Surrounded by verdant rice fields at Wat Or Noi temple, Mr Issara says
he wants better oversight of temple finances and to shake up the archaic
structure of Thai Buddhism. “Buddhism in Thailand is a poisoned fruit,”
he said. “The highest level of the Buddhist religion has turned out to
be the devious one.”
Mr Issara’s quest began last month when the Supreme Sangha Council, Thai
Buddhism’s governing body, cleared the abbot of Dhammakaya temple over
allegations by the National Reform Council (NRC) that he embezzled some
900 million baht (£18m) in donations. Dhammakaya temple members include
some of Thailand’s most powerful politicians and it is regarded as the
country’s richest Buddhist temple.
Abbot Phra Dhammachayo rejected the fraud charges, and the council said
that as he returned most of the money there was no misconduct. The NRC,
which has not released details of the alleged fraud, is pushing for a
probe into why the Sangha cleared Abbot Dhammachayo.
The fraud allegation is the latest in a series of scandals that have
rocked Thailand’s Buddhist clergy. A monk was caught with 120,000
methamphetamine pills (an addictive stimulant) and another was dismissed
from his temple for investing £700,000 on the stock market.
“The money and power swirling around some Thai temples and monks makes
them immune to criticism,” said Sulak Sivaraksa, one of Thailand’s
pre-eminent Buddhist scholars. “This is why we need to reform the Sangha
and start afresh.” The Sangha, a coterie of 20 elderly monks, has
traditionally evaded public scrutiny due to its opaque workings and the
reverence of millions of Buddhists.
But the latest fraud allegation has unleashed an avalanche of public
criticism. Many Thai Buddhists feel those elders are incapable of
supervising the behaviour of 300,000 monks in a rapidly modernising
nation where worldly temptations are everywhere and temples are often
flush with cash. “The Sangha governs but there is nobody that governs
them,” said Mr Issara, who is calling for a boycott of the council.
Mr Issara, who played a prominent role in protests last year that helped
to overthrow the government of former Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra, said Thais should no longer listen to decrees handed down by
the Sangha. He wants the government to check the accounts of all
temples and seize assets from those suspected of mishandling donations.
He is also calling for the state to restructure the Sangha.
Recently, Buddhist monk Luang Pu Nenkham was stripped of his religious
title. He gained notoriety in 2013 when a YouTube video showing him
carrying a Louis Vuitton bag aboard a private jet went viral. He is now
on the run after millions in assets were uncovered in his name and Thai
authorities issued an arrest warrant for having sex with a minor.
Mr Issara, it appears, has much work to do.
Reuters
Many
feel elders are incapable of supervising 300,000 monks in a rapidly
modernising nation where worldly temptations are everywhere
