Neighbors are turning on neighbors at this point and I am definitely not happy about that. I do like it when the "law" in this country is applied equally regardless of status...ha!.... but when I heard that a group of 8 monks and a friend of theirs were busted by the cops for having a party complete with beer I thought to myself aren't monks not supposed to have beer?
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I don't know a great deal about Buddhism other than the fact that I like it. They are a generally non-violent religion, the temples smell great, and it just seems peaceful. I did think that monks were supposed to abstain from things like drugs and alcohol though. That may or may not be the case but at least right now, everyone is meant to be abstaining from gathering in groups for parties because of what I consider to be silly covid rules right now.
Neighbors to the Wat Pansao complex (Wat just means "temple" in Thai) called police to complain about noise and to report that people were gathering in violation of the Disease Control Act that forbids these sorts of gatherings. The reports go on to try to make the monks look bad by saying they were "enjoying large portions of roast pork along with their beer." So are monks supposed to starve themselves as well? I've seen plenty of fat monks so that can't be the case.
The police didn't show any special treatment to the orange-clad monks and while none of them will do any jail time they were hit with fines (of course) and suspended jail sentences.
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Now if these were rich people I am quite certain they would not have been arrested. Although Buddhist rich people are meant to become monks for a certain minimum amount of time the "profession" is generally occupied by quite poor people beyond the obligatory time period.
There was no leniency shown to these people based on their religious status and several of the monks were "abbots" which I am going to go ahead presume is something above level 1 monk.
They have been removed from the monkhood or "defrocked" as it is called apparently. They have also received suspended prison sentences. I think it's going a bit far and the thing that scares me about all this is that the Thais have gotten to the point where they are willing to turn in their neighbors, even if they are monks, for the sake of Covid compliance.
I'm not a fan of that and I realize that if it was me having a few people over they would call the cops even quicker. Maybe our restaurant that operates as a speakeasy bar should probably lay low for a while because if this is a trend, foreigners are the easiest targets because we don't know how to fight back legally.
Lol. I know many so called religious people who you would never think would do the things they do and why one must never judge. No idea what monks are allowed to do and very true they have to eat and drink. Why people split on others letting the authorities know what is happening is plain crazy and I bet many would love to get their hands on those fools. I would keep the speakeasy going but just low profile and a set group only.
This isn't about rich vs. poor, it's about GOOD vs EVIL.
I can't speak for Thailand, but in Cambodia I've spent time with lots of monks, especially young ones mostly joining to escape poverty. It is well-known in the countryside that monasteries are often the source of digital porn downloads in the villages. They are often the most educated and know some English, and therefore often know their way around the internet.
In my experience very few actually take it seriously. My Dutch teacher friend whom I often accompanied to the monasteries at night to hang out with young monks, would often often bring cigarettes, beer, Red Bulls, and kung-fu movies on his laptop. Smoking, drinking, and watching kung-fu was mostly he spent his time with them. No problem for me, but it definitely isn't the image portrayed publicly.
I can see this being the case. It is like you said, a way out of poverty or a rite of passage.
There was a Thai guy that is in his 30's and he needed to join a monastery or temple for a certain amount of time as it was his Buddhist obligation. This guy was a drunk and a drug user. Basically other than shaving off all of his hair and eyebrows his life while he was there didn't change a great deal. He said he was high basically all the time, the other monks knew about it, and no one reprimanded him.
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