Maintaining Buddhism Amidst Crisis : หน้า 190/207

When people lose their faith in Buddhism, they do not teach their children to pay respect to the monks. They show no interest in studying Buddhist teachings and stop making merit. All temple activities, events, and ceremonies become paralyzed. The number of Buddhist people declines. However, behind the scenes, this whole situation is brought about by only a few writers, eager to facilitate a decline in Buddhism. When we hear negative news about monks, as Buddhists, how do we think about it in the right way and what should we do to maintain Buddhism? When there are publications about monks who break the monastic discipline (and thus, do not deserve people's respect), adults must teach their children to think about these issues in the right way: 1) When the press publishes articles about monks who break their monastic discipline, we should not rush to believe it. We should use our wisdom based on reason. As a matter of fact, these monks must go through a judicial process conducted by the Sangha Council. We should not get involved. The Sangha Council will punish the monks in accordance with the monastic discipline. A senior monk once stated that, "Buddhism can be compared to a large pond; whoever reaches it and bathes himself will be clean. However, whoever reaches it and does not bathe himself will remain unclean. Just like becoming a monk in Buddhism, any monk who intentionally practices meditation will have clean and pure physical, verbal and mental means. Any monk who does not practice meditation will remain impure." The Lord Buddha established the monastic discipline and the laypeople should have confidence in the Sangha Council to handle these cases (normally, a monk observes 227 precepts, and a layperson keeps only five precepts.) Although the monk went against the monastic discipline (with or without his awareness), the head monk that governs his temple is responsible for his examination. He will comb through all evidence and question all witnesses. It is wrong for laypeople to independently judge a monk according to their own feelings. If a monk truly violates the monastic discipline, and his actions are so severe to warrant that he disrobe, then he must do so and leave the temple. However, if his actions are not that severe, and result from his carelessness, then he is given a chance to correct himself. If a monk not only breaks the monastic discipline but also the law, both the Sangha Council and the Judiciary are responsible for bringing him to justice. In brief, if a monk violates the monastic discipline, it is wrong for laypeople to judge him on their own. It is also wrong for the press to publish news based on their own inclinations; The Warm Hearted Family 378 Solving Buddhism's Crisis The Warm Hearted Family 379 Solving Buddhism's Crisis