MENAFN - Arab Times - 12/04/2015 (MENAFN - Arab Times) BANGKOK (AP) Thailand's Buddhism body said it is monitoring monks nationwide for any inappropriate behavior after a video showed monks using luxurious personal items while flying on a private jet. The YouTube video showed one of the monks was wearing stylish aviator sunglasses carrying a luxury brand travel bag and sporting a pair of modern-looking wireless headphones. It attracted criticism from Buddhists nationwide. Office of National Buddhism director-general Nopparat Benjawatananun said Monday that the agency saw the video early this year and had warned the monks from a monastery in Thailand's northeast not to repeat the lavish behavior. A country with the world's largest Buddhist population Thailand has attempted to help Buddha's 2600-year-old doctrine stand the test of time through a variety of means including banning the sale of alcohol on religious holidays. The efforts however are sometimes tainted by the Buddhist monks themselves. Last year about 300 out of 61416 Buddhist monks and novices in Thailand were reprimanded and several were removed from the monkhood because of misconduct ranging from alcohol consumption having sex with women to extortion. The Office also received complaints about monks driving cars and scams and false claims of black magic uses by monks. Nopparat said the Buddhist monks in the video were acting "inappropriately not composed and not adhering to Buddha's teachings of simplicity and self-restraint." Monruedee Bantoengsuk an administrative officer at Khantitham Temple in Sisaket province confirmed to The Associated Press that the monks on the private plane lived at the temple but refused to give details about the trip. "We can explain this but not now" she said saying that the abbot who appeared in the video is currently on a religious tour in France. The images from the video contrasted with the abbot's message on the temple's homepage that read: "The true core of those who preach Buddha's teachings is to not to own any objects at all." "When Lord Buddha was alive there wasn't anything like this. There were no cars smart phones or cameras so the rules were much simpler" said Nopparat. "While the monks need to keep themselves abreast of new knowledge current events and technology they are restrained to choose the appropriate tools." He said one way to prevent the monks from misbehaving is for followers not to spoil them with valuable objects or vices. "In many cases it was the followers who gave the monks the luxury. Some bought them sports cars. This is by no means necessary."

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Thai Buddhist monks criticized for lavish behavior

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Introducing the 9th Global Conference on Buddhism | 8 9 Aug 2015 | Perth | 9gcb.org
BuddhismAustralia #39;s second largest religion The spotlight will fall on Perth #39;s growing role as a cultural and tourism hub for the Australasian region over the August 89 weekend this...

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Dan Harris is author of "10% Happier" and an anchor of ABC News.

I was raised by secular scientists in The People's Republic of Massachusetts. (I did have a Bar Mitzvah -- but only for the money.) I've spent my career as a proud skeptic. My favorite part of being a journalist is the right -- the obligation, really -- to doubt everything and everyone.

And yet, here I am ... a Buddhist.

This declaration means both less and more than you might think.

Less, because Buddhism is not really a faith -- at least not as I understand or practice it. And more, because the version of Buddhism I've embraced is something that could be useful to millions of skeptical people who might otherwise reflectively reject it. Maybe even you.

But first, how the hell did this happen to me?

An on-air Waterloo

It all started with a panic attack on national television.

In 2004, I was filling in on a show called "Good Morning America." (Hint: it airs on a network not named CNN.)

My job that morning was to come on at the top of each hour and read a series of short stories off the Teleprompter. A few seconds into my first newscast, I was overtaken by an overwhelming bolt of fear. My heart started racing, my palms were sweating, my mouth dried up and my lungs seized. I couldn't speak. I had to bail, right in the middle, by breathlessly tossing it back to the main anchors of the show. To say the least, it was pretty embarrassing.

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How a skeptical anchorman became a Buddhist

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Kadampa Buddhism
An introduction to Kadampa Buddhism.

By: Potala Kadampa Buddhist Centre, Belfast

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Kadampa Buddhism - Video

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Buddhism Talk - Birth-Death-Impermanence - Part 1
Informal talks to answer basic questions about Buddhism especially focused on Nichiren Buddhism and Quantum Life Buddhism. Crucial thinking to understand the Buddhas teachings and the correct...

By: Threefold Lotus Kwoon

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Buddhism Talk - Birth-Death-Impermanence - Part 1 - Video

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Buddhism at a glance.
Want to learn about Buddhism?

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BANGKOK In deeply religious Thailand, monks have long been revered. But badly behaved clergy, corruption scandals, and the vast wealth amassed by some temples has many asking if something is rotten at the heart of Thai Buddhism.

From selfies on private jets to multimillion-dollar donations from allegedly crooked businessmen, Thailands monks are coming under increasing fire for their embrace of commercialism so much so that even the military junta is threatening to intervene.

In Wat Hua Lumphong, a temple in downtown Bangkok, garlands of bank notes flutter in the breeze as trader Sakorn Suker slips a 20 baht note ($1) into an urn.

It makes me feel good, boosts my health and makes me do better business, Suker said.

His donation entitles him to take a lucky floating candle in the shape of a flower.

Nearby, coin-operated machines similar to jukeboxes, but with a Buddha statue on top churn out lucky numbers for the faithful as kneeling devotees hand over envelopes stuffed with cash. Many pick up a tax-reduction certificate on their way out.

In one corner of the temple complex sits a monk in an air-conditioned box.

Donation means sacrifice. You sacrifice your things, sacrifice your time, sacrifice your money, sacrifice your heart, explained the monk, Pra Maha Noppadom.

In contrast to the increasingly empty pews and coffers of many European churches, temples remain a boom business in Thailand.

The overwhelmingly Buddhist nation is one of the most generous countries in the world, according to the 2014 World Giving Index.

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Checkbook Buddhism offers Thais a stairway to heaven but brings corruption to temples

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Discovering Buddhism Module 5 Death and Rebirth

By: Buddhist Brother

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Discovering Buddhism Module 5 Death and Rebirth - Video

BANGKOK In deeply religious Thailand, monks have long been revered. But badly behaved clergy, corruption scandals, and the vast wealth amassed by some temples has many asking if something is rotten at the heart of Thai Buddhism.

From selfies on private jets to multimillion-dollar donations from allegedly crooked businessmen, Thailands monks are coming under increasing fire for their embrace of commercialism so much so that even the military junta is threatening to intervene.

In Wat Hua Lumphong, a temple in downtown Bangkok, garlands of bank notes flutter in the breeze as trader Sakorn Suker slips a 20 baht note ($1) into an urn.

It makes me feel good, boosts my health and makes me do better business, Suker said.

His donation entitles him to take a lucky floating candle in the shape of a flower.

Nearby, coin-operated machines similar to jukeboxes, but with a Buddha statue on top churn out lucky numbers for the faithful as kneeling devotees hand over envelopes stuffed with cash. Many pick up a tax-reduction certificate on their way out.

In one corner of the temple complex sits a monk in an air-conditioned box.

Donation means sacrifice. You sacrifice your things, sacrifice your time, sacrifice your money, sacrifice your heart, explained the monk, Pra Maha Noppadom.

In contrast to the increasingly empty pews and coffers of many European churches, temples remain a boom business in Thailand.

The overwhelmingly Buddhist nation is one of the most generous countries in the world, according to the 2014 World Giving Index.

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119.64 /$ (5 p.m.)

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What Faith Means in Buddhism (Q A at New Zealand Massey University)
Global Speaking Tour of Universities by Khenpo Sodargye.

By: guan zhong

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