this will get him into heaven important? No. Same with the guy who crashed his 34 million baht Lamborghini and says his Buddha amulet saved his life. Really?

That said, still who cares. And I could go on to say how stupid all religions are, but you might start to cry. Yes, it says volumes about me, if you believe in religion you have a VERY WEAK MIND.

So read it again, I wasn't back peddling I was making a snide comment, as opposed to making a real comment. Trying to talk with religious nuts is like trying to teach a pig to dance, it annoys the pig and wastes your time. Same with you it appears!

So first it was sarcasm and not they were snide remarks . . . I guess it poses a problem, in terms of comprehension, when you don't even know what you mean

carry on then

Here, I got you a thesaurus, hope it helps.

snide

adjective nasty, sneering, malicious, mean, cynical, unkind, hurtful, sarcastic, disparaging, spiteful, insinuating, scornful, shrewish, ill-natured He made a snide comment about her weight.

Snide and sarcastic are related terms - point taken.

Your initial post wasn't clear that you were being either, that's my point

[Several]

"The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion."

Denis Diderot (October 5, 1713 July 31, 1784) was a French philosopher and writer.

Hmmm I wonder if these monks are being used for a bit of deflection from a recent bout of bad government news.... :-)

That French Philosopher lived around the time of the revolution. A bloody affair that had nothing to do with religion and was rife with murderous madmen.

[Sing_Sling]

"The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion."

Denis Diderot (October 5, 1713 July 31, 1784) was a French philosopher and writer.

Hmmm I wonder if these monks are being used for a bit of deflection from a recent bout of bad government news.... :-)

Recent? Define recent . . . surely you aren't as colourblind as you come across and mean decades

[vijer]

No you still don't understand it do you, Catholic priests molested thousands of boys and well I can't think of any that killed anyone. So is a couple of fake monks taking a ride from a rich guy who thinks this will get him into heaven important? No. Same with the guy who crashed his 34 million baht Lamborghini and says his Buddha amulet saved his life. Really?

That said, still who cares. And I could go on to say how stupid all religions are, but you might start to cry. Yes, it says volumes about me, if you believe in religion you have a VERY WEAK MIND.

So read it again, I wasn't back peddling I was making a snide comment, as opposed to making a real comment. Trying to talk with religious nuts is like trying to teach a pig to dance, it annoys the pig and wastes your time. Same with you it appears!

So first it was sarcasm and not they were snide remarks . . . I guess it poses a problem, in terms of comprehension, when you don't even know what you mean

carry on then

Here, I got you a thesaurus, hope it helps.

snide

adjective nasty, sneering, malicious, mean, cynical, unkind, hurtful, sarcastic, disparaging, spiteful, insinuating, scornful, shrewish, ill-natured He made a snide comment about her weight.

Snide and sarcastic are related terms - point taken.

Your initial post wasn't clear that you were being either, that's my point

Sorry I'll try to my normal offensive self in the future.

[Sing_Sling]

Is that a good thing?