Pissed up monks defrocked - but they say they will just find another temple to keep on boozing

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Pissed up monks defrocked - but they say they will just find another temple to keep on boozing


Image: Thairath

MUKDAHAN: -- A bunch of four north eastern monks caught drinking spirits were defrocked yesterday - then brazenly said they would ordain again and just continue drinking elsewhere.

Villagers in Mukdahan got fed up with the antics of four frequently drunk monks and called in the cops. The monks were drinking at ungodly hours, sometimes all night and were damaging the Buddhist religion, they said.

Officers raided their booze party at the temple of Wat Ba Na Kham Noi catching the four robed individuals with four bottles of Lao Khao - three of which had been drained reported Thairath. No drugs were found.

Arrested were Phra Thonglai Meuangtrai, 46, Phra Boonchu Sutchiwiro, 50, and Anuwicha Jongdaeng, 48, who were all veterans of the monkhood having been in for 23 years each. A fourth monk was a former local official and abbot of Wat Sri Mukda who had already been tossed out of the monkhood before but had just ordained again.

The monks were all attached to different temples and took it in turns to host the "spirit" sessions. They said after admitting their activities that they would listen in on police radios to avoid capture and were only caught this time because the force used mobile phones.

They were sent to the local council to be defrocked. They were then fined 1000 baht each for drinking in an illegal place.

Their parting shot was: "We will continue to drink together - we will just find another place to ordain."

Source: Thairath

-- 2016-06-10

[NongKhaiKid]

Their so called brazenness saying they would just go elsewhere and get ordained again is just as much a statement of fact as this, and so many other examples, indicates that discipline within the monk hood is as lax as that of the general population.

As with the lack of enforcement by the BIB etc the Buddhist hierarchy don't seem too bothered about enforcing discipline either but as recent events prove they're too busy doing other important things.

[colinneil]

Monks think about themselves only. They do not care about people.

Many men go into monkhood only to make money/ drink / fornicate/ gamble.

Yes not only Buddist monks, Christian church has had its fair share of scandal.

[taotoo]

Monks think about themselves only. They do not care about people.

Many men go into monkhood only to make money/ drink / fornicate/ gamble.

Yes not only Buddist monks, Christian church has had its fair share of scandal.

So just like normal people then.

[Rayk]

Just remember that it's the local suckers giving them money that affords them to be able to drink as well as easily pay the 1000b fine.

[macksview]

nightly show coming to your local wat 'the four drunk monks'.

[shirtless]

These guys in robes are not setting a good example.Budda will forgive them though, as they are Thai

[SABloke]

You normally need a degree and/or years of study to be a priest in a church, same for Imam and Rabbi, but to be a monk...well, juat turn up. I've ofen asked what monks and temples give back to society (Churchea, mosques etc are places where people go to be taught about their religion), because with the large number of monks and temples 99% of the monks are collecting and temples are just for donating. Do some monks teach? Yes? Do some perform community services? Yes (funerals, weddings etc. though the number could be questioned since many people chanting the same thing in unison negates the need for so many).

Too many monks in my opinion.

As an aside: ask a Thai person how much any service and/or trinket from a temple costs and they'll all say it's free, then ask them how much they gave the temple anyway

Edited June 9, 2016 by SABloke

[sjjmmi]

Thailand the Hub of defrocked monks

[ezzra]

This story is a reflections of the state of respect those ' monks ; have for their calling and duties as the keepers

of the people moral compass and dignity, maybe the whole being a monk business should be revisited and revamped

with new teaching of what is the true meaning and responsibilities of being a monk is all about.....

[thai3]

Thinking of joining, no bills and free drinks and food

[The stuttering parrot]

Pissed up monks defrocked!

How goods the headline? Don't see that to much.

I think a lot now falls back to the senior monks and the council itself. There are just to many headlines of rouge monks recently for them to just ignore the ongoing actions of these bad apples.

They can't just rely on mai ben rai or karma.They must show that these actions are unacceptable and they should start with the big headline grabbers and show that abuse of the Buddhists faith will no be tolerated .

Maybe it's time for a registery. Not easy I know but as the pissed up monks will just find another temple maybe it's worth a thought.

Edited June 10, 2016 by The stuttering parrot

[SABloke]

Thinking of joining, no bills and free drinks and food

And it's all tax free

[LannaGuy]

no national database of monks then? just 'join up' again?

[Thechook]

Get arrested and defrocked for having a whiskey but if you steal millions you are protected and untouchable.

[daveAustin]

Pathetic. Less and less respect for this lot. Yes, there are good ones, but how many of the clan have dodgy intentions at a given temple? The ole radar goes up when I see an orange robe now, where in the past it was just part of the background so to speak.

[DaveinAsia]

Of course they are not real Buddhist monks but just the usual scumbags pretending to be, to enjoy all the perks. The temples or abbots can be 'blamed' for this as they are expected/supposed to let anyone in. That's why the Thais always dump their puppies at the temple. They know the temple will feed them. After thinking about it again I suppose we should blame the scumbags that prey on the kindness of the abbots because we can't blame anyone for being too good or kind and even wanting to give 'reformed' scumbags a second, third or even fourth chance

[prakhonchai nick]

Monks think about themselves only. They do not care about people.

Many men go into monkhood only to make money/ drink / fornicate/ gamble.

Yes not only Buddist monks, Christian church has had its fair share of scandal.

So just like normal people then.

YES, but at least normal people pay for booze and sex out of their own money..Thy do not beg and scrounge.

Time for a complete clean out of all wats and a fresh beginning.

[Pimay1]

You normally need a degree and/or years of study to be a priest in a church, same for Imam and Rabbi, but to be a monk...well, juat turn up. I've ofen asked what monks and temples give back to society (Churchea, mosques etc are places where people go to be taught about their religion), because with the large number of monks and temples 99% of the monks are collecting and temples are just for donating. Do some monks teach? Yes? Do some perform community services? Yes (funerals, weddings etc. though the number could be questioned since many people chanting the same thing in unison negates the need for so many).

Too many monks in my opinion.

As an aside: ask a Thai person how much any service and/or trinket from a temple costs and they'll all say it's free, then ask them how much they gave the temple anyway

Do some perform community services? Yes (funerals,

You might call charging 600 Baht per monk per chant session community service but I certainly don't. This is what my gf had to fork over to the monks to get them to come to the house and chant when her mother died. They came five times for a total of 3,000 Baht per monk plus free food each time. Nothing but a racket plain and simple.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Pimay1

[jaltsc]

"The monks were drinking at ungodly hours, sometimes all night and were damaging the Buddhist religion.."

[rebelplatoon]

At any given time there are about 2.5 million monks in Thailand. We could fill each and every newspaper on each and every day with good things being done. But we ALL know that's not news.

If and when monks live by the vinaya there's no problem. This is the case in most temples. There are nowadays strict rules for (officially) entering, including background checks. It's usually smaller, remote temples where these things occur. It would take quite an extensive system to keep tabs on people just ordaining themselves eg putting on monk's clothes.

And yes, this should be put in place. Pretending to be a monk is actually a criminal offence. We must differentiate between monks who join the Sangha for educational purposes and those who have a calling, meditate, teach and help the sick and poor.

[tracker1]

Apparently getting caught has not deterred them from getting up to more Monkey buisness in the future !

[iBike]

Isn't it the male version of being a bar girl? .... become a Monk for an easy/lazy/free life? ......

Obviously not taring everybody with the same brush. there are also good Monks out there.

[hookedondhamma]

Of course they are not real Buddhist monks but just the usual scumbags pretending to be, to enjoy all the perks. The temples or abbots can be 'blamed' for this as they are expected/supposed to let anyone in. That's why the Thais always dump their puppies at the temple. They know the temple will feed them. After thinking about it again I suppose we should blame the scumbags that prey on the kindness of the abbots because we can't blame anyone for being too good or kind and even wanting to give 'reformed' scumbags a second, third or even fourth chance

no, the abbots are usually quite aware of what goes on, but because they've been in for so many years, the thai think (not all but MANY) they're to be revered.

And yes, they will ordain again, that's a guarantee. Why? They'll call their friends and go ordain in their area.

Alot of times the laypeople also know as well. Those who are wiser will usually withdraw support, those who aren't will continue to support them out of the desire to make 'merit.'

The bad thing is the monks who actually want to come and practice are usually screwed from the beginning due to the last childish group. But nothing changes.

It's better to keep a record so this can be handled appropriately ... but that's thinking too much. Mai bpen rai

[hookedondhamma]

Isn't it the male version of being a bar girl? .... become a Monk for an easy/lazy/free life? ......

Obviously not taring everybody with the same brush. there are also good Monks out there.

no, but that's quite a reach. Most foreigners will view monks as lazy because monks aren't a part of their home countries culture (let's face it though they're adding to that rep by being deviants). They just don't have the desire or ability to understand.

[johncat1]

Just like the French Foreign Legion used to be. Sign up no questions asked. You can hide here for as long as you like.

[trogers]

Just remember that it's the local suckers giving them money that affords them to be able to drink as well as easily pay the 1000b fine.

I don't think they are suckered. They thought that they can buy their way to Nirvana.

[johncat1]

It is about time the temples got their monks in order. If they cannot or will not do it, the government must.

Anybody can be a monk especially if they want to hide or be above the law, which most monks appear to be

[atyclb]

behaviors quite consistent with alcoholism. they need rehab more than anything else but getting an alcoholic to rehab is much easier said than done. their brains-attitudes are pickled and they do not think normally.

perhaps they believe they are good monks as they are chasing spirits LOL

[trogers]

Get arrested and defrocked for having a whiskey but if you steal millions you are protected and untouchable.

And have your own private jet too...