The Buddhist temple was left without clergy: they all failed a drug test and were sent to rehabilitation.
Thailand is undergoing an unprecedented national campaign against drug trafficking. The police check everything: from officials, doctors to monks. The latter, as it turned out, could not pass the test.
Last week, all the clerics and leaders of a temple in Phetchabun province tested positive for methamphetamine. The temple had to be closed, and the monks had to be cured.
lived in donations
Local official Bunlert Tintaptai told media that police had tested the urine of four monks, including the abbot. All men tested positive. The clergy had to be sent to a drug rehabilitation clinic.
At the same time, the performance of any rituals in the temple was suspended due to the lack of novices here. In particular, local parishioners were concerned that they would not be able to share in the “merit” by giving food and money to monks (sacred men) as a good deed.
The regional authorities turned to the head of the local monastery for help, who promised to assign some new monks to the temple in the area to solve the problems of the parishioners.
drug problem
It is unclear why police chose this particular temple or these particular monks for drug testing, but the investigation comes against the backdrop of a broad national campaign against drug trafficking.
Thailand, like many other countries in Southeast Asia, has seen a large increase in the amount of methamphetamine passing through the country in the past two years.
Most of Thailand’s drugs come from the Golden Triangle, the well-known source of the synthetic drug trade where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet.
Since the coup in Myanmar in February 2021, the country has become the largest producer of both crystal methamphetamine and methamphetamine tablets known as “yaba”. Therefore, in recent years, this particular drug has become a serious problem in Thailand. Seizures reached an all-time high in 2021, with authorities seizing nearly 172 tons of methamphetamine and more than a billion yaba tablets in total.
Murder in kindergarten
Despite the large traffic of methamphetamine in Thailand, the main reason for the new campaign to fight drug trafficking in the country is the massacre at a kindergarten in October of this year. The former policeman, 34-year-old Panyu Khamrab, in a state of drug intoxication after he could not find his son, opened fire in the garden. Then 36 people died, including 22 children.
The man ran away from the crime scene. Returning home, he shot his wife and son, after which he committed suicide. Panyu Khamrab was reportedly fired from the police force in 2021 for drug use and dealing and was under investigation at the time of the massacre. Because of this, the country’s authorities decided to conduct a massive campaign to fight drug trafficking in the country.
Not the first case with the monks
Note that drug use by Phetchabun monks is not an isolated case of bad behavior by Thai clerics. In recent years, the institution of Thai Buddhism has been tarnished by a series of high-profile arrests and scandals involving the corruption, murder and drug-trafficking of clergy.
In March, Luang Pu Tuanchai, a monk who rose to fame in 2020 after claiming to have omniscient powers, was charged with drunk driving and drug possession. In early January, another monk was caught using methamphetamine pills and selling them to local youths.
Such incidents undermine public trust in Buddhist monks in Thailand. In March, experts told VICE World News that the national Buddhist monastic order needed reform to weed out unscrupulous individuals and restore the religion’s image of purity and righteousness.
“The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to bring enlightenment to people,” said Sombun Chungprampri, social activist and executive secretary of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists.
“(But – ed.) Much of society is learning that not everyone who wears saffron can be a saint or a respectable person,” he added.
Remember that Buddhism is the official religion of Thailand, and it is practiced by about 93 percent of the population. More than 300 thousand monks live in the country.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.