Showing 1 - 10 of 11
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.
Wrap up iCon scandal
Oped, Editorial, Published on 22/10/2024
» The astonishing speed with which the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) police arrested 18 key players at iCon Group, an online direct marketing company, including its CEO, and locked them up in remand prisons pending further investigation is commendable.
What makes a country really remarkable?
Oped, JOE MATHEWS, Published on 03/07/2024
» Great cities. That's a lesson the United Kingdom once knew well. Britain reached its imperial heights in the late 19th century in part because its municipalities were the world's most productive cities.
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.
More meditating, less talking please
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 18/10/2021
» Whenever there are reports of Buddhist monks misbehaving or violating the monastic code of conduct, we often hear comments like "They are causing a decay to the religion" and "They should be kicked out of the monastery right away".
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.
Healthcare both bother and boon for fickle Prayut
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 22/10/2019
» Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha's defence of his position on the universal healthcare scheme during the budget debate last week was a relatively short, less colourful one by his fiery standards. Yet, it was a speech that deserves our attention.
Insights into insanity
Life, Yvonne Bohwongprasert, Published on 29/04/2019
» The suspected mastermind behind Easter Sunday's deadly bombing in Sri Lanka is reported to be a radical preacher with militant links.
A lovely weekend of silly hats, headlines
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/05/2018
» I'm not exactly a fan of weddings, but it was almost impossible to escape last week's knees-up at Windsor Castle with ball-by-ball coverage on the major cable stations. Horses, hats, castles, queens, princesses, lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses and Elton John. Even the weather behaved. The Brits still know how to put on a good show. At least it was more entertaining than the FA Cup final which followed.
Religious fervour serves no god well
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 07/04/2018
» Aformer rock musician has embraced the role of online preacher and denounced, above other things, rock music. In fact, he objects to most kinds of music, deeming it against Islam. Weerachon "Toh" Sattaying, once the high-pitched frontman of the band Silly Fools (love the name), has over the past six years quit his former lifestyle and became a born-again Muslim. Bearded, skull-capped, fiery-eyed and charismatic, Weerachon runs a dry-aged beef business and hosts an online religious programme that has cultivated quite a following.