Barely three months after his release from prison,
Reverend Ming Yi is
embroiled in a fresh controversy, this time
regarding a ceremonial dinner reported to have cost
$200,000.
Organised by the Foo Hai Chan
Monastery in Geylang, the $1,000-a-table dinner at
the Pan Pacific
Hotel was held on Nov 21 to mark Venerable Ming
Yi’s 20 years of service as abbot of the temple.
The gala dinner has sparked off an emotional debate among
Buddhists, reported The Straits Times.
Devotees of the said monastery called the celebration a
sheng zuo dian li, or “rise to the power ceremony”;
they said they wanted to celebrate Ven Ming Yi’s return to the
temple.
But detractors asked if it was appropriate for the monk to turn
the spotlight on himself — and so soon after his release from
prison in September.
In addition, monastery records show that the
48-year-old monk’s 20th year of service comes about only in
2012.
Mr Lim Bock Guan, head of the Singapore Buddhist
Lodge, told the same paper he had never heard of a
monk being honoured for his service with a $1,000-a-table dinner in
a top hotel.
The dinner was attended by monks from Malaysia and Hong Kong,
but senior Buddhists in Singapore were noticeably absent although
they had been invited.
The Buddhist
Federation, the top Buddhist authority in
Singapore, now wants Ming Yi to step forward and be
judged by his fellow monks for crimes that landed him in jail
earlier this year. Last October, the former head of Ren Ci was
convicted of charges that included falsifying accounts and
misappropriating funds.
For this to happen, though, Ming Yi has to step up
voluntarily.
If he does, a disciplinary committee will be set up. It will be
the first time that the Buddhist community here will have a panel
of monks in a position to demote or defrock one of their
own.
When asked for thoughts of the federation’s move, the chief
disciple of Ven Wu Feng, the monk who had presided over Ming Yi’s
ordination in 1984, said it was unlikely that Ming Yi would
turn himself in, although “it is what he should do.”
“He’s climbed too far up, and now he has a long way to
fall,” said the nun who declined to be named.
From : http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/12/02/ming-yi-under-fire-again-for-200000-gala-dinner/