Showing 1 - 10 of 102
Saffron swindlers
Oped, Editorial, Published on 22/03/2024
» The news of the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct this week handing a 480-year-plus jail term to a former abbot for embezzling temple donations is shocking enough. But the story gets even more convoluted.
Temple graft must stop
Oped, Editorial, Published on 03/10/2023
» The recent violent confrontation at Bang Khlan Temple in Pichit province was caused by one thing and one thing only: money. Last month, clerics, divided into two factions, protested in front of the famous temple.
Monk treated too harshly
News, Editorial, Published on 01/08/2023
» The warning that the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) gave to a senior monk over his political comments has raised a few eyebrows.
Breaking gender barriers in the clergy
Oped, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 22/07/2023
» Can queers be ordained as Buddhist monks? The question sparked intense debates on social media when Pataradanai Setsuwan, a well-known openly gay celebrity, entered the monkhood late last month.
Temple row needs fixing
Oped, Editorial, Published on 04/07/2023
» A long-standing row between the abbot of Wat Kalaya and the noble Pravitra family demonstrates loopholes in conservation laws and poor enforcement as several heritage places are being threatened in the name of development.
Clergy reform long overdue
Oped, Editorial, Published on 09/05/2023
» The recent downfall of a well-known monk has again exposed a darker reality beneath the serene surface of Thai Buddhism: monks' sexual misconduct and the theft of temple funds.
Tragedy, farce in Mountain B saga
Oped, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 15/08/2022
» By now, many of us may have lost interest in the deadly fire at the Mountain B pub in Sattahip district of Chon Buri province because they are occupied with other more pressing issues such as inflation.
Respect the robe
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 13/06/2022
» Late last month, Sipboworn Kaewngam, director of the National Office of Buddhism (NOB), warned people about what they should and shouldn't do to monks who misbehaved.
Temples of temptation
Oped, Editorial, Published on 14/05/2022
» Reports of Buddhist monks being caught having sexual relationships or embezzling temple money have become daily staples of local news stories. The controversies are serious enough to make the relatively quiet and inert authorities revise some laws regarding the Buddhist clergy.
Men of cloth, not paper
Oped, Editorial, Published on 09/04/2022
» The latest case of embezzlement at Wat Bowon Niwet Vihara in Bangkok and its branches upcountry should send alarm bells ringing about an existing flaw in the way Buddhist temples are financially managed.