Showing 1 - 9 of 9
Sex, money and monkhood don't mix
Oped, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 12/05/2022
» The latest sex scandal of a popular preacher "Luang Pi Kato" once again reveals how rotten the cleric system is.
Covid-19 exposes our broken system
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 23/04/2020
» The government's constant mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic evokes two images in my mind. One is a badly infected wound. The other is an overblown balloon ready to burst.
Mixing monks with money corrupts clergy
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 20/06/2018
» Fear and fury is gripping the clergy. Following the arrest and defrocking of high-profile monks for temple corruption, temples nationwide are fearful of financial inspections while monks are up in arms against the idea of prohibiting them from receiving money from the laity.
Buddha's path must guide reform of clergy
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 07/06/2018
» The recent crackdown on the Sangha Supreme Council elders is long overdue. Corrupt monks in high places have escaped the law for far too long. But abuse of power will not go away as long as the clergy remains a closed, feudal autocracy under state patronage.
Making Thai Buddhism relevant again
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 01/03/2017
» So the Dhammakaya Temple is a cult. So its leader reportedly claims to be a doomsday saviour who takes rich donors on a tour to heaven to see the Buddha. So it teaches its followers to buy premium spaces in heaven by donating to the temple. So its doctrine on the permanence of self is against Buddhism. So what?
Sangha Council's rigid control must ease
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 19/01/2017
» The newly amended Sangha Act may effectively put an end to the supreme patriarch nomination row, but it cannot restore public faith in the corruption-ridden clergy. Nor can it stop the popularity of the controversial Dhammakaya temple.
Monks need to break from feudal ways
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 17/06/2015
» Given widespread temple corruption and rogue monks, there's no question that the Sangha needs cleaning up. The clergy's latest outcry against reform calls, however, shows there is no hope for change.
Dhammakaya is only a symptom
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 25/02/2015
» The Supreme Sangha Council has paid a high price for protecting the controversial Dhammakaya abbot and his empire. Now the tsunami of public anger is on the archaic body with roaring calls from all around for Sangha reform. It is about time.
Truth about temple cash isn't pretty
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 31/07/2013
» Did the notorious Nen Kham really have sexual affairs with at least eight women while he was a monk? Did he buy a private jet and a mansion in the US which he showed off on social media? Did he sleep with a minor and father her child? Was he involved in drugs and money laundering? Were he or his brother lying beside a woman in a picture?