Showing 1 - 9 of 9
Bizarre temple practices under fire
Oped, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 27/12/2024
» Seventy-one corpses; that's what police found in two forest monasteries, thrusting them into the public eye for all the wrong reasons.
Autocracy, not giggling, is the problem
Oped, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 15/09/2021
» When two influencer monks -- Phra Maha Praiwan Worawano and Phra Maha Sompong Talaputto -- were summoned to Government House last week for giggling too much in their dhamma talk shows, I expected intellectual duels between the conservatives and the liberals on the monastic codes of conduct and the clergy's need to catch up with times.
Hair saga reflects authoritarian culture
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 13/07/2020
» If you want to understand why dictatorship persists in Thailand, or the reason why the culture of bullying and impunity is so deep-rooted here, what happened at a public school in Si Sa Ket earlier this month offers an answer.
Army not sacred nor above criticism
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 15/02/2020
» The Thai army is a closed system governed by feudal authoritarianism which breeds corruption and abuse of power. Yes? Tell me something new.
Scapegoating not a solution to haze
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 25/04/2019
» Despite feeling bitter from being arrested and falsely condemned as an arsonist, 56-year-old Boonpan Saenkhammuen went back to fight the raging fires on Doi Luang Mountain in Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary the next day.
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.
Defrocking bad monks just part of reform
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 27/04/2018
» When a group of senior monks in Thailand's highest governing body of clerics faced corruption scrutiny earlier this month, there was no public shock, only a stamp of approval. That says volumes about public discontent with the clergy.
Prayer for the dying: will, morphine, peace
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 23/02/2018
» My parents were not only my role models in the way they lived their lives as fearless journalists and compassionate human beings, but in the way they passed -- quietly on their beds, in our family home, in the midst of the night, without any fuss, successfully avoiding frantic attempts to prolong their lives.
Clergy's monopoly over Buddhist teachings is over
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 03/02/2018
» The controversy surrounding a new religious group called Techo Vipassana led by a self-proclaimed enlightened woman should remind the clergy that, short of Sangha reform, it is fighting a losing battle in the modern faith market.