A Matter of FaithThailand’s border patrol is rarely surprised by the shadowy figures it encounters along the country’s northern borders. The police frequently pick up Burmese refugees, illegal arms dealers or drug smugglers moving their contraband through the notorious stretch of the Golden Triangle. So it seemed business as usual one night in late April when police nabbed two Thais carrying methamphetamine pills back across the border. That is until police asked the men which drug ring they worked for. “Actually, sir,” one of the suspects reportedly said, “We are both monks.” The drug bust was just another embarrassing episode for Buddhist monks. The clergy, called the Sangha, is one of the country’s most powerful institutions. Its supreme patriarch and his council of 21 elder monks shepherd more than 300,000 monks nationwide – as well as the souls of a nation in which 95 percent of the country’s 60 million are said to count themselves among the faithful. According to experts, though, more and more Thai Buddhists are suffering from a “crisis of faith” with their religion and its custodians. In recent months newspapers have detailed scandals involving monks dealing drugs, being involved in sex and crime rings and even running profitable commercial business on the side. The Sangha itself is now being publicly criticized for attempting to cover up scandals and allowing the corruption within its ranks to go unchecked. The monkhood’s leadership believes its authority is so imperiled that they have recently asked the government to create a special Ministry of Buddhism to help prop it up. “I think people in general are losing respect for monks,” says Sanitsuda Ekachai, an assistant editor of the Bangkok Post. “We are asking, ‘Who is a good monk and who is a bad monk?’” Critics say the religion has gone astray in part because its leaders form more of a secret society than an open-minded and instructive clergy. Others point out to a breakdown in training and teaching at temples, which leaves monks unable to explain basic Buddhist tenets. “Many are blindly following traditions and don’t understand what they are doing,” says one former monk. A few opportunists are said to join the monkhood for the free room and board, and the chance to make some cash. Either way, the declining standards are on full display. Monks on the streets of Bangkok – despite a vow of poverty – are frequently spotted wearing expensive jewelry and designer sandals, chatting on their new cell phones. These lapses, along with the seemingly endless stream of scandals, have left many Thais shaking their heads. “I have honestly lost my faith in Buddhism,” says Somboon Oonpan, a car salesman. The mounting disillusionment from their flock hasn’t gone unnoticed by the clergy. Maha Siridhamma, a spokesman for the Sangha, defends the vast majority of monks as basically good, but says that like anyone, they can fall prey to a “changing society, the influence of the media and the changing world.” Still, the clergy hasn’t taken aggressive steps to instill discipline within the monkhood. The Sangha and National Buddhist Office both declined to list the number of monks defrocked since 1995, but experts say it could run into hundreds. The increasingly isolated clergy seems only to be growing more defensive. “I don’t think they understand what’s happening,” says Pinit Ratanakul, director of the religious studies college at Bangkok’s University. “They think they have to protect Buddhism, but the best way to do that is by being open.” Instead, the Sangha has made desperate efforts to restore its clout and prestige. Late last year Buddhist leaders ordered thousands of monks and nuns into the streets to pressure the government to create a Ministry of Buddhism. Its purpose, say backers, would be to give the clergy more control over its own ranks, allowing it to conduct background checks on novice monks and clean the Buddhist institutions. But Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra balked at the initiative. “Before, the clergy never had to rely on the government to preserve its power,” notes one Buddhist scholar. “The clergy will go on as before, but it’s going to be bypassed by the people more and more.” It’s no wonder that many Thais are looking to other faiths for spiritual fulfillment. New Age groups from India, Taiwan and Japan are increasingly popular, much to the chagrin of the Buddhist establishment. Clergy spokesman Siridhammo insists that the Sangha “is changing now.” Its council of elders is supposedly considering the possibility that in five years Thailand could follow the example of Sri Lanka and Taiwan and permit women to be ordained as monks. “But,” he adds, “with the clergy’s conservative mentality, it’s not easy to change so quick.” A deep transformation may be just what they need if they are to rekindle the faith of Thais. (From ‘Newsweek’) 15. Read Article 2 quickly and find concrete facts proving there is a crisis in the Christian Church, too.
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