Showing 1 - 9 of 9
Abbot's dramatic fall from grace
Oped, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 01/09/2025
» Faith built his empire. Fraud destroyed it. Luang Por Alongkot's fall from grace leaves Thai Buddhism reeling, demanding long-overdue reform.
Violence tests peace hopes
Oped, Editorial, Published on 08/05/2025
» The escalating violence in the restive South in recent weeks is abominable. The random killings of almost a dozen people, mostly civilians, have seen the office of Chularajmontri -- the highest-ranking Thai Muslim cleric, who generally stays neutral -- joining condemnation of such acts.
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.
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.
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.
The naked Ayatollah: A detour from Islamic theology
Oped, Reza Aslan, Published on 22/10/2022
» The nationwide protests in Iran over women's rights and abuses by the religious morality police have once again shone a light on the country's ruling clerical class and the seemingly limitless powers of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
High-speed rail dilemma
Oped, Editorial, Published on 14/06/2022
» The medieval Dutch canonical cleric Thomas van Kempen once said, "The loftier the building, the deeper must the foundation be laid." Kempen the cleric was obviously talking in a metaphorical sense, using basic construction jargon to drive home his point on spiritual development.
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.
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.