As tension builds between the National Reform Council's (NRC) religious affairs committee and Wat Or Noi's abbot Phra Buddha Isra, and the protectors of the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC) and the Dhammakaya sect, the potential for confrontation lingers.
The stage for the showdown stems from the SSC’s latest ruling which cleared Phra Dhammachayo (the abbot of Wat Dhammakaya) of all wrongdoings associated with the embezzlement of 800-million-baht plus in donation money and 1,500 rai of land given to the temple under the abbot’s name. The council’s elders argued that since all the assets have already been returned to the temple, Phra Dhammachayo should not be defrocked and may remain the temple’s abbot.
The council’s ruling is questionable at best. It is seen as a move to protect Phra Dhammachayo, who is at the centre of the controversy. The council also faces criticism for failing to question why it took seven years for the abbot to return the donations to the temple. They also suspected political interference when the criminal litigation against Phra Dhammachayo was inexplicably withdrawn from the court by the public attorney.
It is fortunate that the conflict between the two camps thus far has been confined to mere verbal exchanges and a minor protest by Phra Buddha Isra, who led some 200 followers in a rally at Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen, the lodgings of the acting Supreme Patriarch and chair of the Sangha Supreme Council.
But there is a slim likelihood of any compromise between the two opposing camps. Authorities have to step in, not just to resolve the conflict but to fix the root cause of what has gone terribly wrong with Buddhism in this country — it is a seriously ill monastic system characterised by a closed and centralised feudal system giving complete power to a handful of elderly monks who have, so far, refused to change or undertake reforms to cope with changing circumstances and new challenges.
Financial abuses have been committed by temples and monks alike, monk misconduct is widespread and the commercialisation of Buddhism and deviation from the Buddha’s teachings are rife, topped off by the controversies surrounding Wat Dhammakaya and its abbot — symptoms of a rotten monastic system that needs to be overhauled from the inside out, beyond the help of cosmetic changes.
The argument put forth by Sangha Supreme Council supporters, that it is the responsibility of monks to resolve monastic problems, is valid only if the monks themselves are capable of solving the problems. But the truth is that either they, or the council’s elders, are clearly not.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who has been assigned by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to look into the Dhammakaya controversy, cautioned against confrontation and advised careful moves seriously considering reconciliation. He also pointed out that the government can only address the legal aspects and not the religious questions.
The Dhammakaya is a divisive issue. Both supporters and opponents have like-minded masses behind them. To avoid conflict, the reform process must not only tread carefully but ensure participation from all stakeholders concerned. The National Reform Council is a place to start. But the goal, at the very least, should be to revamp the current centralised system, moving towards administrative decentralisation, and accountability, transparent temple finances and improved monk recruitment and training. It is the only way to restore public faith.