Thailand's Tainted Robes | Misbehaving Monks | 101 East

Oh welcome to 101 East I'm Steve chat with the shimmering temples and barefooted monks Thailand represents the serene and sacred image of Buddhism in Southeast Asia but frequent scandals involving cash drugs and guns have shaken the monkford to its core reporter pileinn Weddell investigates Thailand's criminal monks and meets those on a mission to save the nation's moral soul for centuries Buddhism has shaped the landscape and culture of Thailand temples line the river in the capital Bangkok more than 90 percent of the nation is Buddhist and believed in the concept of Karma for every action there's a reaction these are the values I was brought up with I was taught to respect monks as teachers and role models to honor them as guardians of the nation's moral soul monks lead lives of austerity and self-discipline they live on charity renouncing worldly pleasures and possessions in place of prayer fasting and meditation today 10,000 months have gathered to perform a sacred ritual in downtown Bangkok people offer food and money in return for good karma an exchange known as giving alms the faithful kneel at the feet of the monks as a sign of respect but that respect is being challenged as a series of scandals shake the public space in the monkhood Buddhism in Thailand is more than just a religion it's part of the national identity so monks are the caretakers and teachers of the religion any criticism of the monkhood or any wrongdoing by monks or seen as a sensitive issue but there's another side to the monkhood tie media show shocking footage misbehaving monks every week last pretend party prepare a social media good Ernie prac got songs he got and things out on top breaking buddhist vows of chastity is considered a serious offense but some monks are also breaking the law some guy prank avoid only Conan I use if Steffi Lee Conklin we formed winner member jacobemily tourism Muto Kabuto luckily some conclude see the lhamo Thai Rak Thai the public watches in shame as monks fight other monks all right look and get arrested for being drunk eroding the trusted bond between monks and the Thai people hey old man anemic to understand this deep relationship I follow someone at the beginning of his journey as a monk everytime n is expected to do this at least once in his life some become monks forever but most men only ordain for a few days of their duty Kadima blobbin pani who left two ordained as a monk is to sacrifice that Yuliya laka fathan we have to learn to live without desire and teach people about the religion 988 but than one thing along the monks give up normal life and without Mars Buddhism cannot survive and I would love our dalam ba that made me Kanpur a pen nor pot is spending 10 days in the temple as a sign of gratitude towards his elderly parents his head is shaved to show that he's abandoning worldly desires my name would not come I Palma in this lifetime you should ordain for your parents at least once that's my belief Tommy I hope that this will bring us together again in the next life and that it will bring my parents good karma this is his last meal with his family as a monk he will follow 227 rules like eating only before noon and having no physical contact with women to announce his ordination he's carried around the temple three times representing Buddha his teachings and the community oh oh yeah I think it's going to be quite difficult when there's a lot for me to adjust to inside a purification ceremony prepares his heart and mind for the task ahead nor pot must pledge to resist the temptations of modern life vows that others have broken thailand's most famous misbehaving monk is named who made headlines for travelling on a private jet wearing designer glasses and toting levite on luggage authorities estimate he amassed a fortune of 32 million u.s. dollars in more than 40 bank accounts police charged him with money laundering embezzlement and fraud but he fled Thailand and disappeared and these aren't the only crimes he's accused of dong balling like at first I felt like I fell in love with him but I didn't know what would happen in the times ahead I never thought that it could turn out this way along with it being that I could name has also been charged with having sex with a minor I tracked down the alleged victim in sisig 8 province where his temple is she asked me not to use her real name so I'll call her Dao she was 14 when she met name come and lived with her grandmother who worshipped him Dow's says he would send a car to pick her up for dates Vanya gone Lola I'm an adult now back then I didn't know anything I didn't know that he was taking advantage of me by the time she was 15 da was pregnant recent DNA tests prove the name come is the father of her eldest son by a minyan ahora la leyenda y a-- i don't really have a future anymore but my son he has a future thank you bye it's not like he doesn't have a father he has one his son should be doing better how call me I don't think about anything else but my son anything thought I had all keeping back I just want my son to be comfortable 14 every time I talk about this I cry this used to be longbow name comes temple this is where he claims supernatural powers like being able to walk on water or fly this is also where he asked many to donate millions to him now with him abroad and on the run the temple is very quiet with only a couple of months living here a giant Buddha he built here is no longer worshipped thai police has cancelled his passport but more than 18 months later named come is yet to face trial but 101 east tracked him down living as a free man in the United States you will look wouldn't come maybe a bit oh my go both ways yeah police oh hey Mike yeah I sell equipment walking Idaho hi in this footage leaked to us by a follower named come delivers a sermon at a temple in San Diego California it's dated October 26 although he's been defrocked in Thailand he still has a large following here reporting what Amy funky dunky how Gentile life is the Empire he's been living at his property outside San Diego that bears the same name as his temple inside a large statue is engraved with his name Van Patten aha no nice I have a honeybee gotta fight I request an interview with name come but he flees once again his time in California may soon be up Thai police say they're seeking his extradition back in Bangkok I meet the man who brought the name case to light some God achaya sap is a lawyer who made it his mission to drive out misbehavior in the monkhood low mythic we never expected it to become such a big case on a national level on worldwide not with the law driven by his desire to protect his religion and country some God has exposed more than 60 monks for misconduct in the past eight years it has made him somewhat of a celebrity people crowd into his house asking for help when a month has done something wrong some God uses the media to put pressure on authorities to act against bad monks most of his information comes from his popular Facebook page where he first raised suspicion about name come but his techniques have attracted critics Singh Don Yahoo people say you're going to hell for exposing a monk so I turn around and ask them are you really telling me that I'm going to hell instead of answering the runaway like name comes run away because monks are placed above ordinary people reporting them can upset Thailand's complex social hierarchy many say song Kahn and his team of investigators are often the only ones who'll listen it's like preventing people from drowning I take them and guide them to the authorities and we do it for the good of the world but song con is not the only one uncovering serious crimes by monks another more sinister case is making headlines I fly to the northern city of Chennai where police recently arrested six months alleged to be running a pedophile ring God yo Neil o-tama Doolin kid called dude am gonna major tae ik on the moon planet on is the lead investigator cadena go to me the main monk in this ring is prot dude um and there are five other Abbott's involved altogether there's six people I'm not doable God and then there are eight kids who are the victims all of them are boys between the ages of 12 to 15 who tie him ugly the boys came forward to the police through a community outreach program over seven months a team of investigators and social workers gathered evidence against the monks alcohol by Tomba we went to the temples that the boys mentioned to us and took photos of the monks at all with a Pamela Hynek then we showed the photos to the boys for verification call team Maya in a cop homo homini duty um was bringing these children to Abbott's at different temples in the Chiang Mai and lampooned provinces so they could sexually violate them a little pipe on an ornament up here a cop dude um himself got money in return ten to fifteen dollars each time in Hanoi by the police raided five temples and discovered pornography and sex toys this is one of the accused monks who is defrocked and taken into custody we also found a camera containing photos of naked boys who may Kong a couple we found more than a hundred boys in these photos Devin won bin by Longhorn these were kept in their living quarters signal for nine a Coty Holloway won t Hill on comparing me co-pending me how whatnot he sorta wanna meet econ lovely dark claw too damn long limit and play like a time come back up now Tommy kahnle on Topanga Wendy Yamaha uh Tobin cosa pas ma turtleneck up Cooper to Vanya to me how can't I come to orphanage or Banco en casa para madam Camille up Angela had hunted him alive I of the six months involved only to DOM is in jail for monks are out on bail waiting to be sentenced while another avoided jail time because he confessed Chaya Khan says the Attorney General plans to appeal for harsher punishment what's up yo knowing our biggest challenge is dealing with the religious institutions it seems they're more interested in protecting the accused monks it's taboo for authorities to put monks in handcuffs or behind bars they must be defrocked first which is up to the monk code itself Tabitha big guy if the police have incontrovertible evidence of such crimes we don't consider them as monks anymore by if they do something that serious they are not monks real monks could not do something like that I'm kiddin the monkhood in Thailand has its own justice system every province has a committee of Monk police who investigate this one inch in my but when there's criminal behavior like the alleged pedophile ring Thailand's official police step in prat women money has been investigating his fellow monks for twenty years in the eyes of Buddhism monk police want offenders to gain understanding through awareness of their wrongdoing at a Adamu inane and live web according to Buddhist belief people who commit crimes are already dead to goodness mine so there is no punishment like execution or hitting or cutting with knives in Buddhist rules stay home blunder Buddhism we want them to be aware of their misdeeds might allow and take responsibility by being willfully diff'rently did he go to people outside the religion this might seem lenient but in Thai society being defrocked as a serious punishment it brings shame to the monk and the community he lives in him by the water this monk has been caught selling food that was donated to him both police and military are called to the scene when questioned he's unable to recite any Buddhist prayers he's declared a fake and disrobed after he's in custody I'm allowed to talk to him hi hi okay we know Bobby on your mother Kyogre aftermath on data mining before qul at my channel to know by who you don't even bother TT @ maya FIP of helena bonham in Bali that's auntie type check out it's funny sickness a super good you know route 52 moti what my lord come on so who's okay Jeremy tell you people are young now what is like tearing up in response to the number of bad monk cases in the media Thailand's military government wants to clean up the image of Buddhism it has set up a hotline to receive calls from the public reporting suspicious monk activity in just five months they've received 900 calls nobody has to rely something I focus on ain't a cop call me like it know what I mean we see cases like complaints about misbehavior with women misuse of money gambling and drugs Aloha God please make up the majority of the cases we see in Livonia while inspector general cha cha works with the monk police to investigate complaints he says his department has resolved about 800 cases so far but he admits that their power is limited Magana the biggest punishment they can get is to be defrocked after their defrocked our job is over dope he wants something much stronger for monks who break Buddhist rules to be punished under criminal law and Thailand's military government is drafting a bill to do just that this means breaking a vow of celibacy could result in fines or jail time for the monks as well as for the women they're caught with even minor violations of Buddhist law could become criminal acts in Thailand Gandhi Doga Hanwha like if we see that people are putting Buddha images on the ground this would be illegal and the new law will help us my dear colleague Hong Kong this would set a new precedent in Thailand using the power of the state to enforce Buddhist rules which critics fear would threaten religious freedom it's been a week since Nora Pat became a monk and he's trying hard to ignore all distractions but I definitely miss my family my oldest child is 35 years old now but I've always lived with my family are you hopeful but I've just ordained so of course I miss my family then I'll hit the HOPWA his days at the monastery are spent meditating and reading Buddhist literature and he says it's forcing him to think differently about his life then bang up in bang I have definitely changed I followed the precepts according to Buddhism and I am now more present till it goes on homework item long I used to drink a lot to the point that I'd lose consciousness I mean that might mean something but now that I've ordained I know that it's a bad thing and well I'm up we'll add after this I'm going to change and be a new person I will stop drinking up but about know my ordination has made me a better person so la mulana Thailand has 350 thousand monks most like Nora pot managed to stay out of trouble bad monk cases get widespread attention because it's unexpected and shocking but is unclear if more monks are misbehaving or if the modern age is simply exposing their frailties whoo mama plum de quoi my advice to other men is to ordain when you are ready not when someone asks or forces you to yeah you need to know what you want out of being a monk and why and prepare yourself for ordination but da Quan Holly that's my advice to them that not online in the forest on top of a mountain in northern Thailand praat same agatha mo is deep than a walking meditation he has dedicated his life to Buddhism choosing to live without money or smartphones and instead devotes his days to following his face but he understands why some monks struggle but that uncle among people think that monks should behave strictly according to the Scriptures let them lie pudding hang up and what misbehavior can happen in every nation and every religion monogamy tokoto Dada Niantic il he says ultimately monks are just regular men montgome when will Cordoba like all humans we have different levels of sincerity monks are the same people have big expectations for us that we need to always be pious I'll strict but there will always be times when that's not the case my comic aya mom it's so just the same as other people though new scandals leave fresh stains on the face ties aren't abandoning their religion the monkhood is under more public scrutiny than ever but across society everyone from private citizens to the government is stepping in to protect Buddhist values they know the stakes are high Buddhism and the Thai identity are closely intertwined and if Buddhism becomes tainted so too will the nation's faith in itself

Channel: Al Jazeera English

Views: 1,968,293

Rating: 4.3120446 out of 5

Keywords: bangkok, al Jazeera, monk, Thailand, buddhist, asia, 101east, aljazeera, 101 east thailand, misbehaving, tainted robes, thailand documentary, al jazeera 101 east, buddhists, buddhists in america, myanmar, religion, burma, jesus, meditation, al jazeera documentary, 101 east al jazeera, buddhism, buddhism in nepal, buddhism in india, thai buddhist chant, rock, bangkok thailand, bangkok travel, bali, thai food, al jazeera monks, monks al jazeera, thailand al jazeera

Id: 382VkLGpDaI

Length: 25min 0sec (1500 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 18 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/giveitago]

Becoming a monk in these areas isn't following your bliss it's a family obligation so really little incentive to go all in.

[u/udopian]

Monk: Debunked

[u/BiggunsLamp]

Now the reddit hivemind can generalize all buddhists as evil like they do to other religions.

[u/wylee_one]

Sorry Canadian here we have supposedly buddhist monks pan handling in the summer in downtown Toronto funny never see them in the winter

[u/IcedHemp77]

We have a group in my city that runs all kinds of small cons

[u/tingwong]

Probably because all Thai males are expected to spend time as a monk. Some spend as little as 6 weeks, but more traditionally it's 6 months to 2 years.

Source: spent hours talking to monks in Thailand

[u/IDRIVEBOAT]

Bulletproof monk came out ages ago.