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The role of monks in modern Thai society: Has Buddhism gone astray?

Out and about on the streets and sights of Bangkok, there’s a spectacle blend of modern and ancient smells, sounds and sights to be had. On one end of the city, you’ll find yourself surrounded by towering skyscrapers, hi tech shopping malls, hi-speed sky train and subway transit systems, posh fashion districts, and IT hubs full of all the latest mobile gadgets and technologies. Once you’ve had enough of the future and present, it’s quite easy to warp yourself back to a Thailand of the past just by going to a different side of town–where highlights include fisherman, schoolboys, and traditional wooden long tail boats occupying the river and canals that feed and dissect the community painted with golden spired temples and stupas that characterize the glorious Siam slowly yet rapidly fading into chapters in a history book.

Yet, country censuses, statistics, and quotas continue to tell the world that Thailand is nation full of devout Buddhists. But is it really? By face value, maybe so, but have the Thais truly embraced the concept and fundamental ethics and philosophy that Buddhism represents? Like most other religions and cultural ‘ways of life’, Thai Buddhism calls for a strict code of life that one must come to terms with and ultimately be rid of materialism and attachment–the cause of suffering– if one wishes to follow in the footsteps of enlightenment of the original Buddha, Lord Sidartha.

Monks at Panthip Plaza IT center in Bangkok

According to the words and teachings of the prince-turned-beggar more than 2500 years ago, the path to enlightenment requires one to give up all worldly possessions and attachments–from money, excess food, and weapons to jewelry, gold, hair, and even eyebrows. Simple right? Most Thais you talk to won’t necessarily claim to be devout and on the way to exiting the cycle of suffering; for they have come to terms and accepted that it may just be a future reincarnation before they are willing to give up all their pleasures and desires.

Yet, if you ever take a walk through a Bangkok’s IT center such as Panthip Plaza, you’ll most definately come across at least one if not several of Thai Buddhism’s prime devotees and representatives: Monks in their full orange saffron robes. For those who despise the nature of missionaries, don’t worry, for these Buddhist monks are not going to preach sermons and try to convert you. Shockingly, these monks are just shopping ! Computers, printers, cables, software, hardware–you name it, they’re buying it.

In recent news, Thai media has reported on fake and exploited monks that have been caught and charged for matters regarding inappropriate sexual conduct (Monks are not permitted to have sex, families, or even talk or occupy themselves with such matters). Some extreme cases include the monk that was raping and filming girls on temple grounds, and blackmailing his victims that he would distribute the video if she said anything. It was later ‘cleared’ that he was not a real monk, just novice from Burma. In any case, we still constantly hear about the monks that are caught in the middle of sexual acts with their secret partners, but we’ll not focus on them for now.

Most recently, there’s been an outcry of monks that have started to join social networks like hi5–posting their own as well as commenting on other girls and friends’ pictures. And so the ultimate Thailand Buddhist governing body, the Sangha (pronounced Sung as in Dung and Bung) wants to crack down on these ‘bad’ and ‘fake’ monks.

They don’t seem to be trying to crack down too hard–just go to Panthip. Then again, it would be contradictory for a governing body such as the Sangha to enforce rules like a dictatorship as it’s completely against the basic Buddhist principle that requires one to govern and reap one’s own karma and destiny. Still, should monks be allowed to shop, buy, sell, use, and play with computers, or anything for that matter?

One could argue that times have changed–two millenniums ago, the world wasn’t so extended; people were less educated, and concepts such as gloabalization didn’t exist. Word of mouth was the medium of mass communications then, but isn’t so now. To keep Budhists and monks in the closest by forbidding them access and utilization of technology could very well mean the wane of Buddhism as newer trends and phenomena prevail over ancient religions and philosophy. The author suggests that monks using internet and computers are justified in certain contexts. After all you can’t expect monks to make bare foot pilgrimages across the pacific ocean to coordinate and exchange with other Buddhist leaders overseas–and to say that phone and letter writing is okay but internet isn’t is just unreasonable if not ignorant.

However, internet and computers clearly aren’t limited to sending and receiving official messages, nor is it only a place for monks to chat, post pictures, and find sexual partners. In one way, technology represents the evil ‘Mara’ in trying to lure the Lord Buddha away from his focused path with desirable temptations, while at the same time it also represents the emancipating Bodi tree and earth full of all the wisdom and truth that can free and enlighten one and all the masses with more ease than the Lord Buddha could have ever imagined. The key, then, is finding the balance. Should monks be banned from technology or not? How can Thai society find a modern contextual balance?

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