Monks Lose Relevance as Thailand Grows Richer

[Ensapa]

here's a sad piece on what is going on in thailand these days. Lets hope that there will be a revival in Buddhism in Thailand, but for now, this is the current state of affairs...

Monks Lose Relevance as Thailand Grows Richer
By THOMAS FULLER, December 18, 2012
BAAN PA CHI, Thailand -- The monks of this northern Thai village no longer perform one of the defining rituals of Buddhism, the early-morning walk through the community to collect food. Instead, the temple’s abbot dials a local restaurant and has takeout delivered.


<< Commercial Buddhism in Thailand: Buddhism has been a way of life in Thailand for centuries, but inside the most popular temples is a trend that critics call “fast-food Buddhism.”
 
Young monks rehearsed an evening candlelight ceremony at Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai, Thailand. More Photos »
“Most of the time, I stay inside,” said the abbot, Phra Nipan Marawichayo, who is one of only two monks living in what was once a thriving temple. “Values have changed with time.”

The gilded roofs of Buddhist temples are as much a part of Thailand’s landscape as rice paddies and palm trees. The temples were once the heart of village life, serving as meeting places, guesthouses and community centers. But many have become little more than ornaments of the past, marginalized by a shortage of monks and an increasingly secular society.


 “Consumerism is now the Thai religion,” said Phra Paisan Visalo, one of the country’s most respected monks. “In the past, people went to temple on every holy day. Now, they go to shopping malls.”
The meditative lifestyle of the monkhood offers little allure to the iPhone generation. The number of monks and novices relative to the population has fallen by more than half over the last three decades. There are five monks and novices for every 1,000 people today, compared with 11 in 1980, when governments began keeping nationwide records.

Although it is still relatively rare for temples to close, many districts are so short on monks that abbots here in northern Thailand recruit across the border from impoverished Myanmar, where monasteries are overflowing with novices.

Many societies have witnessed a gradual shift from the sacred toward the profane as they have modernized. What is striking in Thailand is the compressed time frame, a vertiginous pace of change brought on by the country’s rapid economic rise. In a relatively short time, the local Buddhist monk has gone from being a moral authority, teacher and community leader fulfilling important spiritual and secular roles to someone whose job is often limited to presiding over periodic ceremonies.

Phra Anil Sakya, the assistant secretary to the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, the country’s governing body of Buddhism, said that Thai Buddhism needed “new packaging” to match the country’s fast-paced lifestyle. (Phra is the honorific title for monks in Thailand.)

“People today love high-speed things,” he said in an interview. “We didn’t have instant noodles in the past, but now people love them. For the sake of presentation, we have to change the way we teach Buddhism and make it easy and digestible like instant noodles.”

He says Buddhist leaders should make Buddhism more relevant by emphasizing the importance of meditation as a salve for stressful urban lifestyles. The teaching of Buddhism, or dharma, does not need to be tethered to the temple, he said.

“You can get dharma in department stores, or even over the Internet,” he said.

But Phra Paisan is markedly more pessimistic about what is sometimes called “fast-food Buddhism.” He is encouraged by the embrace of meditation among many affluent Thais and the healthy sales of Buddhist books, but he sees basic incompatibilities between modern life and Buddhism.

His life is a portrait of traditional Buddhist asceticism. He lives in a remote part of central Thailand in a stilt house on a lake, connected to the shore by a rickety wooden bridge. He has no furniture, sleeps on the floor and is surrounded by books. He requested that a reporter meet him for an interview at 6 a.m., before he led his fellow monks in prayer, when mist on the lake was still evaporating.

Monks are suffering a decline in “quantity and quality,” he said, partly because young people are drawn to the riches and fast-paced life of the cities. The monastic education of young boys, once widespread in rural areas, has been almost entirely replaced by the secular education provided by the state.

Government figures put the number of monks in the country at 290,000 last year, but Phra Paisan said that Thailand, in fact, had no more than 70,000 full-time monks — about the same as the number of villages in Thailand.
 
Scandals surrounding some monks have contributed to the decline. Social media has helped spread videos of monks partying in monasteries, imbibing alcohol, watching pornographic videos and cavorting with women and men, all forbidden activities. There have also been controversies involving allegations of embezzlement of donations at temples.

William Klausner, a law and anthropology professor who spent a year living in a village in northeastern Thailand in the 1950s, described the declining influence of Buddhist monks as a “dramatic transformation.” Monks once played a crucial role in the community where he lived, helping settle disputes among neighbors and counseling troubled children, he wrote in “Thai Culture in Transition.”

Today, most villages in the area “have only two or three full-time monks in residence, and they are elderly and often sick,” he wrote.

Here in Baan Pa Chi, about an hour’s drive from the northern city of Chiang Mai, villagers describe a paradox. The monastery now has plenty of money, unlike decades ago, because locals and villagers who have moved to cities donate cash for new buildings, ornaments and statues, believing that they can “make merit” and improve their karmic status. But the monastery feels empty on most days.

“People used to leave their children here,” said Anand Buchanet, a 54-year-old construction worker who as a boy was a novice in the temple. “Now, they just leave stray pets.”

Novices once spent months in a monastery as part of what was considered an essential step for boys along the way to adulthood. Today, if they are ordained at all, boys typically spend a week in monk’s robes, giving rise to the term “factory monks” because they are churned out so quickly.

Phra Nipan, the abbot, said his only real role today was to preside over rituals like funerals, weddings and the blessing of a new home. “People today have telephones,” he said wistfully. “If they have troubles, they call their friends.”

[ilikeshugden]

It is really a shame. Consumerism really distorts the world. Now is truly the kaliyuga age, the age of degeneration. With the so-called "innovation" today, virtues are lost. Tradition and culture are destroyed. What a shame. Such sorrow.

[Jessie Fong]

It's so sad to read how this little village does not subscribe to the morning practice of dana. They have succumbed to modern technology and conveniences.

And the abbot of the monastery had this to say : his only real role today was to preside over rituals like funerals, weddings and the blessing of a new home. “People today have telephones,” he said wistfully. “If they have troubles, they call their friends.”

[vajrastorm]

Sad indeed that the beautiful morning practice of dana giving to the monks is beginning to disappear from Thailand, and that the trend of "fast-food Buddhism" has descended on the country. Where temples in villages used to house many monks, now there are only one or two, and they are mostly old and sick.With the shortage of monks and an increasingly secular society, these temples have become "little more than ornaments of the past". Moreover, within a relatively short space of time, the local Buddhist monk is no longer the "moral authority, teacher or community leader" that he used to be. Now, he merely presides over periodic ceremonies and rituals like blessing a house.

Young Thais today prefer to go to shopping malls than to the temple. They prefer the I-phone to meditation. As Pra Anil Sukya says,"Thai Buddhism needs a new packaging....an instant noodle style of teaching the Dharma to match the fast-paced lifestyle of the country!"

[Ensapa]

Perhaps, something can be done about the temples that are losing relevance with the modern world. Perhaps, they need to be more 'out there' and be more relevant to the current crowd. Sure, people can call their friends for advice, but there will always be some matters that normal friends alone cannot solve and it is those that perhaps the old monks can help solve. Perhaps it would help a lot of someone who really care about Buddhism in Thailand analyze the situation and do something about it.

[Big Uncle]

As time goes on, the strength of Theravaden teachings will wan because delusions are getting stronger. People will find it harder and harder to be attracted to Theravaden practice which emphasizes of renunciation and becoming a monk. I think this aspect of Thai Buddhism will be less and less popular because people are embracing and becoming more and more attached to materialism.

It is true too, that perhaps more work should be done to repackage Buddhism to suit people today. I think they should focus on how it can help ease modern day problems and also place less emphasis on being a monk. However, I personally love the tradition of offering food to the monks. I would do that each time I travel to Bangkok and I would do it on Kao San Road, just opposite a big monastery there. It was sad though, the last time I was there, a monk ask me for money instead of food. I ignored him and just offered food.

[buddhalovely]

His life is a portrait of traditional Buddhist asceticism. He lives in a remote part of central Thailand in a stilt house on a lake, connected to the shore by a rickety wooden bridge. He has no furniture, sleeps on the floor and is surrounded by books. He requested that a reporter meet him for an interview at 6 a.m., before he led his fellow monks in prayer, when mist on the lake was still evaporating.

Monks are suffering a decline in “quantity and quality,” he said, partly because young people are drawn to the riches and fast-paced life of the cities. The monastic education of young boys, once widespread in rural areas, has been almost entirely replaced by the secular education provided by the state.

[Manjushri]

Why do monks, Dharma, Buddhism lose its relevance as the society develops, matures and becomes more technologically advance? Why is there a degeneration in the Buddha's teaching, when all it is is a guide to liberating ourselves from the frivilous suffering that we create for ourselves in life?

I guess a big part goes, of course into materialism, but more so indulgence. Indulgence into the life that we have, cherish and hold as "forever". As consumerism expands, many more are beginning to see the world, getting exposure, and because of society's values, deems monastic education being less significant than the normal way to live life. Many choose not to send their kids to monasteries anymore, as a once thriving temple is now solely a place of worship, because there is no continuation from the ancient to the modern, there is no "life" in the temple.

From the article, it read: “People today love high-speed things,” he said in an interview. “We didn’t have instant noodles in the past, but now people love them. For the sake of presentation, we have to change the way we teach Buddhism and make it easy and digestible like instant noodles.”

That is true. Time changes, so does the need for adaptation of methods. I am sure the mathematics that I learned in school is totally different to the mathematics that mum and dad learnt in school. There, an advancement in education syllabus to suit modern day minds, methods and life. And that rate of change is not reflected fast enough, I feel, with Dharma, buddhism, or any religion for the matter a fact.

It is a 2-way thing, though I know that indulgence into materialism can be primarily blamed for destroying what should infact be the normal way of life.

[Rihanna]

Chiangrai News reported that there are five monks and novices for every 1,000 people today , compared with 11 in 1980, when governments began keeping nationwide records.

Although it is still relatively rare for temples to close, many districts are so short on monks that abbots here in northern Thailand recruit across the border from impoverished Myanmar, where monasteries are overflowing with novices.

Many societies have witnessed a gradual shift from the sacred toward the profane as they have modernised . What is striking in Thailand is the compressed time frame, a vertiginous pace of change brought on by the country’s rapid economic rise. In a relatively short time, the local Buddhist monk has gone from being a moral authority , teacher and community leader fulfilling important spiritual and secular roles to someone whose job is often limited to presiding over periodic ceremonies.

Scandals surrounding some monks have contributed to the decline . Social media has helped spread videos of monks partying in monasteries, imbibing alcohol, watching pornographic videos and cavorting with women and men, all forbidden activities.

Recently, I heard from a reliable source that Tibetan monastries are experiencing a drop in number of young boys being ordained. Historically, in Tibet, parents would put their only son into monastries when they are about five years old. Gone are the days when there is an influx of monks going into exile in India to continue their studies. Tibet, under the administration of The Chinese Government, have modernised Tibet and many monks have also migrated to Western countries to seek 'greener pastures'.

This is a sad phenomena. That is why Buddha had predicted that Buddhism will be destroyed from within....

[Midakpa]

This is a sign of a decline in spirituality in modern society. Buddhism is a religion that counters materialism but it is fighting a losing battle. As modern society becomes more and more materialistic, less people are attracted to the religious life. The homeless life is one of renunciation and contemplation. Not many people are able to do this in this day and age when there are so many distractions caused by modern day consumerism. Degeneration among the sangha also does not help since they are supposed to be examples of renunciation of the worldly life.

I believe the sangha must change with the times. It is no longer relevant to live a secluded life in quiet monasteries and only performing rituals for lay people. One way of reaching out to them is through social media. Even the Pope is using social media. They must also be able to live among lay people, and care for them and be of service to them out of compassion. One must accept that most lay people do not want to be monks but that does not mean that they cannot be spiritual and if they practice, they will also have attainments. There are many references in Buddhist literature to men and women living ordinary lives who successfully practised what Buddha taught and realised nirvana.

[jessicajameson]

How odd, I just read this post today - great to see it here on the forum.

It doesn't really surprise me that monks are losing relevance in Thailand. Many people looked down and pinpointed that Tibet used to be really poor, backwards and archaic. However, I feel that it was due to that reason that people were more inclined to stay in the monasteries - especially the higher-levelled incarnations. Life was physically better in the monasteries, as compared to having to slave out in the fields.

Now that on the outside of the monasteries there is the chance of becoming a doctor, engineer, businessman, rock star, rapper etc, the temptation to leave the monastery is much greater. Even the chance for a "better" life in a Western country is much more appealing than being within the walls of a monastery.

Times truly have degenerated. As materialism grows stronger, the number of Buddhist practitioners declines. Thailand is a very materialistic country. We think Thailand, we think go-go girls, bars, drinks, fun, brands, plastic surgery, cheap markets, fashion etc etc. We also do think monks, but the draw to go to Thailand are all the samsaric things.

This article is a great article in that it exposes the reality of what's currently happening.

I like what Midakpa wrote, "One must accept that most lay people do not want to be monks but that does not mean that they cannot be spiritual and if they practice, they will also have attainments. There are many references in Buddhist literature to men and women living ordinary lives who successfully practised what Buddha taught and realised nirvana."

Monks who are highly attained do leave the monasteries and go through the same samsaric ups and downs as we do. In that way what they teach is of greater relevance to us lay people as we can relate to them and they relate to us.

For lay people to be spiritual, and successfully practice what the Buddha taught, lay people would be of "more relevance" to the masses as they (we) can relate better to others.

Hope that somehow made sense! Great article

[sonamdhargey]

This is a sign of degenerate times. Where spirituality are not priority anymore as compared to the olden days. A country with rich history about Buddhist practice has also been affected by the changing times of modernisation. Buddhism now has to suit people and not the other way around where people use to work hard for Dharma, the mentality is about what is in it for me now and not what Dharma can do to help us. Times has change that Buddism and spirituality are like fast food, people just want a quick fix and not work on the underlaying problem which needs long terms measures to overcome.

[hope rainbow]

Consumerism is a "quick fix", and we do live in a world that depends upon people spending more and more and more. Everyday new things are invented and created to feed the "market".
How many times have we gone to a market and found something that we did not know even existed and that we suddenly find essential to us and we even wonder how we have possibly been able to operate our lives previously without that new object. It's an I-Pad, it's a new car, it's a luggage with wheels...
And we buy it, and we feel relieved, we get closer to be "fine", finally...
There is a reason why we live in a world in which the most sought after therapy is shopping therapy!
Then we have buddhist monks who tell us otherwise, and they have a hard time convincing us that there is another more potent therapy...
This is the world we live in. This is the world we have created.

[Aurore]

It's not surprising as the real dharma practice was not really what the Thais practice in the first place.

The Buddha taught 3 methods of merit making for all lay Buddhist to follow which are generosity (dana), morality (sila), and mental development (bhavana).

Generosity is the what the Thai Buddhist practice to for merit making more than anything else. Hence, you will see food offerings being made to monks, supporting the Sangha with material needs, contributing to monastic construction projects, or supporting charitable services. Other than that, there's customary practice to take the five percepts at the beginning of every formal religious ceremonies which most Buddhists will partake. Buddhist holy days are still considered special occasions for making merit in Thailand.

If the Thai Buddhist were to practice all 3 methods of merit making, then no matter how consumerism takes over the country, their roots will remain strong and the lineage of Thai Buddhism will continue to flourish.

[ratanasutra]

With the changing of environment, faith and attitude of people in materialistic social reflect to how people operate mind. From the past,  thai men will ordain to become a monk in order to learn and study Dharma, now a day is just a culture that men should do it in order to show gratitude to their parents and this ordain is in such a short period ie 7 days, 15 days unlike the past which have well prepare, study monk life and take it seriously before become a monk.

It sad to know what was happened and we could not deny that in near future it might happen with other buddhist country which have the grown of materialistic but people have degenerate mind.