Abusing my religion

Abusing my religion

The monastic community in Thailand has been plagued by so much bad news during the past few months. As we know, most of it relates to the improper behaviour of some members of the clergy.

Also included is the unlikely story of a famous monk which has become the talk of the town and provoked mixed feelings from many faithful Buddhists.

We were sad and upset to see photos of young gay monks who not only put make-up on their faces despite still wearing the yellow robes but also posing in a girly manner in front of the camera as if they were fun-loving ladyboys on the street. Those snapshots have been widely circulated in social media.

We were both shocked and disappointed upon learning that Phra Mitsuo Gavesko chose to leave his 38-year monastic life behind and revert to being Mitsuo Shibahashi because he fell in love with one of his practitioners and wanted to marry her.

We were appalled and disgusted with the alleged crimes and enormous wealth shamefully accumulated by the defrocked monk Wirapol Sukphol, formerly known as Luang Pu Nen Kham, who has not yet returned from abroad to face charges.

And only a few weeks ago we, again, were stunned by the news report that up to 32 monks (including two abbots) from 27 temples in Saraburi province alone were arrested for drug abuse.

I believe there must have been similar incidents at other monasteries as well, but they simply haven't been exposed to the public just yet. However, the accounts which have hit the headlines recently are enough to draw fierce criticism from Thai Buddhists.

Actually, this kind of problem is nothing new. It has caused a lot of headaches in the monastic society and uncomfortable feelings for the Buddhist faithful over the years. Most of the time when the reports about monks allegedly misbehaving break out, we would be quick to point the finger at them and complain about our Sangha system's inability to come up with a definitive solution to the problems.

But considering how these monks made their way into the clergy in the first place, I can't help feeling that the people who pushed them to be there should get their fair share of the blame, too.

It's a tradition here that Thai men should be ordained once in their lifetime in order to seriously study Buddha's teachings. But they are supposed to do so with consent and when they are ready _ physically and spiritually.

I completely disagree with the way some parents force their troubled sons into the monkhood against their will merely because they want the religion to fix their unpleasant behaviour or correct their troubles with sexual deviation and, in the worst case, drug addiction.

I believe the religion can help them in this regard only if they realise their own problems and are willing to correct them in the first place. And they don't even need to be ordained in order to turn over a new leaf.

The monastery is not a correctional centre but a sacred place whose doors are open to all mature men who have faith in the religion and are determined to follow in Buddha's footsteps. So it would be very selfish and disrespectful for parents to leave their stubborn boys to be the burden of the monastery and just sit back and hope for the best.

Buddhism was founded out of the great compassion of Buddha who wished to free all human beings from suffering. He discovered that suffering ensues in every life _ wherever it takes place and in whatever form _ and that the circle of birth and death knows no end until we are equipped with the ultimate wisdom to put a stop to it.

Throughout his 45 years after enlightenment, he worked hard to teach us how to acquire that kind of wisdom. To this day countless people have benefited in some way from his teachings, which have been disseminated by his dedicated followers in the saffron robes for many generations over the past 25 centuries.

That's why we always hold our Buddhist monks in high regard and are happy to support them in their role as our spiritual leaders and concentrate on helping to preserve and promote the religion.

So it's totally unacceptable to know that some bad guys have exploited the religion and our faith for their personal gain.

The case of ex-monk Nen Kham, who formerly received great respect and a lot of donation money from his followers, clearly shows that a fair amount of Thai Buddhists still lack proper understanding of the religion.

It's a shame that they couldn't distinguish between a good monk and a conman. And it's a pity that they didn't look carefully at his inappropriate lifestyle and dubious conduct in the first place.

Like many others, I wish this case would open the eyes of many Buddhists and encourage them to cultivate some wisdom in themselves in order to make sure that history will not repeat itself.

It's been nearly a month since the revelation about the former monk Mitsuo getting married and I believe some people are still feeling hurt by the choice he has made.

It's a bit sad that he couldn't live up to the same impression we got when reading the stories of certain respectable luang pus and luang tas who devoted their lives to the religion and died gracefully in the saffron robes.

But we can't deny that it's very honest of him to decide to go when he realised that he was no longer qualified to stay in the saffron robes. This shows how much he respects the religion. And I wish people would focus more on this quality.

He's now living an ordinary life and wearing ordinary clothing. But I'm sure many of us are still thinking highly of him and hope that all the good things he's done for the religion during all those years will bless him with happiness throughout the rest of his life.

But what will lie ahead of those crooks who chose to make an indecent living at the expense of the religion? I don't want to think about it.


Patcharawalai Sanyanusin is a writer for the Life section of the Bangkok Post.

Patcharawalai Sanyanusin

Writer

Patcharawalai Sanyanusin is a writer for Life section of the Bangkok Post.

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