The Sorry State Of Thai Buddhism

[Jai Dee]

The sorry state of Thai Buddhism

There are better ways of ensuring the relevance of our national religion than mass ceremonies or big temples

It has become customary for the Religious Affairs Department and Buddhist monastic authorities to intensify the enforcement of disciplinary standards for monks in the run-up to major religious holidays. With the approach of Buddhist Lent, which starts on July 11, they have decided to single out one monk in Nakhon Sawan's Takhli district who has won a huge following among the lottery-buying public for his supposed supernatural powers to predict winning numbers.

This monk is being investigated for breach of Buddhist precepts. If found guilty, Phra Lek of Wat Lad Tipparos could be defrocked and charged with fraud, a criminal offence. Monastic disciplinary enforcers will try to determine whether Phra Lek actually provided "lucky" numbers in exchange for cash donations amounting to the more than Bt10 million he was alleged to have amassed.

It might be useful to make an example of an errant monk like Phra Lek if monks' code of behaviour were consistently enforced.

But Phra Lek is just a small fry among all the wayward monks who have sullied the good name of Buddhism in the Kingdom. The scope of what is ailing the religion is far greater than most of Thailand's Buddhists are prepared to admit.

Many observant Buddhists have become so cynical that nothing - not even the most outrageous and despicable act imaginable committed by such morally challenged monks - would surprise them any more. Precious little has been done by monastic authorities to reverse what many see as a precipitous decline of Buddhism.

All too many monks in this country do not observe even the most rudimentary precepts required of lay Buddhists - let alone the 227 precepts that saffron-robed monks, who are supposed to propagate and teach the religion, must observe.

What is particularly worrying is that many people no longer even care and seem to believe the state of Buddhism in this country is beyond salvage. Many who call themselves Buddhist are apparently content with superficially observing religious rites that they don't see as having much relevance to modern society - let alone their personal lives.

That's sad, considering that Buddhism was for centuries so closely intertwined with the development of our national identity. Equally important was its moral authority, which had a positive influence on public morality and social norms and contributed to our peace and prosperity.

Buddhist temples used to be centres of learning and guardians of our cultural heritage, but now many have turned into dens of iniquity. As Thailand evolved from a traditional society to a modern nation-state, the failure to reform Buddhism and keep it up to date with all the drastic social and economic changes resulted in the religion's diminished influence as a force for good.

Instead of continuing to serve society as a guiding light, Buddhist institutions have become bogged down in anachronism and increasingly less relevant to our younger generations. Worse still, rampant misbehaviour and corruption by monks has further eroded these institutions.

Lay followers, who share responsibility for supporting and nurturing Buddhist institutions, have consistently failed to demand drastic reforms that are so badly needed. Even the credibility of the Supreme Sangha Council has been compromised by high-profile scandals.

The commercialisation of Buddhism, including fraudulent fund-raising and the selling of amulets, has become a national embarrassment. The number of temples continues to proliferate, but there are not enough well-qualified monks to go around.

Buddhist studies are badly taught in schools by teachers who don't know any better. Boring and unimaginative teaching methods coupled with too much emphasis on rote learning turn young people off.

We Thai Buddhists are very good at organising mass ceremonies celebrating religious holidays, spending huge sums building ever-larger religious statues and erecting ornately decorated temples to house them - as if these actions were all that mattered in perpetuating a religion supposedly practised by 95 per cent of our population.

It's time for those who consider themselves Buddhist to stand up and be counted in the campaign to clean up Buddhist institutions.

Source: The Nation - Editorial - Wed, June 21, 2006

[sabaijai]

Good editorial. There are quite a number of reform-minded monks and laypeople working in Thailand to right the boat. Here's a recent article about a few.

The bhikkhu who does battle

One of Thailand's few critical clerics, Phra Kittisak Kittisophano has been challenging the powers-that-be over issues he considers are exploitations of the grassroot people.

On his birthday last year, one of his closest friends, a fellow monk and conservationist, was brutally murdered. But Phra Kittisak Kittisophano remains undaunted; his fight to bring justice back to our country's judicial system continues regardless

STORY BY VASANA CHINVARAKORN, MAIN PHOTO BY YINGYONG UN-ANONGRAK

Bangkok Post, cont'd here.

[Plus]

That's not nearly enough.

[Galong]

"Buddhist studies are badly taught in schools by teachers who don't know any better. Boring and unimaginative teaching methods coupled with too much emphasis on rote learning turn young people off."

This is the crux of the story. For a world view to be accepted/embraced by anyone, but especially youngsters, the teacher MUST know how to deliver the message.

In modern Thailand kids are bombarded with a mixture of messages. TV promotes violence, sexism, racism, nationalism and so forth. Movies from the US do the same thing.

What's more "fun"? Buddhism has to compete with things that are much more appealing to the masses unfortunately. I see things getting much worse before they get better. The greed of the government coupled with a feeling of not being able to make a decent living drives many youngsters into gangs and lesser problems.

This same problem is plaguing the planet.

[MrSnrang]

Buddhism is in a sad state indeed...

Today across from central bangna at about 1:30 I saw two monks with their own top-end Nokia phones chatting away in foul language.

What happened to "Abandoning worldy posessions" and "Refraining from harmful speech"?

[chownah]

There is a lot of questionable practices happening at many wats...and many monks who do questionable things.....but....mainstream Buddhism evidentally has been sort of sketchy for a long time. There is a less mainstream Buddhist outlook that is perhaps doing a better job of following the Dhamma...and that is the Thai Forest Tradition temples. So, if you want to focus on the good things happening today in Thai Buddhism then check out the Thai Forest Tradition...I'm sure that google will put you on the path.

Chownah

[sabaijai]

If you're going to judge Thai monasticism then I think it's only fair to place Buddhist monasticism in Thailand in a context that includes all countries where Theravada Buddhism is widely practiced, or where the majority of people profess Theravada Buddhism. I've travelled to all of them to study Buddhism in one shape or another, and in my estimation despite the many laxities, monastic discipline (adherence to the Vinaya in particular) in Thailand is better, overall, than in any of the other Theravada-majority nations.

That's not to say that there isn't always room for improvement but I find the title of this particular editorial a bit sensationalistic. I do see a drift away from traditional Thai Buddhism, but also an equally significant drift (among young people especially) towards a more pragmatic and socially conscious Buddhism. In fact the more serious monasteries in Thailand seem to be surviving quite well.

[Sheryl]

The article is spot-on (although I think it could have stressed more the falings of the laity as well). The same sorts of things & worse could also be said about the sorry state of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam...its a worldwide problem not limited to any one country or religion.

[camerata]

There was an opinion piece this week (written by a reform-minded monk) in the Post about the latest scandal in which an abbot was photographed having sex with young girls and apparently his two pet dogs. One of the points made by the author was that due to the feudalistic structure of the Sangha, complaints usually come from the laity rather than from other monks.

The Post seems to have deleted the article, but here is the tabloid version from the Phuket Gazette:

Monday, June 26, 2006

A shagging dog story from Phattalung

PHATTALUNG: Wat Na Tom temple, hitherto a landmark of the faithful in Phattalung’s Muang District, last week spawned one of those scandals which, after hitting newsstands, has elicited sighs and perhaps uncharitable tittering.

In this case, possibility of the latter is high: some 70 full-color photos support allegations by unidentified local people that the abbot of Wat Na Tom not only engaged regularly in fornication, but had as lovers two dogs and three women.

Senior monks from the provincial Buddhist Governing Board, its Muang district counterpart, and Phattalung’s Office of the Buddhist Religion, after examining the photos, announced they were real and enjoined the press to “beware of publishing them and casting Buddhism in a bad light,” which is a criminal matter under Thai law.

The chief of Thailand’s Mental Health Department also warned against publication of the photos, saying they were evidence of mental illness and could have evil effects on children incapable of interpreting them properly. The admonitions came too late, however, as two of the pictures had already been published in a mass-circulation daily.

The whereabouts of Wat Na Tom’s abbot were not reported; senior clergy urged him to resign immediately from the monkhood. The erring abbot was apparently caught completely unawares by villagers who climbed up to the roof to spy on him and photograph his lurid activities.

The story surfaced on the morning of June 21, when unidentified local persons contacted reporters with photos showing one of the province’s best known and most respected monks in flagrante delicto.

“People living around the temple have been aware of his activities for months,” reporters learned, “but they lacked evidence with which to eliminate his poisonous influence…Two or three women were sneaking in at night to sleep with him, prompting local people to climb up and spy through a crack.

“They discovered that on nights when no women came to sleep with him, he had sex with the dogs.”

“Were the pictures unclear or concocted, evidence would be insufficient for an arrest,” Deputy Provincial Chief Abbot Pra Kru Methi Ratanakorn was quoted as saying. “But here they are unmistakable.”

“It is certainly him,” said provincial Buddhist Office Director Koonapoongs Taharn-Thai. “He is quite well-known; villagers in the area have always accorded him a high degree of respect. We’ve long had dealings on a regular basis; but I never could have guessed such evil might affect a Phattalung monk!”

Provincial Deputy Police Commander Pol Col Torsak Chukam Thursday ordered detectives to track down and arrest the abbot, identified as Phra Kru Sopit Tamapimol (phra kru denotes a senior teaching monk; the rest of the name means “Beautiful Enlightenment comes undefiled”).

The suspect is described as aged about 61 years, having joined the monkhood in 1957. He became abbot in 1994, and was commissioned phra kru in 2005; until fleeing he also operated a school teaching Buddhism on Sundays.

One “fluffy-haired” white dog, and one black dog, both females, were found locked in his residence. Investigators said they matched those in the pictures.

In response to publication of the incriminating photos, Mental Health Department chief ML Somchai Jakrapant admonished the press to “beware of perverted sex pictures, especially those with animals, or of monks with women. People who have sex with animals are disturbed, because of drugs, perhaps, or because something is irregular in their brain.

“If children see such photos they may interpret them wrongly, and think what they see is correct behavior.”

Source: Siang Tai

[bankei]

Let me tell you about an incident I had and how it was handled by the monks at my temple.

While I was a monk, I had a bad experience with a visiting senior monk. The ‘evil’ monk had 21 vassa (years as a monk), more than any monk in my temple except the Abbot. He had been a monk since the age of 20, and probably a novice before that. He was from a different temple.

From the start, I didn’t like this monk. He was loud and rough in the way he talked. At breakfast he would call out to me, trying to use English, telling me to ‘eat Banana’ etc.

The incident started after breakfast when he smacked me on my bum when helping me with my robes (it took me about a week before I could dress myself!). I didn’t think much about it at the time. Then he tried to kiss me on another occasion. He asked for a massage and then said he would sleep in my room with me that night-because it looked cool. I wasn't sure if he was joking or not as he was a joking type, but rather than risk being raped in my sleep, I complained to a senior monk.

The senior monk (only 9 vassa) said the monk involved was probably joking, but he moved him to another area away from my kuti. The next day the 'evil' monk approached me while I was with a few other monks, and he started to playfully kick me softly. One of the other monks must have heard of the other incidents, and he warned him off. He commented that the ‘evil monk was only joking.

A few days later, the 'evil' monk approached me again while I was with another monk, and he talked to me and the other monk, (asking me for money!) then as he was leaving he shook my hand. Initially thought he may have been saying sorry, but while shaking my hand he scratched my palm with one of his fingers.

In Australia, this indicates the person wants sex, I wasn't sure if it was the same in Thailand, but asking a few monks I discovered it was. So I immediately complained to the senior monk who rang the Abbot who was away over night.

The abbot advised the senior monk to ask the 'evil' monk to leave the Wat. However, the evil monk had left to go to the market to buy a new under robe (that's what he wanted me to give him money for). Later I found out the evil monk did not return to the Wat until around 2am in the morning! He missed bindabart, and missed the morning meal. The senior monk then told him he was no longer welcome at this Wat, and he left.

As a monk, I was concerned about the Vinaya rules; the second highest class called Sanghadisesa number 8 states:

"Should a bhikkhu, being angry, groundlessly accuse another bhikkhu of Parajika, it entails a Sanghadisesa offence."

So initially I was reluctant to complain. This is possibly the case of many monks in similar situations. However, another monk openly told me he thought the evil monk was a parajika ('defeated' by breaking one of the 4 main rules including sexual intercourse).

After I disrobed I had a chat to the abbot (highly educated Bangkok monk) by myself and I explained everything the evil monk did and I told him I thought the monk was a parajika. The abbot looked uncomfortable, squirming in his seat, but he basically didn’t want to know about it. He said the bad monk had been kicked out, and would not be allowed back. The problem was basically passed on to someone else, to some other Wat.

Later on, some other monks told me they didn’t like the bad one, and were happy he had been kicked out. One monk told me the bad monk also touched him on the arm, and he had his suspicions too. I told my story to a novice and young monk and they immediately changed the topic, so who knows what happened to them.

[camerata]

Kind of depressing, since it cost you 40,000 baht to ordain, you weren't a monk long and you had to put up with this kind of thing while you were there.