Bangkok Post – Monks caught in poaching scandal

Sexual and financial scandals among rogue monks are old news that barely raises an eyebrow. What’s making headlines right now? Monks involved in wildlife poaching.

And these are not just ordinary monks. They are abbots, exercising absolute power over their temples and commanding local respect. One of them even holds a high rank as vice-president of the clergy of his province and director of a college of monks.

The first incident reads like an action movie. On April 26, a group of rangers were monitoring the Phu Khieo wildlife reserve in Chaiyaphum province when they encountered nine poachers descending a steep rock into a lush jungle. The poachers panicked and shot the rangers as they fled. A monk and a novice were arrested from the spot with carcasses of wild animals, including gaur horns.

Among those who managed to escape were Phra Srisajjayanmuni, the abbot of Huai Hin Fon Temple, the vice president of the Chaiyaphum clergy and another monk and novice.

According to Phu Khieo forestry officials, the poachers were close to the abbot and previously engaged in illegal activities in the area.

The senior monk claimed that he was simply leading a forest pilgrimage with a group of monks and devotees. He insisted the carcasses were part of a religious ceremony to pay homage to the spirits of wildlife who once lived in the forest.

Barely a month later, another abbot of Nakhon Ratchasima was accused of possessing a large quantity of wild animal carcasses, some still covered in bloodstains.

Following complaints from villagers, on May 28, forest officials raided the house of Phra Kittichai Woradhammo, abbot of Phansuknukul temple in Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima, and the findings were shocking.

During the search, they discovered the remains of several protected animals, some kept in a freezer in the monk’s quarters. The meat was still fresh, including a gaur head, two serow heads with parts of legs, four bear legs and a complete carcass of a barking deer with its head and legs.

The abbot left before the attack and is still on the run.

Last year, an abbot of Huai Bang Forest Monastery in Loei province was also charged with possessing carcasses of protected wild animals that he used to make amulets for sale.

Under the Wildlife Protection Act, people in possession of carcasses of protected wild animals are subject to a prison term not exceeding five years and/or a fine not exceeding 500,000 baht.

Those who engage in poaching and wildlife trade face a prison term not exceeding 10 years and/or a fine not exceeding one million baht.

While forest officials and police investigate whether these senior monks are involved in the wildlife trade, the clergy remains silent.

Although it has not been confirmed that these monks participated in the hunt, their possession of wild animal carcasses and complicity in the killing of wild animals clearly violates the monastic code of conduct and deserves to be punished.

The scandal provides an opportunity for elders to come forward and explain the role of monks in conserving forests and wildlife, in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha. After all, the Buddha was born, achieved enlightenment and left this land in the forest.

The Buddha’s teachings focus on compassion toward all living beings, non-harm, the interconnectedness of all beings, and mindfulness. The Buddha also encourages a simple life that respects the natural world.

While lay Buddhists must follow at least the five precepts – no killing, no lies, no sexual misconduct, no theft and no intoxicants – monks must observe 277 precepts. Many involve detailed instructions that protect the environment.

For example, monks are prohibited from damaging plants and trees and not accepting animal skins, which promotes the protection of the forest and wildlife. Monks must also pay close attention to their physical movements so as not to disturb or harm the small, often overlooked life forms.

Poaching is out of the question. Monks who kill wild animals should be expelled.

The silence of the elders in the face of this scandal is typical of the clergy in their isolated cocoon, cut off from society. Their frequent excuse is that these rogue monks are just a few rotten people, who reflect neither the clerical system nor the fundamental teachings of Buddhism.

It just sucks. The clergy are not part of the problem. This is the problem.

Because the clergy fails to keep monks in line, Buddhism is experiencing a significant erosion of public faith, driving young people away from its teachings.

Because the clergy gives abbots absolute power over temple affairs without outside control, temple corruption is widespread throughout the country.

Meanwhile, rogue monks freely exploit their saffron robes with various money-making schemes, knowing that they will remain protected as long as they bow down to their religious superiors and grant them favors.

Ineffective and outdated, the centralized Ecclesiastical Council is made up of a small group of frail old men operating in a closed feudal system without effective administrative mechanisms. Efforts by young monks to modernize clerical administration and make it more efficient and responsive to society were crushed by the authoritarian clergy. No monk now dares to tackle clerical reform, fearing being ostracized by autocratic elders who view calls for change as a challenge to their power.

Therefore, the clergy has no mechanism to screen, train, or monitor monks and their behavior. With complete impunity, the situation is getting worse day by day: monks are becoming fraudsters, even poachers, while temples are being transformed into markets of superstition.

According to the monastic discipline established by the Buddha, preceptors should not let newly ordained monks leave the nest until they have been properly trained to practice independently. The failure of the clergy to oversee the training of preceptors and monks therefore essentially violates the mandates of the Buddha.

Unfortunately, seniors don’t care as long as they still enjoy benefits and privileges. And who can blame the lower rung monks when they are simply learning from their religious superiors how to achieve power and wealth.

Clerical dictatorship is at the heart of monastic laxity. As long as this continues, there will be even more shocking news than monk poachers. Reform is essential. Without this, Buddhism under clerical dictatorship will lose the faith of an entire generation and become obsolete.