Hardliner tries to reform Thailand’s Buddhist monks behaving badly

[Lite Beer]

Hardliner tries to reform Thailand’s Buddhist monks behaving badly

BANGKOK: -- Scandals involving drugs, financial impropriety and lavish lifestyles have tarnished the reputation of the country’s dominant religious order in recent months, there have been tales of monastic misbehaviour in Thailand that would seem to belong in the most gossipy tabloids.

Think Buddhist monk, and bodyguards and bomb threats probably don’t spring to mind. But that’s exactly what Phra Buddha Issara is dealing with as he mounts a campaign to overhaul Thailand’s religious institutions. The activist monk has earned plenty of enemies since he launched a campaign to clean up Buddhism in Thailand, urging the country’s 300,000 monks to be more transparent in their financial dealings and the religion’s governing body, the Supreme Sangha Council, to crack down on wrongdoing.

There have been drunk monks crashing cars, monks pocketing cash meant for funerals and monks playing the stock market
Thai Buddhism, much like Thai democracy, is in a state of upheaval. “There is more open crisis in the Sangha than has been seen in living memory,” said Michael Montesano, a Thailand expert at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. “This is a crisis in yet another Thai institution.”

Read More: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/15/thailand-buddhist-monks-bad-behaviour-crackdown

--The Guardian 2015-05-16

[Fiddlesticks]

Just 'transfer' them. We all have seen how successful that seems to work for the police department.

[Strangebrew]

Transparent? <deleted> you mean instead of saffron robes there going to wear sarahwrap? Now that paints an ugly picture. No disrespect meant to the monks or buddism.

[jcisco]

And for punishment they will be sent into the work force to make Baht and pay their own way, 6 months of that and any jail time due from ones other transgressions and I'd hope to see some improvement. But then again, I'm totally making this opinion up as type...

despite that, something does need to be done, like police corruption this problem is in the general population as an issue that needs immediate attention.

[colinneil]

Mounting a campaign to get monks to behave properly!! DREAM ON !!

[Praematura]

Suthep being a monk says it all. Full stop.

[Basil B]

They really do need someone to whip them into shape...

[trogers]

Sign of the end of times... When religions become servants of the Beast.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

"There have been drunk monks crashing cars, monks pocketing cash meant for funerals and monks playing the stock market"

I think they left out the money laundering. Most likely where the death threats are coming from.

[razer]

It has been bred into the Thai culture for centuries, I suspect. when corruption is the norm, what do you expect?

[luckytrev]

pot and kettle

[iphototjes]

Well it is technically speaking not a religion, but for the sake of argument, it works just like any other religion……obviously

[Prbkk]

Yes , some are disgraceful: one in particular...staying in 5 star hotels, presiding over the interrogation of badly beaten police officers, demanding money from business proprietors, inciting feral mobs in the streets, parading around wearing a gas mask like someone in a war zone. Disgraceful.

[nongai]

Issara is not without issues..... being militant is not a monk's concern... nor is politics.

[jackanapes]

if monks are found to behaving badly you get rid of them they should not be part of a religious order bad habits need to be dealt with.

[janpharma]

Very sad...but through...many of them are scum and just spend some "time" in prison before. But then comes "Thainess"...if after their "time", they play being monk for a while, than they are respected again...but still the same...And whilst being at the temple, they still play lottery, receive expensive phones and play tablet...having a nice income for doing nothing...

Some elderly between the monks though are respectfull...

[soalbundy]

They are merely a reflection of the society that they serve, like the police and the army and the politicians, reflections all over the place in fact.

[nithisa78]

If Christianity can survive across the board scandals of every kind. . .best to keep this in perspective. Our information is not first hand.

[jesimps]

What a festering hypocrit is this 'person' who presided over murder, torture, beatings, massive civil disruption, occupation of government buildings, blocking elections etc etc etc. His treacherous, inhuman activities should at least have earned him a long time in jail. Instead here he is spouting off about badly behaved monks who's actions are nothing compared to what this faux monk did. How he sleeps at night I'll never know, he's a disgrace to his order.

[nithisa78]

They are merely a reflection of the society that they serve, like the police and the army and the politicians, reflections all over the place in fact.

a reflection of our respect for the law. the Lord we serve. any country on this Earth. respect the law. we can't expect it to work perfectly , unless we think we are working perfectly.

we have many ways to look at this, appreciate the pains of growth or be out done by life. let he who is without sin.......men of the cloth have failed before. The infomation I read is second handed and designed to manipulate view point. God have mercy.

[Acharn]

Sign of the end of times... When religions become servants of the Beast.

This actually is pretty basic Buddhism. The time frames vary a lot, but the basic Buddhist cosmology (as I understand it which may be totally wrong) is that the physical universe has always existed (is without beginning) and that it undergoes cycles. From primordial goo beings come into existence and evolve and eventually become human beings, and then a Buddha comes into existence (details depend on Mahayana or Therevada or Tibetan schools). He preaches the pure Dhamma, and lots of people end their suffering, but as time goes by his doctrine becomes corrupted and fewer people are able to learn the true Dhamma from it, until eventually the Sangha is totally corrupt and the Dhamma is completely lost, when another Buddha (or maybe the same one) appears on the scene and preaches the Pure Dhamma again and we do the whole thing over. Oh, yeah, and the Universe expands and contracts and we have each cycle starting with what looks like a big bang. All the details are not really basic to the central teachings of Buddhism and they vary wildly, but one of the central doctrines of Buddhism is /annaca/, impermanence. Nothing lasts forever. Or maybe I misunderstand and the physical universe also has no end. So far as I know, the Buddha never replied to that question, saying only that it was not profitable and did not lead to the end of suffering, which was the only think he taught.

[Acharn]

What a festering hypocrit is this 'person' who presided over murder, torture, beatings, massive civil disruption, occupation of government buildings, blocking elections etc etc etc. His treacherous, inhuman activities should at least have earned him a long time in jail. Instead here he is spouting off about badly behaved monks who's actions are nothing compared to what this faux monk did. How he sleeps at night I'll never know, he's a disgrace to his order.

Have you ever heard of John Calvin? Martin Luther? The Christian monk Savonarola? The whole line of Popes? The amount of human suffering they have caused is incalculable, but they believed, and millions of people who followed them believed, that they were leading to the true light and salvation. That's how they slept at night, and I can tell you John Calvin presided over a lot more murder and torture than this contemptible snake oil salesman in Thailand.

[Acharn]

If Christianity can survive across the board scandals of every kind. . .best to keep this in perspective. Our information is not first hand.

One of my favorites:

1492: Rodrigo Borgia becomes Pope Alexander VI

1492 wasn't a good year for the world.

[Srikcir]

Phra Buddha Issara understands the power of money.

Collecting compensation for cancellation of his reservation at a 5-star hotel:

Collecting money for the PDRC anti-government protests:

He understands that the more money there is, the better things are.

[khaowong1]

This is not a new story or is it news. He's been fighting for a clean up for a long time. Move along, nothing to see here.

[h90]

What is hardliner on asking that monks behave like monks?

[cookee68]

So are they admitting that they have a Buddha problem now, or not

[NongKhaiKid]

Buddhism here is a revered and highly protected institution and don't those involved know it. The reverence and protection goes too far when there's a ' do what we want ' mentality all too common in other institutions too.

it will be a massive step to admit that Buddhism has a problem and i doubt anyone will take it, much easier to hide behind the old excuse used everywhere of ' only a small minority ' . Almost everything in this country is corrupt so why not Buddhism ?

Incidentally, during my time teaching at a rural uni I found most of the students had no interest in Buddhism and only went through the motions to please their parents.

[MaiChai]

My tip to all Buddhists: you don't need to go and see a monk and give him 'something' to gain merit. Instead just follow the teachings of Buddha and be a good Buddhist. Problem solved!

[soalbundy]

If Christianity can survive across the board scandals of every kind. . .best to keep this in perspective. Our information is not first hand.

Christianity isn't really what one would call alive and well, more like a patient on life support