Controversial Thai monk appears on air purifier advertisement

[bigbamboo]

In the past I've asked very young Thai students what they wanted to be when the grew up and why and the most popular answers were usually a doctor ("so I can help people and look after mum and dad when they old") or a policeman ("so I can be rich and carry a gun").

Now I'm waiting for the first to say they want to be monk!

[Bagwan]

"claiming he has supernatural power".

More like supernatural con man.

Investigate, prosecute, confiscate & lock him up.

One of the four biggie things that will get you kicked out of the monk hood, is claiming you have supernatural powers, when you don't.. If you do, no problem, if you don't and claim you do, bye bye..

I've never heard of a monk being defrocked after being employed to disperse evil spirits. There were a bunch of them called in to shoo the spirits away when Swampy was built. One shyster claimed that they had moved on 80 or so of which 50 odd were designated as being the evil variety. Christian priests are called upon to exorcise the mentally troubled. More BS.

[Docno]

Thailand, the soul of a whore!

Yep and this sort of thing doesn't happen with 'God's men' in other countries, right? People have been exploiting religion for power and wealth since the first cities were built ... no need to trash a country on account of a self-serving monks. Might as well trash mankind...

[i never understand the people who seem to hold their chosen home in such contempt ... you have a choice]

[kotsak]

"claiming he has supernatural power".

More like supernatural con man.

Investigate, prosecute, confiscate & lock him up.

One of the four biggie things that will get you kicked out of the monk hood, is claiming you have supernatural powers, when you don't.. If you do, no problem, if you don't and claim you do, bye bye..

I've never heard of a monk being defrocked after being employed to disperse evil spirits. There were a bunch of them called in to shoo the spirits away when Swampy was built. One shyster claimed that they had moved on 80 or so of which 50 odd were designated as being the evil variety. Christian priests are called upon to exorcise the mentally troubled. More BS.

Exorcism is allowed in Chriistian canon law though.. Is there something relevant in Buddhism when it comes to controlling spirits?

Edited June 26, 2013 by kotsak

[MobileContent]

So much for helping to feed and clothe the poor.

Sorry Kamahele, but Buddhist monks don't feed and clothe the poor.. very often.. Buddhist monks job is to feed and clothe your spirit.

Got to disagree with you slightly. In our village every day you will see 20 - 30 poor villagers come and eat after prayers at the wat. For those poor villagers it's the only way to get food and they always bring some food back.

[CHANGOVER]

So much for helping to feed and clothe the poor.

Sorry Kamahele, but Buddhist monks don't feed and clothe the poor.. very often.. Buddhist monks job is to feed and clothe your spirit.

Got to disagree with you slightly. In our village every day you will see 20 - 30 poor villagers come and eat after prayers at the wat. For those poor villagers it's the only way to get food and they always bring some food back.

That's normal in most villages, not necessarily the 'poor' though, just 'followers of tradition'..

[Sing_Sling]

How is that the companies that hire him are not being chastised for there part in this. While we can point and criticize him, it s the ignorance of ( A ) The Marketing Team that found value in this. ( B ) The arrogance and ignorance of the company that seems not to respect his/ her own culture. That the would put profit through controversy of a sensitive subject over intelligence integrity. It seems to me they should be held equally accountable.

.

The man is to be held accountable, not the companies hiring him. He has the option to decline.

How is he any different from a horde of yank evangelists? Or kiddy diddling catholic priests for that matter?

Yank evangelists? No idea - does this guy prosletyse?

How does he differ from kiddie-fiddlers? Perhaps by him not being a kiddie-fiddler, or are you saying he is a pedophile?

He is a self-serving, un-Buddhist-like monk . . .

Thailand, the soul of a whore!

Yep and this sort of thing doesn't happen with 'God's men' in other countries, right? People have been exploiting religion for power and wealth since the first cities were built ... no need to trash a country on account of a self-serving monks. Might as well trash mankind...

[i never understand the people who seem to hold their chosen home in such contempt ... you have a choice]

In case you haven't looked, this is a Thailand forum. The thread is about a Thai Buddhist monk - why are you so focused on 'God's Men in other countries'?

(I never understand the people who seem to hold their chosen home in such fault-free adoration...you have a brain, use it)

[noitom]

The newspaper should cover the good work of Father Joe Meier spending his life and work down there in the Klong Toey slum.

[newermonkey]

"claiming he has supernatural power".

More like supernatural con man.

Investigate, prosecute, confiscate & lock him up.

One of the four biggie things that will get you kicked out of the monk hood, is claiming you have supernatural powers, when you don't.. If you do, no problem, if you don't and claim you do, bye bye..

I've never heard of a monk being defrocked after being employed to disperse evil spirits. There were a bunch of them called in to shoo the spirits away when Swampy was built. One shyster claimed that they had moved on 80 or so of which 50 odd were designated as being the evil variety. Christian priests are called upon to exorcise the mentally troubled. More BS.

Exorcism is allowed in Chriistian canon law though.. Is there something relevant in Buddhism when it comes to controlling spirits?

There is no way to prove or disprove the mumbo-jumbo black magic crap because its like trying to disprove nothing, impossible. Ever watched "Ancient Aliens" on History channel very convincing but still its all entertaining bullshit.

[atlbravosfan]

How is he any different from a horde of yank evangelists? Or kiddy diddling catholic priests for that matter?

He is different because of the rules and integrity one should be following/upholding when becoming a Buddhist monk. Evangelists and Catholic priests have their own code, and neither of those, so far as I am aware, include owning bare minimum possessions.

[dighambara]

Perhaps someone needs to explain the Buddhist path of non-attachment to this guy. Or for that matter, explain it to the entire country.

ROTFLMAO...!!!

Few 'Monks' in this country follow any religious rules; cigarettes, Betel, Luxury, cars, money - all disallowed, but common here.

[poohy]

...And my Mrs. wonders why I will have nothing to do with monks.

I agree 100% and so does my wife and she's Thai!!

[MILT]

This chap is not entertaining. At least Benny Hinn can get morbidly obese people to leap from their motorized scooter chairs and proclaim "I iz he-illed. It's a mirakle" I want to see some of this man's magic at work. Can he help me pick the winning lottery numbers, or put a hex on the guy that let's his dog poop outside the building entrance and not stoop & scoop?

or how about helping to feed and educate the displaced children of the world and in the kingdom. If this monk helped you pick the winning lottery numbers would you help feed the hungry children of thisworld?

[newermonkey]

So much for helping to feed and clothe the poor.

Sorry Kamahele, but Buddhist monks don't feed and clothe the poor.. very often.. Buddhist monks job is to feed and clothe your spirit.

Got to disagree with you slightly. In our village every day you will see 20 - 30 poor villagers come and eat after prayers at the wat. For those poor villagers it's the only way to get food and they always bring some food back.

That's normal in most villages, not necessarily the 'poor' though, just 'followers of tradition'..

More like human nature, always grab something FREE. that's how all the religions of the world work to tempt people to enter their crafty kingdoms.

[Thai at Heart]

Is it a criminal offence for a monk to do this?

[joeaverage]

Who needs bimbos in hotpants, if a monk --called Venerable Father-- features in your ads.

Who needs bimbos in hot pants? You have to ask?

Walk a little more slowly as you pass me by, honey. Aw, the fantasies that you are going to feed further down the road that I travel.

i see you have taken to channeling titsiwarrior

[lifeincnx]

Is it a criminal offence for a monk to do this?

Wrong question. The correct question is " As a man on spiritual path, is it morally right and ethical for this monk to do this?

[chinostar]

If his centers are illegal then he should be paying taxes on all his assets and donations. Only registered monks are exempt from income tax. But hey, don't think that will happen...

[Docno]

Yep and this sort of thing doesn't happen with 'God's men' in other countries, right? People have been exploiting religion for power and wealth since the first cities were built ... no need to trash a country on account of a self-serving monks. Might as well trash mankind...

[i never understand the people who seem to hold their chosen home in such contempt ... you have a choice]

In case you haven't looked, this is a Thailand forum. The thread is about a Thai Buddhist monk - why are you so focused on 'God's Men in other countries'?

(I never understand the people who seem to hold their chosen home in such fault-free adoration...you have a brain, use it)

Yeah, thanks for the heads-up on that one ... believe it or not, I had indeed noticed this is a Thailand forum. My point was that it makes no sense to trash a nation ('soul of whore') for a phenomenon that is seen all over the world and through-out history. Pretty straightforward I thought...

[Thai at Heart]

Is it a criminal offence for a monk to do this?

Wrong question. The correct question is " As a man on spiritual path, is it morally right and ethical for this monk to do this?

Well i see that AMLO are looking into his assets.

Does it break a criminal law is all I an wondering.

[chinostar]

"Few years ago, he also started gathering donations for construction of what he called the biggest Emerald Buddha in the world, an enormous statue made of jade. The project is said to cost over 150 million baht and is under final stage of decoration"

I'm sure many locals will look at this and think 'wow, how beautiful' - but how many will look at it and think 'wow, how utterly abhorrent'?

It's a shame to spend that kind of money, while poverty is all around. People of Thailand WAKE UP!

[Sing_Sling]

Yep and this sort of thing doesn't happen with 'God's men' in other countries, right? People have been exploiting religion for power and wealth since the first cities were built ... no need to trash a country on account of a self-serving monks. Might as well trash mankind...

[i never understand the people who seem to hold their chosen home in such contempt ... you have a choice]

In case you haven't looked, this is a Thailand forum. The thread is about a Thai Buddhist monk - why are you so focused on 'God's Men in other countries'?

(I never understand the people who seem to hold their chosen home in such fault-free adoration...you have a brain, use it)

Yeah, thanks for the heads-up on that one ... believe it or not, I had indeed noticed this is a Thailand forum. My point was that it makes no sense to trash a nation ('soul of whore') for a phenomenon that is seen all over the world and through-out history. Pretty straightforward I thought...

No worries - seeing as you had noticed that this is a Thai forum with a Thai-specific thread . . .

Pretty straightforward I'd have though.

(I do understand that Thai-bashing would get on your nerves, but this is TV - you shouldn't expect anything different)

Edited June 26, 2013 by Sing_Sling

[ttwitt]

as far as i can see the monk in question is himself trashing the nation-country. hes saying thailand stinks so bad that its a health hazard. i totally agree with him, going so far myself to carry at all times an industrial grade air-filter in my small back pack.

do i even need to start to list all the sources of this polluted air? it's disgusting. then the commercial aerosol air fresheners are probably more of a health hazard than the pre-existing environmental ones.

however one would of thought that someone with his influence could have tackled the problem from the source not from the other end, and because he is now promoting this air-purifier, this brings into question more so as to where the real source is!

</rant>

Edited June 26, 2013 by ttwitt

[pb1936]

Well, that's religion for you.

[Baerboxer]

You'd have to think this person is either very stupid and naive or supremely over confident because of who he is, what he is and the kind of connections he has which makes him " untouchable ".

How can fawning devotees actually believe in him and consider him to be all that's good about Buddhism ?

If what they do is seen as making merit they are completely corrupting Buddhism andIi mean it in all uses of the word.

I agree - but the same can be said for the leaders of various other relgious groups who all preach about charity and some who take vows of poverty. Look at the wealthy and comfortable life styles many lead (and how often many get exposed for their very immoral behaviour). All these have one thing in common - they are all prepared to prey on the poor and uneducated and exploit their hopes and fears for monetry gain.

And, they wonder why people turn away from relgion.

[Baerboxer]

How is he any different from a horde of yank evangelists? Or kiddy diddling catholic priests for that matter?

He is different because of the rules and integrity one should be following/upholding when becoming a Buddhist monk. Evangelists and Catholic priests have their own code, and neither of those, so far as I am aware, include owning bare minimum possessions.

Don't catholic and protestant priets, in most sects, take a vow of poverty? The evangelists seem to regard it as a business.

I've not seen any reports to suggest this monk is a pedophile. Just that he makes a lot of money and enjoys a wealthy lifestyle. Not bad for someone who want to shed all material thoughts to attain enlightenment. Must be interesting meditating on the back seat of a Rolls Royce.

[DGIE]

But they will not put this monk's photo to Bangkok Post perhaps

[tragickingdom]

Want to become rich? Start a religion today they are great businesses and the followers of all religions and sects are true believers Every conman can do it.

[crocken]

he should use that money to build a few clinics for the poor people.....thailand has enough big statues.

[oldsailor35]

Perhaps someone needs to explain the Buddhist path of non-attachment to this guy. Or for that matter, explain it to the entire country.

ROTFLMAO...!!!

Few 'Monks' in this country follow any religious rules; cigarettes, Betel, Luxury, cars, money - all disallowed, but common here.

But not women....hey ???