Misbehaving monks need reform, too

Misbehaving monks need reform, too

When the anti-government movement brands its protest as a battle between good and evil, we should not be so surprised to see monks among the protest leaders, should we?

When protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban revealed his Bangkok "shutdown" plans over the weekend, he announced Luang Pu Buddha Issara would lead the Chaeng Watthana protest site to blockade the government centre, where more than 30 state agencies are located.

The 58-year-old abbot of Or Noi temple in Nakhon Pathom province is an ardent supporter of Sondhi Limthongkul, former leader of the now-defunct People's Alliance for Democracy.

His political activism faded when the yellow-shirt movement fizzled out, but his name reappeared in the news again when he led a campaign to defrock a younger monk who dared to use the same title Luang Pu, meaning grandpa monk, to imply he had inherited magical powers from past lives.

The notorious Luang Pu Nen Kham was finally defrocked for allegedly committing fraud and engaging in child sex. He's now a fugitive, living in exile outside the country.

Meanwhile, the elder Luang Pu, whose official name is Phra Suwit Thiradhammo, is now enjoying his return to the political limelight.

At a rally last month, he posed as a sage, sitting on a bench with his signature feathered fan, nodding in approval as Mr Suthep gave a speech at his feet. When the government threatened to arrest Mr Suthep, the monk declared he would lead the anti-government protest himself.

Interestingly, the monk disappeared from the scene for a while when the public reacted negatively to his rude, sexist remarks against caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The public sentiment was that it's okay for laypeople to insult Ms Yingluck with offensive language, but not for monks.

Which raises the question of where propriety lies _ not only for monks, but also for people who call themselves Buddhists. Many protesters pride themselves as devout Buddhists, yet they think nothing is wrong with some of the poisonous speeches of hate and ill-will that dominate the anti-government rallies.

The red-shirt rallies are not any better, but at least they have not claimed to be "good" people. Buddhism teaches tolerance and inter-relatedness of all beings. What kind of Buddhists are we _ red, yellow, or in between _ to support violent speeches and violent acts to purge the objects of someone's hatred from the face of the Earth?

Back to the monks. Their political activism is quite mild compared with their peers in other Buddhist countries. We don't see monks burning themselves like in Tibet or openly inciting violence against ethnic minorities as in Myanmar. When Thai monks took to the streets a few years ago, the aim was not to better society, but to preserve the status quo and strengthen their old power base.

Make Buddhism the national religion, they demanded. Fortunately, it fell flat.

Phra Buddha Issara is not the only politically active monk around. Phra Bodhirak and his Santi Asoke movement have always been the backbone of anti-government movements. Meanwhile, it is an open secret that the super-rich Dhammakaya sect supports the Shinawatras.

So much for the Monk's Bill, which prohibits monks from getting involved in politics. At a time when the elders of our religion should remind members where propriety lies and call for tolerance from all sides, they are planning to issue an important ordinance in their views _ to prohibit monks from driving because it is "uncomely" and erodes public faith in the clergy.

For monks who insist on driving cars or riding motorcycles, the maximum punishment is disrobement. While on pardon, they lose the chance to climb the ecclesiastical ladder.

The no-driving order shows the clergy is not only out of touch with reality, but also their own monastic disciplines.

The Buddha issued clear guidelines about what constitutes transgressions worthy of of disrobement.

The elders cannot even enforce them, resulting in many rogue monks.

Also, the original clergy set up by the Buddha was an egalitarian one. The present clergy is deeply feudal, authoritarian, and materialistic.

If Mr Suthep is looking for something new to talk about in his nightly speech, this is it: Sangha reform.

We don't need monks who side with a particular political camp and fan hatred. We need monks who live by the Buddha's teachings. If they do, who cares if they drive or not.


Sanitsuda Ekachai is Editorial Pages Editor, Bangkok Post.

Sanitsuda Ekachai

Former editorial pages editor

Sanitsuda Ekachai is a former editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post. She writes on human rights, gender, and Thai Buddhism.

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