It's time to reform Thai Buddhism

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EDITORIAL
It's time to reform Thai Buddhism
The Nation

Many in the sangha have strayed from the path of dharma, but ordinary worshippers are partly to blame

BANGKOK: -- Calls for religious reform are growing following a spate of reports detailing monks' misdemeanours and controversies involving the Dhammakaya Temple and its abbot Phra Dhammachayo.

Dhammakaya is one among many temples giving priority to amassing wealth by encouraging worshippers to donate large sums. Followers are told that, by doing so, they improve their chance of securing a place in Heaven. This is a damaging distortion of the Lord Buddha's teachings.

We are dismayed that the Sangha Supreme Council, the monkhood's governing body, has failed to act on a decision made by the late Supreme Patriarch in 1999 that Phra Dhammachayo be defrocked for embezzlement and distorting Buddhist teachings.

Members of the National Reform Council's committee for religious reform have called for the 1962 Monastic Act to be amended so that it better reflects the Thailand of today. Their push for reform includes proposed changes to the Sangha Supreme Council's structure. However, this has drawn the ire of the Network of Buddhists, a group of monks and lay people who insist that moves to overhaul the Sangha Council would lead to division and severe conflict among the clergy.

Monks practise the dharma as taught by the Buddha in order to seek the enlightenment that brings liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering.

However, there are other, more earthly incentives for entering the Thai monkhood. Monasteries offer free food, lodging and a refuge from the daily struggle to make a living. Novices who don robes for these reasons are more likely to remain distracted by the temptations of the secular world. This helps explain the steady flow of news reports of Thai monks caught drinking, taking drugs, visiting night spots and having sex, all of which are serious violations of the monastic code.

Senior members of the clergy have also come under the spotlight, with abbots exposed for hoarding millions of baht in their personal bank accounts. The monastic code prohibits monks from owning anything other than basic necessities.

With so many straying from the path of dharma, reform for Thai Buddhism has become a necessity. However, amendments to the law and regulations governing the clergy are just one part of remedy. The laity also has a role to play in ensuring the spirit of Thai Buddhism is not further eroded by commercial and selfish concerns.

The belief that donating large amounts of money to temples is a fast track to Heaven is especially pernicious. Any spiritual benefits obtained from this practice are likely to be outweighed by its tendency to encourage greed among monks. It threatens to erode their true calling as bhikus - literally, "those who live by alms".

Yet many Thais still act in ways that encourage monks to amass wealth and enjoy luxury lifestyles. This is not conducive to the cultivation of a mind free from worldly desires, which should be the goal of every aspirant to Heaven.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Its-time-to-reform-Thai-Buddhism-30254863.html


-- The Nation 2015-02-26

[cloudhopper 2,263]

It is the fate of all religions to be corrupted with time.

BTW what is "Thai" Buddhism?

Edited February 25, 2015 by cloudhopper

[BSJ 4,796]

Yes please, reform it post haste! I am sick of seeing monks smoking cigarettes, driving pick-ups or riding 3 wheelers....and I have heard there are some who drink alcohol and fraternize with woman.

Totally disgusting behavior!

[canuckamuck 30,512]

You just have to convince the monks at the top to refrain from profiting from unethical practices.

[NongKhaiKid 35,404]

Ordinary worshippers are partly to blame presumably for allowing themselves to be conned into believing that lavish gifts, money, pimping young family members etc is an acceptable, even necessary, way to make merit.

[AGareth2 6,646]

they could start with practicing the religion

[hughben 195]

they could start with practicing the religion

Is Thai Buddhism a religion or a teaching?

Yes please, reform it post haste! I am sick of seeing monks smoking cigarettes, driving pick-ups or riding 3 wheelers....and I have heard there are some who drink alcohol and fraternize with woman.

Totally disgusting behavior!

And eating meat or wearing 2nd hand animal skins.

[bushmill 133]

There is no need to reform buddhism it's just only time for the buddhists to follow the teaching words of Lord Buddha. No where it's saied you have to donate money to the monks neither that the monks have permisson to begging for donations with there envelopes. Lord Buddha taught his followers to live from the food and clothes people give to them on their own and not by begging. This gready old men in Buddhist council shouldt go back at first to the roots and then the others will follow. No TV, Radio,Phone,Internet in the temples at first, It will change a lot. BUT DO NOT REFORM the ( Thai ) - Buddhism. Reform the monks

Edited February 26, 2015 by bushmill

[KarenBravo 10,113]

One way to get all the ex-cons out of the monkhood is to make the minimum time as a monk five years.

[ezzra 43,529]

There is nothing wrong with Buddhism...plenty wrong with the people practicing it wrongly,

if it ain't broken, don't fix it....

[Benmart 5,364]

The teachings have been corrupted by the greed, dishonesty, sloth and darkness of some men and women. Returning to the correct path may be a long and difficult road, particularly when obstructed by those who benefit from the present state of affairs.

[mikiea 728]

they could start with practicing the religion

you are correct, there is no chicago or cambodia or thailand buddhism. there is only buddhism. seems the thai wing has re-defined itself. a downright shame :-)

[h90 9,442]

Yes please, reform it post haste! I am sick of seeing monks smoking cigarettes, driving pick-ups or riding 3 wheelers....and I have heard there are some who drink alcohol and fraternize with woman.

Totally disgusting behavior!

That means you didn't hear about the bad cases.....

Pedophiles are not only a problem of the catholic church.....

[KarenBravo 10,113]

There are many sects, just like other religions and philosophies.

Zen, Theravada, Maha-something etc.

[cmsally 6,026]

There is no such thing as Thai Buddhism, it is Theravada Buddhism.

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/whats-thera.htm

However if they are talking about the Dhammakaya then this is a branch movement in some ways similar to Mahayana it seems.

Personally I would suggest that the essence of the religion remains the same. It simply manifests itself as a reflection of the present culture and society. In effect the religion is showing us the state of culture and society as it stands. It is not the religion that needs changing is it?