Allegations against Monk

The other day I visited a temple near a small town about 45 kms from Phana. I had heard that it had a small viharn containing two statues of a monk who was a follower of the famous Isan meditation master, Ajaan Mun Bhuridatto. 

 

I am always interested in the variety of Buddhist temples in Thailand and the extremes of architecture and atmosphere that you can experience in them. This was definitely at the austere end of the spectrum. There was no main viharn, no preaching hall, no famous image. The ubosot (ordination hall) was very plain inside and out. The door was locked but the window shutters were open. Inside there were no murals, no columns, no ceiling ornamentation. The compound was very large and there was a huge number of tall, old trees giving plenty of shade. There was a school for novices (124 of them) with a big welcome sign in English and about three classes of younger novices were in session. Some novices were using the school library to read daily newspapers and the wall outside the library featured news of the death of former PM Samak and photographs of him. Along one side of the compound wall there were several two-storey buildings to accommodate the novices. There were also two special little buildings, one a resdience and the other an office. This was because this temple is where the Chao Kana Changwat (the head monk of the province) stays.

There was a surprising number of cars and pick-ups and a mini-van parked in the shade under several of the trees. It isn't unusual for there to be vehicles like this in a temple, but there didn't seem to be anyone around except three old ladies sitting at a table in the deserted outdoor canteen for novices. While I wandered around the grounds and visited the school, Pensri went to sit with the women. It didn't take her long to find out what was going on.

A meeting was going on between the Chao Kana Changwat and a delegation of supporters of a small forest monastery not far away in the same amphur. There was only one monk (a 20-year monk, 42 years old) staying at the temple and there were also three middle-aged women, one of them his aunt, who also stay there practising meditation, though they are not mae chee. Allegations had been made in writing that the monk was 'too strict' and requests made that he be removed from the temple. There were also allegations that he had misbehaved with one or more women.

The allegation of being too strict arose from a few people who had borrowed money from the monk, or from the temple funds. His strictness took the form of ASKING FOR THE MONEY TO BE REPAID. Now it is not uncommon in Isan for loans to be requested and granted with both sides knowing that there is little or no chance of repayment, though nothing is said to this effect. But this would not be the expectation in the case of money borrowed from a temple. Asking for repayment causes  loss of face, possibly to both sides. As for the allegations of sexual impropriety, they are easily made against a solitary monk. In this case it would seem that they only arose because the monk had been so strict about the money. He certainly wasn't wise to lend money in the first place, though if you were being charitable you might say he was being helpful.

The people Pensri spoke to, and seemingly all the people who had come for the meeting (there were about 60 of them), all supported the monk and wanted him to stay. And that was the outcome of the meeting: the monk was allowed to stay. However, when his supporters had all left, he was still in conference with the Chao Kana Changwat, so perhaps some form of pennance, or at least some good advice, was coming his way.

A few photos of the temple. The wat gate already suggests austerity in that it focuses on the Buddha's teaching, the wheel of the law and the two tudong (wandering) monks on either side. Also the lack of bright colour is significant.

 

This small viharn was specially built to house the shrine to comemorate the revered monk who spent years wandering with Ajaan Mun. The local people decided some time ago to comemmorate him here, perhaps because he settled here in his old age, or perhaps he was originally a local person.

The walls of the lower section are of brick roughly covered with stucco. The interesting thing is that these walls do not reach the ceiling and the windows have no shutters, so it is very cool and airy inside. This inner building is the original, the viharn is just an open-sided sala built over it to provide protection from the rain and sun.

 

The shrine room is also very simple and relatively uncluttered.

 

Behind the viharn is the ordination hall and these two animals were being sheltered on a kind of veranda behind the hall. They were covered in heavy-duty canvas patches, stitched fairly roughly. I suppose that they were waiting to be covered with concrete or stucco of some sort.

 

This was a very interesting temple to visit, and the 'goings on' there on that day made it even more interesting.

 
   

 

 

 

Comments

[Mike]

Lawrence what and interesting and informative story.

I never will get my head round the lending of money in Thailand!

Only two weeks ago a young lad borrowed 300 Baht from Duen (actually my money), he's in her class at community college, now I know we won't get it back, but I love to hear her excuses for him if I ask when the loan is being repaid.

If he had actually asked me I think you can probably work out the answer I would have given.

[Lawrence]

Thanks for the comment, Mike.
I can guess what your answer would be, but probably you would not be asked (as I am not). But a straight no is truly unacceptable, ways have to be found around it. And so much depends on who, how much, in what circumstances, what your relationship is, etc etc. Too much for a mere foreigner to learn. (I take it you won't mind me using that f word.)

[Hairy Thai]

Wow that was odd. I just wrote an really long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn't appear. Grrrr... well I'm not writing all that over again. Regardless, just wanted to say great blog!