In the recent wake of terrorist atrocities -- most infamously done in the name of religion -- I could not help but question my own line of faith that is Buddhism. Or perhaps "reconnect" would be a better way to put it, as a so-called modern day millennial who isn't a very avid temple-goer.
The faults to be found in every religion plastered in news headlines every other day, ranging from corruption, terrorism to fundamentalist practices, can be more than enough to discourage someone like myself from having any regard or need left for whichever faith. Yet, I have recently come across two books and they could not have come to me at a better time, what with my rickety, detached and increasingly disillusioned view of religion.
The first is called Pray Station, written by the king of lakorn soundtrack singer of the early 2000s, Sirasak "Pingpong" Ittipholpanich. Hardly a hard-core book about Buddhism, it follows the singer's ordination into the monkhood and daily life while he is in saffron robes. Part of the main catch here is that Sirasak is actually a Christian, but still wanted to get ordained anyway for his Buddhist mother and to find solace from his life problems at the moment. From one clueless Buddhist to another, his book is something of an unsettling eye opener, but not without a few worthwhile insights.
Although he chose a temple in a forest far out in the middle of nowhere, he found that the society within the temple is really no different from what one would encounter in modern society. There is a group of rebellious teen monks referred to as "The Gang", the uber-strict and old-fashioned elderly monk and even a prospective big-shot who can enter the monkhood without having to memorise and recite the trying prayers, thanks to his so-called connections within the temple. I shook my head as I read of that so-called big-shot, as well as The Gang, who'd rather be on their iPhones and watching TV instead of educating themselves about the good graces of Buddhism or whatever it was that they should be doing. It's disappointing to read of these anecdotes that do nothing to instil faith, but as I read on, it became apparent that humans are just humans, even if donned in the robes of religion.
As a grand-scaled ceremony zeroes in, Sirasak and The Gang are tasked with setting up all tents and facilities, being the younger and stronger ones of the temple's population. They toil under the scorching sun and by the end of the day, are barely able to move after a whole day of exhausting, manual labour. Much to the author's and my own surprise, an abbot told Sirasak and The Gang to get a decent dinner that evening. Of course, the author was shocked because one of the rules while being ordained is no food after noon. The abbot was not encouraging rebellious behaviour, however, and explained: "There is still much work to be finished off tomorrow. We can't have you passing out and not having enough energy."
It is here where I first come across a moment of logical reasoning that illustrates how religion need not only be about following a set of rules blindly -- nor should it be. Timeless teachings in whatever faith warrant their own following, but when certain phrases offer even the slightest excuse for opportunists to twist them around to justify violence or destruction at the expense of others, it is high time to re-examine and remould certain teachings.
In another recently released book, New York Tells All, the author's conversation with the monk that has worked to reach out to the new generation, V. Vajiramedhi, says it best. Explaining that Buddhism takes a scientific approach in things, the revered monk reminds readers that one of the teachings of Lord Buddha is to not believe things easily. Knowing that his teachings may be prone to misinterpretation, miscommunication and seen in a different way than intended across the times, Lord Buddha's teaching is to not take anyone's word, to question "holy texts", experts and even our own teachers.
"Only when you have experienced and proven it by yourself that it is a good thing, then fall into it. I think this is something that should be applied to all teachings of all religions," says V. Vajiramedhi.
What he envisions for the future has a timely and reasonable edge too and couldn't have been more relevant for predicaments that we struggle with today. V. Vajiramedhi explains: "Albert Einstein himself said religion in the future needs to step away from credulity and divine organisations, where the top orders you to do something and you do not question anything.
"It must be free from occurrences outside of the common vision, such as miracles in nature that we cannot explain or understand. It needs to be a religion with a basis of direct experience from humans."
I couldn't agree more.
Parisa Pichitmarn is a feature writer of the Life section of the Bangkok Post.