Police officers escorting the Buddhist monk outside the Central Investigation Bureau in Bangkok after he was arrested on charges including embezzlement and money laundering. — THAI NEWS PIX/AFP
IT has been the biggest news in the region – a scandal involving a senior Thai Buddhist monk: a sex video, millions of baht in alleged misappropriated temple funds, piles of cash, gold bars, jewellery, and land documents.
The former abbot of Wat Phutthaisawan in Ayutthaya, a prominent royal monastery, was arrested after police investigated allegations that more than 92 million baht (over RM11mil) in temple funds had been diverted.
Searches subsequently uncovered assets running into hundreds of millions of baht.
Police are still investigating which assets belonged to the temple and whether other people were involved, The Star reported.
Then came the other shock. Investigators reportedly found CCTV footage showing the 66-year-old monk in a sexual relationship with a 47-year-old single mum.
A Buddhist monk is expected to observe celibacy and renounce material possessions, so the images were bound to cause outrage.
But perhaps the most important lesson from this extraordinary case has little to do with the video.
It is about the faithful, regardless of their religions, who place extraordinary amounts of trust in supposedly religious figures.
They believe that someone who wears the robes, irrespective of what colour, and preaches morality and speaks about the afterlife must somehow be above the ordinary weaknesses of human beings.
That is where we can become dangerously naive.
Monks, priests, theologians, nuns and religious teachers are human beings.
Yes, most religious figures are people who are compassionate, forthright, righteous, and sincere, and they have dedicated their lives to God.
But there are also many who are tempted by money, power, sex, status, and influence, and use God’s name in vain.
Religious robes do not make someone incapable of wrong-doing.
This is not an argument against religion. Quite the opposite. Faith deserves protection from those who exploit it.
The danger comes when we stop distinguishing between a religious teaching and the person delivering it.
A religious leader may speak with great authority, but that does not mean he possesses divine authority or even common sense. It doesn’t mean his interpretations cannot be challenged or are even correct.
Someone claiming to speak on behalf of God should, perhaps more than anyone else, be subjected to added scrutiny rather than be exempted from it.
We should be particularly cautious when religious figures begin presenting their personal opinions as unquestionable divine instructions, or worse, political opinions, in the name of God.
Once someone convinces followers that questioning him is equivalent to questioning God, accountability disappears.
When accountability disappears, power can become intoxicating.
The Thai scandal is especially disturbing because the alleged behaviour appears to represent almost the complete opposite of the values expected from a monk: celibacy on one hand, material renunciation on the other.
Yet we should also resist the temptation to turn this into a convenient morality tale about Thailand or Buddhism.
Every religion has had its scandals. Every society has had religious leaders who have fallen from grace.
Some have been exposed for sexual misconduct, some for financial abuse, some for political manipulation, and others for using their religious standing to silence criticism.
It is not restricted to certain countries or institutions. We should never assume that a person is morally perfect simply because he occupies a religious position.
Temples, mosques, churches, and other religious institutions handle enormous amounts of money, much of it donated by ordinary people who believe they are contributing to a sacred cause.
That money deserves proper accounting. Religious institutions should not be treated as places beyond scrutiny simply because they support a religion. Nor should religious leaders be given a free pass because they are revered.
We are all capable of weaknesses. That is precisely why we should be careful about those who claim to be above human weakness.
Of course, we should not judge an entire faith by the actions of some individuals. But neither should faith be used as a shield to protect individuals from legitimate questions.
Respect religious belief. Respect religious institutions. Respect those who dedicate their lives to serving others, but never confuse respect with blind obedience.
In medieval Europe, there was a practice known as the sale of indulgences, which was supposed to reduce the temporal punishment associated with sins that had already been forgiven, according to the faith.
It was not officially a ticket guaranteeing entry into heaven. However, by the late Middle Ages, some preachers marketed indulgences in ways that made them sound very much like a financial transaction involving salvation.
One German religious figure in the early 16th century reportedly said that for every coin that went into the collection box, a soul would be released from purgatory (a temporary state or place after death before the souls are cleansed of their sins before they can enter heaven).
No one can be guaranteed a place in heaven. It is God, by whatever name we call him, that will decide our fate.
For sure, it won’t be because of how we vote or who we support politically.
The important distinction is that the problem isn’t religion itself – it is human beings exploiting religious authority.
