Showing 1 - 10 of 191
Clergy in need of control, not reform
Editorial, Published on 20/07/2025
» After a long silence during Thailand's biggest sex scandal in the clergy, the Ecclesiastical Council and the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) have finally spoken out. Their big idea? A new law to imprison the offending monks and women involved in the scandal.
Supreme Patriarch backs reform effort
News, Published on 18/07/2025
» The Supreme Patriarch is calling for a sweeping overhaul of the country's monastic laws, urging the government to review the Sangha Act and revise outdated regulations to safeguard the sanctity of Buddhism, according to acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai yesterday.
Corrupt monks have lost their way
Oped, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 14/07/2025
» Just as Thailand was about to celebrate Asalha Bucha Day and the start of Buddhist Lent, the nation was gripped by the biggest sex scandal ever to rock its clergy. How irony.
'Buddhist Bank' mooted to rein in fraud
News, Mongkol Bangprapa, Published on 08/07/2025
» Suchart Tancharoen, the minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, has proposed a bold initiative to establish a "Buddhist Bank" to manage temple assets and address a growing crisis of faith caused by financial mismanagement and misconduct in the monastic community.
Reform temples, or lose public faith
Editorial, Published on 08/06/2025
» Temple corruption no longer raises eyebrows. The Wat Rai Khing scandal is just bigger, louder, and harder to ignore. It demands serious reform before public faith erodes further.
Bad monks erode trust
News, Editorial, Published on 19/05/2025
» The recent scandal involving a former abbot of the renowned Wat Rai Khing, accused of embezzling over 300 million baht to fund an online gambling addiction, is deeply disturbing but not surprising. It will not be the last blow to public faith in the Thai Sangha unless meaningful and fundamental reform is made.
Reform, or repeat monk scandals
Editorial, Published on 27/10/2024
» A senior monk promoting what is alleged to be a pyramid scheme disguised as an online direct sales company reveals just how far the clergy has strayed from Buddha's teachings.
Complaint against 'son' of Lord Buddha
Gary Boyle, Published on 14/05/2024
» An eight-year-old boy is facing a legal complaint over claims that he is the reincarnated son of the Lord Buddha who possesses magical powers to "connect people's minds".
Complaint against 'reincarnated son' of Lord Buddha
Wassayos Ngamkham, Published on 13/05/2024
» An eight-year-old boy is facing a legal complaint over claims that he is the reincarnated son of the Lord Buddha who possesses magical powers to "connect people's minds".
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.