The intensifying dispute over whether Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has the moral authority to lead the country should be used to spark a campaign to restore morality in politics and society, a revered monk says.

Phra Pisal Visalo, abbot of Wat Pa Mahawan in Chaiyaphum province, said Thai society was facing a moral crisis because Buddhism had not done a good enough job to make its teaching relevant to a fast-changing society in which materialistic values prevail.

“Today, evil comes in many forms such as greed and corruption . . . which many people find acceptable,” Phra Pisal said. “Buddhism has not done enough to address the problems arising from those evils.

“It really hasn’t adopted new teachings to ingrain a sense of right or wrong in modern society.”

Phra Pisal is taking a critical look at the role of Buddhism with his group Dhamma Koasana (Dhamma Promotion), which on Friday launched a series of public events running until December to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late scholar monk Buddhadhassa Bhikku of Wat Suan Moke in Surat Thani. Dhamma Koasana is an umbrella of 15 foundations, academic institutions, media organisations and private corporations.

Phra Pisal said disciples of Buddhadhassa Bhikku and other religious practitioners resolved

to become more aggressive about bringing dhamma teaching to society, especially those occupying the centre of power in Bangkok.

The public events will include monthly dhamma talks on relevant topics such as politics and the morals of leaders, the self-sufficient economy, violence, interfaith understanding and application of the dhamma to working and living in society.

“Some people talk about amending the law to fix political crises such as to close loopholes for corruption. But fixing the law alone won’t be able to outsmart the cunning. We have to restore moral values and make them relevant to people in society again.”

The sense of righteousness had been transformed from the core of moral values to new tools in society such as

the law, said philosophy lecture Dr Suwanna Satha-anan of Chulalongkorn University. For example, people prefer to seek justice through law rather than sticking to the rule of karma and forgiveness as taught by religion.

“But Thai society still has a long way to go if we are to seek justice from the law,” she said. “The TV show

CSI [Crime Scene Investigation] is a reflection of Thai society. The opportunity to seek the truth is dim if the fundamentals are not right at the [judicial] levels, such as politics in forensic offices and professional jealousy among people working in the system.”

Suwanna agreed with Phra Pisal that it was important to redefine Buddhist teaching to explain new phenomenon in society and strengthen the sense of morals in people.

“We can start by explaining the Five Precepts in a modern way,” she suggested.

Nantiya Tangwisutijit

The Nation