A LESSON IN MODERATION
When the Lord Buddha gave his first sermon on living life in moderation more than 2,500 years ago, he might not have appreciated the fact that people are greedy these days.
Or even if he knew people are so overpowered by worldly desires that they would do anything to make themselves rich, would he have changed his teachings? Probably not, because he believed living free from rapacity is a pathway to end suffering, which is what Buddhists have always longed for. That’s a fact.
More than 25 centuries have passed since the Lord Buddha left behind his teachings and attained nirvana. Asarnha Bucha Day, which was on Saturday, is the day Theravada followers celebrate the Lord Buddha’s first sermon “Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta”, which means “turning of the wheel of truth”.
In a nutshell, the sermon talks about living life in temperance. Life should be free from two extremes, sensual pleasures or self-indulgence, and self-mortification. These are the major causes of suffering.
Ask around today if people understand what Asarnha Bucha stands for, how important it is, what the Lord Buddha did and said on this day, and sadly yet unsurprisingly, they might stare at you blankly — even though the religion on their identification card reads Buddhism.
Set aside random people on the street, let’s also ask Pranom Kongpikul, deputy director of the National Office of Buddhism (NOB), what living life in moderation actually implies. Pranom was recently accused of being linked to the embezzlement of 13 million baht in maintenance funds from Wat Phanan Choeng in Ayutthaya province.
The scandal started off in late 2013 when the NOB official contacted the temple’s abbot and informed him that the NOB would provide 10 million baht in financial aid to the temple’s restoration project.
However, she asked the temple to keep only 2 million baht and donate the rest of the funds — or 8 million baht — to other needy temples. The abbot agreed and started the money transfer as directed.
History repeated itself the following year when Pranom got in touch with the abbot again and said the NOB would give the temple another 10 million baht. She asked the temple to keep only 5 million baht and transferred the rest back to her so that she could lend a helping hand to other poor temples elsewhere.
In total, the pilfering involved 13 million baht which has now disappeared, as if banknotes can evaporate. Where has this money gone? This is the question the public wants answered. A few accused in the case have fled to other countries.
Wat Phanan Choeng is only one of the 12 temples across the country, many in Lampang and Amnat Charoen, being investigated for embezzlement of maintenance funds worth more than 60 million baht dispensed by the NOB.
The Counter Corruption Division said that they are prepared to expand the embezzlement investigation to cover other types of funds granted to the temples by the NOB. They are also to investigate 23 other temples countrywide. This is definitely not Thailand’s first embezzlement case where people closely involved with Buddhism committed a breach of not just the law but also morality.
Even those in orange robes commit crimes. The former abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Pathum Thani, Phra Dhammajayo has five arrest warrants against him for money-laundering and receiving stolen property. Fugitive monk Luang Pu Nenkham was found to be linked to rape, fraud and money-laundering.
It doesn’t matter if the corrupt are laymen or monks.
Regardless of the colour of their clothes, they should all be asked if they really understand any of the Lord Buddha’s teachings or at least the basic ones like living life in moderation. They should be asked to ponder what moderation means to them. Stealing donation money? Exploiting people’s faith and asking for their money before running away? That’s not even close to moderation.
After the Lord Buddha became enlightened, he waited for seven weeks before deciding to preach. During those weeks, there was this one moment when he thought his dhamma was so deep and profound no one would understand, especially those full of greed and desire. They would listen to his teachings in vain so he thought he’d better not preach at all.
In the end, he came to realise that people were different and that they could be categorised into and compared with four lotus types: lotus above water or very wise people who would understand dhamma at the first hearing; lotus on water surface or people who would understand his teachings with some effort; lotus under water surface or those who would one day understand dhamma; and lotus stuck in mud referring to the hopeless and ignorant.
With mercy, eventually the Lord Buddha decided to spread his enlightened teachings regardless of the people’s intelligence.
But wise or unwise, people should never be overthrown by greed and commit crimes because after all, we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it.
Stealing donation money? Exploiting people’s faith? That’s not even close to moderation
Arusa Pisuthipan is the deputy editor of the section of the