Judul : Clergy in need of control, not reform
link : Clergy in need of control, not reform
Clergy in need of control, not reform
After a long silence during Thailand's biggest sex scandal in the clergy, the Ecclesiastical Council and the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) have finally spoken out. Their big idea? A new law to imprison the offending monks and women involved in the scandal.
This move misses the mark. It treats monk misconduct as isolated and perpetrated by a few bad apples, with the rot at the heart of the structure left largely intact.
More worrying still is how the clergy is using this scandal not to clean up the system but to tighten its grip on power.
The proposal to punish rogue monks and their sexual partners is part of a bill initiated by the NOB and the clergy, saying it's a timely tool to protect Buddhism. A close look at the draft law reveals otherwise.
For starters, the move will offer legal aid for monks facing criminal charges. This signals a move to shield wrongdoers instead of ensuring justice and accountability.
If passed, the clergy would also gain sweeping powers to punish anyone accused of harming Buddhism's image. This power could easily be abused to go after whistleblowers and critics calling for Sangha reform.
This is censorship to protect the clergy, pure and simple.
Under the proposal, critics would face the same jail term as monks and their partners in sex scandals -- up to seven years and/or fines up to 140,000 baht. Monks who seek to profiteer from blessing amulets or predicting the lottery are also liable to similar legal penalties.
A new national committee will implement the law. This bureaucracy means more funds, positions and patronage for the NOB and the clergy, without solving the real problems.
Another move from the Sangha is to limit temples to keeping no more than 100,000 baht in cash. The rest must go into bank accounts. But will it work? Who monitors these accounts? Who gets to see where donations go? Not the community; not the public; not donors.
Sex scandals, temple corruption and widespread misconduct all stem from structural decay. At the core is a clergy steeped in authoritarianism but starved of spiritual discipline.
First of all, the clergy's management structure is outdated and dysfunctional. The Ecclesiastical Council consists of frail, elderly monks who lack a professional clerical secretariat to carry out reform. Proposals from younger monks to set up this secretariat are blocked because change threatens the old guard.
Monks' education also bypasses spiritual training. When status and power come without self-discipline, abuse follows. Also, there is little effort to make the teachings resonate with today's world. The focus remains on absolute obedience to the autocratic, feudal system.
Meanwhile, monks freely handle money despite the Buddha's explicit ban. Temples hold vast assets. Yet abbots have total control under the current Sangha law. Without external audits or oversight, corruption thrives.
The answer isn't to jail women. It's to ensure temple finances are transparent with regular audits and public oversight. Return to the Vinaya, the monastic code of conduct.
By drafting laws to punish laypeople, the clergy violates both the Vinaya and the boundary between religion and the secular world, which is deeply troubling.
The Vinaya lays down rules for monks only, not the public. The Buddha never gave punishments to laypeople; that's the job of civil law.
If monks break the monastic code, such as by breaking celibacy or abusing temple funds, they are disrobed and banned from monkhood for life under the Vinaya.
If they commit crimes, they are prosecuted under state law like any citizen.
The clergy's power to punish laypeople -- critics or monks' sexual partners -- is a dangerous overreach. It intrudes on civil space and blurs the line between religious and state authority. This drive for control reveals the clergy's real priorities: image, power and impunity, not spiritual integrity.
Right now, the government funds temples and protects their status. In return, monks stay silent on social injustice. This drains the clergy of its moral force.
The clergy cannot win public respect through punishment or censorship, but by returning to the Buddha's path: a life of simplicity, service and spiritual depth.
Punishing rogue monks is necessary. But punishing laypeople and expanding clerical power? That's not reform, but retreat.
Reform takes courage, not control. Until the clergy dares to change itself, public faith will keep slipping away, scandal by scandal, as the faithful leave monks and temples behind.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).Demikianlah Artikel Clergy in need of control, not reform
Anda sekarang membaca artikel Clergy in need of control, not reform dengan alamat link https://www.punyakamu.com/2025/07/clergy-in-need-of-control-not-reform.html
0 Response to "Clergy in need of control, not reform"
Post a Comment