Late last month, many Buddhist followers in Thailand were delighted with the news that four phra farang, or Western monks, were granted samanasak or honorary ecclesiastical titles by HM the King.
Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Jayasaro were among 74 distinguished senior monks called to receive new titles in a ceremony at the Amarindra Vinichai Throne Hall at the Grand Palace on July 28, HM's birthday.
The four masters have long been figures of interest in our Buddhist community as they are among the top Western students of the late Luang Por Chah, a highly revered monk of Thai forest tradition known to keep strictly to the original monastic rules, or the Vinaya, laid down by Buddha.
That's probably why his disciples earn high respect from Thai Buddhists and we hardly hear any complaints about their conduct at all.
Two weeks later, however, many were shocked when a famous phra farang who spent nearly two decades in a jungle in the north of Thailand confessed to the public that he had sexual relations with women.
Phra Julien Apataro, 42, whose layman name is Julien Desilets, left his homeland in Canada to be ordained a Buddhist monk in 2000 and lived modestly alone on a hillside in Sop Moei district of Mae Hong Son where he had reportedly dedicated himself to helping impoverished hill tribe people and practising meditation. He was quoted as saying that meditation helped him find the real happiness within.
His story impressed many and was spread to the outside world by foreign media. His everyday life in the mountains was also portrayed in a short documentary titled Phra Julien, A Monk's Life (2017).
However, the dark side of life was recently exposed by a Thai veterinarian who volunteered with him to build houses for the poor in the northern region several years ago.
He posted a long message on Facebook, saying that the monk had sexual relations with a foreign woman five years ago and left the monkhood and was re-ordained as a novice monk with a promise made to him that he would not repeat the wrong. But two years ago he had sex with a Thai woman who revealed to him that the monk promised to take care of her but dumped her.
So he called for the monk to disrobe, ending the message with: "As you couldn't follow the Vinaya, you must go."
After his secret came to light, the monk publicly admitted to his misconduct, apologised to Thai people and agreed to disrobe. He explained on Facebook that he did commit the wrong things because he had the wrong views about the Vinaya. He said that he studied the religion on his own, only relying on the English texts that he could find and that he misinterpreted the teachings as he lacked a good teacher to give him a proper guidance.
However, he insisted that he still had unwavering faith in Buddhism and would continue to help the poor in the mountains and practise dhamma as a layman. He also pleaded that any teachers who can see his strong faith help guide him to the right path.
Even though the ex-monk showed his deep remorse and determination to redeem himself, most people on social media didn't trust him. They heavily criticised him and demanded that he be banished from the country.
It might be difficult to understand why a monk who spent so many years meditating, claiming it kept him far from sensual desire would, at last, succumb to it. But, this is not impossible especially when he wasn't aware that he was on the wrong path in the practice. We have seen many similar cases before to know that a good master is necessary.
Engaging in sexual intercourse is one of the four disrobing offences known as parajika. The others include stealing/cheating something of value, killing a human being and boasting that one has realised a high spiritual attainment.
These four rules are listed on top of the Vinaya as they were considered by Buddha to be extreme violations of the spiritual ethic and a major obstacle in the path to enlightenment. And, of course, the penalty of disrobing is for life. So, it remains a puzzle how come Julien was allowed to be re-ordained as a novice in the first place.
It's normal for faithful western men to want to enter the monkhood. But, they must realise that it takes a lot more than faith to be able to stay gracefully in this holy status. It's a pity that Julien didn't know that there are many good phra farang out there he could have emulated.
Patcharawalai Sanyanusin is a writer for the Life section of the Bangkok Post.