Showing 1 - 9 of 9
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.
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.
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 no longer safe for children
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 30/10/2019
» News about monks' sexual misconduct has become so frequent that it no longer shocks. But the latest scandal involving a rapist, paedophile monk makes my blood boil.
Pitfalls on the path toward enlightenment
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 18/06/2018
» Money is a tantalising thing, coveted by many. But worldly goods can pose a threat to those who are called to a higher order. The seven ex-monks from three famous Bangkok temples who were in the media limelight over the weeks are no exception.
Blitz on monk graft hits right note
News, Anucha Charoenpo, Published on 03/06/2018
» The arrest late last month of five former senior monks in Bangkok who were charged with temple fund embezzlement and money laundering has triggered strong public perceptions that the problem of corruption remains widespread in Thailand. To deal with it, all stakeholders need to work on addressing the issue.
Arrests not enough to reform Thai Sangha
News, Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, Published on 31/05/2018
» The early morning of May 24 was the morning of the long knives for the Thai Sangha. Commandos stormed Wat Or Noi in Nakhon Pathom to arrest the abbot, then Phra Buddha Isara, a staunch supporter of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). In an unrelated case, five of seven other senior monks accused of embezzlement and money laundering were arrested from three famous temples in Bangkok. The other two remain on the run.
No police apology for monk's violent arrest
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 28/05/2018
» Nobody doubts why the Crime Suppression Division police had to make the arrest of Phra Buddha Isara, the abbot of Wat Or Noi in Nakhon Pathom, before dawn of May 24 at his living quarters on the temple grounds.
Amend the Sangha Act
News, Published on 26/05/2018
» If three senior ministers are charged with corruption simultaneously, the government they serve must be suffering a crisis of credibility. It is the same for the country's highest governing body of monastic affairs, the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC), whose three "cabinet" members, along with other two monks, are accused of siphoning and laundering temple money to enrich themselves.