BANGKOK, Thailand
-- If Thai Buddhism has been corrupted and lost its
way, as critics are alleging, you would never know it by talking to
Mod and her friends, whose devotion keeps them making merit and
seeking solace at Wat Tha Mai, one of Bangkok’s scores of Buddhist
temples, every weekend.
It’s still morning but the heat in Bangkok
is already oppressive. Yet that doesn’t seem to deter large numbers
of worshipers from turning up at Wat Tha Mai on their day off from
work. The smell of incense and smoke are part of a palpable,
chaotic atmosphere as people mill about, determined to donate their
way into the good graces of some higher power.
Mod - her nickname means “Ant” in Thai - is
typical of the people who come to the temple. An accountant in a
prestigious international firm, she has come this morning to make
merit so that “things might be better as it had been a rough start
to the New Year.”
As Mod darts from one donation box
to the next she pauses to slip 100 baht (US $3.35) into a box
placed before a statue of the elephant god Ganesha. When pressed on
the significance of the Hindu deity in a Buddhist temple, she
struggles to place him in a Buddhist context but agrees with her
friends nevertheless that he is holy and we should not question
such mystical things. Ganesh is actually a central figure in
Hinduism who broke off his right tusk to use as a quill to write
the Mahabharata and subsequently the Baghavad
Gita.
Mod’s experience that morning is emblematic
of the admixture that is Thai Buddhism—made up of equal parts
animism, Buddhism, Hinduism and plain superstition. But many,
including the group known as the Forest Monasteries, lament the
state of Thai Buddhism as being corrupt, power hungry and as dirty
as the rest of the country. A series of scandals has turned up
recently, including senior monks sexually abusing their novices.
Many monks have been accused of the commercialization of the faith
including fraudulent fund-raising.
The Thai Forest monks are known for their
orthodoxy, conservatism and asceticism. They model their practice
and lifestyle on those of the Buddha himself and his early
disciples, keeping alive the practices of the historical Buddha,
who frequently dwelt in forests, both during his spiritual quest
and afterwards.
“How can we hope to have a good country
when not even the religion is pure?” a member of the group told
Asia Sentinel. “Some of what these monasteries are teaching is not
even real Buddhism!”
At the central building in the temple where
Mod worships, people have been waiting since before dawn to get
their time before the abbot. Many have come from far and wide with
various requests and ailments. Some pay with whatever meager
savings they have for the chance that some miracle might cure their
ailing son, daughters, mothers and fathers. Others are willing to
drop seven-figure donations to get what they
want.
Between accepting donations and chanting
ancient Pali incantations that many in the congregation don’t
understand, the monks thumb at their cell phones or ask their
personal attendants to grab them refreshments.
Corruption within the Thai clergy has not
been an uncommon or even recent phenomenon. In 1999, The Associated
Press carried a story stating: “At its core, Buddhism is a religion
that teaches the renunciation of desire for material comforts is
the way to relieve suffering and find the path to wisdom. But
instead of shunning material comforts, some senior monks live in
plush quarters and drive Mercedes Benzes.”
Blessing public buildings—and even the
occasional airplane—by throwing water on them in return for
donations is not a part of Forest Monasteries religious practice.
It occurs nowhere in the Tipitaka, the sacred Buddhist
texts.
While real Buddhism might be a theological
debate best reserved for another time, Thailand has caught the
global headlines with a few unique Buddhism-related stories. The
first came on the heels of the death of Apple mogul Steve Jobs when
the Dhammakaya sect made a special television broadcast and claimed
they have found his soul and presence in heaven.
They later went on to claim that Jobs had
been reincarnated as a “divine being with special knowledge and
appreciation for science and arts in some Utopia. In this Utopia he
is around 35-40 years old with a head full of hair. He serves a
role as a mid-level warrior philosophy and lives in a celestial
palace.”
It should be noted that the Dhammakaya sect
is one of the fastest growing groups in Thailand and currently
holds widespread public appeal. Its supporters number in the
hundreds of thousands and it has temples around the country and the
world.
The Steve Jobs story is not the only one
that has gained international recognition. Every year millions of
Thais buy lucky charms and amulets that are supposed to help in
their everyday life. One story that garnered international press
was the presence of amulets and tattoos blessed by monks, which
hold special properties such as rendering the wearer
bulletproof.
Many swear by the amulets, with some even
claiming to have witnessed such tests first-hands. But when pressed
to offer more proof the seller told this writer that it was illegal
to try it out on people although he has many eyewitness friends. An
independent test a few years ago by a reporter resulted in a very
dead chicken with the vendor then claiming it only works on
humans.
Regardless, these amulets and tattoos are
amazingly profitable with bulletproof ones going for as high as
300,000 baht (around $10,000).
But while the international headlines may
focus on the sensational aspects of Thai Buddhism, the local
Buddhist supreme council has come under increased scrutiny and
criticism after a period of sex and corruption scandals. Under the
Buddhist canon, monks are not allowed to engage in sexual relations
because it brings with it attachment and desire which leads to
suffering.
Local Buddhism has even taken a page out of
the Catholic playbook recently with several monks embroiled in
legal battles for having abused their novices.
And while many Thais feel disillusioned
about the way some of the Sangha, or monastic community, has
behaved, many are reluctant to speak out. It is taboo in Thai
culture to do so. Mod articulates this point.
“We were taught from a very young age that
it is okay to not believe but it is not okay to disrespect. While
we may not approve of certain things that monks do, they do not
represent our religion as a whole. We are Buddhists and we know
what we believe.”
As she makes her way with her friends to
the central building where she will queue with countless other
people looking to make their fortune through the purification of
their karma, that point has never been clearer.