Dan74 wrote:alan wrote:Sad, but true--all religions attract losers, those emotionally empty, and layabouts. It's even worse in cultures that encourage Monk-worship.
Take off your blinders, friends. We have a real problem here. Buddhism is dying because of people like these.
I am sure there are corrupt monks and even whole temples, Alan. Here in Australia, the temples I know a little about seem to be doing quite well. As for Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc, what can we do?
About this particular case, I have been around long enough to know that not everything that circulates around can be trusted and I would really hate for people to be unfairly depicted. These stories can spread very quickly and ruin people's lives, if the laity turns away from the temple due to rumours, for instance.
To give some context to my skepticism, just the other week I was visiting a prison here. A middle-aged respectable looking inmate came to the Buddhist service and proceeded to reveal horrific things about a respected Thai monk resident in Melbourne. He knew a lot about him, rolled off many details, but mixed in with the fact, what gradually emerged was nightmarish fantasy. Along with me, there was a Zen monk there who knew the monk in question quite well. Bit by bit it became clear that the inmate was not mentally sound and was likely there for stalking and harassing the poor bhikkhu.
It is entirely possible this text has be written by a person in a similar circumstance. For all we know the author could have been an absolute nut case, but obviously a very cunning one with a great imagination and attention to detail.
All the more reason to be having this discussion, because if enough attention is drawn to it, we might get an answer from someone who has personal knowledge of the veracity of these claims.