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From time to time we hear negative news about unruly Buddhist monks and their unholy acts. They get involved in crimes ranging from the petty to the fatal. While the number of such cases is not alarming when compared to the size of the entire Buddhist clergy - although many petty offences involving monks probably go unreported - we hear more and more frequently about bad monks, and that is disheartening for devout Buddhists.

There are cases in which monks steal valuable objects from their temples, rape or molest minors, sell drugs and even kill people. That in addition to acts that are not illegal but go against religious precepts, such as drinking, sex, visiting entertainment places or viewing pornography.

Buddhists often complain that "religion is in a decline" whenever news about bad monks surfaces, but no drastic action is ever taken to keep bad people out of monastic orders.

Part of the job is done by a group of monks known as "monastic police" (phra vinyadhikan), who keep an eye out for men in saffron who fail to live up to the vows they made on the day they were ordained. The monastic police, often with the help of regular police, take the unruly monks to the supervisory monk in the area for forced disrobement.

But there is no law preventing them from getting ordained again. There have been cases when they have done so shortly after being disrobed. And the monastic police shut the stable door when the horse has bolted.

Wouldn't it be better to adopt a system that better screened men who want to enter the monkhood? The authorities should make it more difficult, particularly for those who wish to stay in for a long term.

It is easy to get ordained in Thailand if you can afford it and can memorise the necessary chants for the ceremony. There has long been a saying about unholy reasons for ordination, such as to avoid the draft, to mend a broken heart, to get free food, to wait for a job or to join friends who get ordained.

The major reason why most Thai men get ordained is simply to preserve the tradition, in the belief that their parents acquire merit from the good deed. Such people are in the monkhood for a short time, in most cases no longer than the three months of Buddhist Lent.

Unlike other sects, Thai Theravada does not require lifetime commitment. But there are monks who opt to observe the vow of celibacy for the rest of their lives. Many of them become abbots of their temples and highly revered figures in their communities. If some of this group are later found to have broken their vows or the law, the physical and psychological impact on the religion and the worshippers is far greater than anything temporary or seasonal monks can do.

Therefore it may be more sensible to set tougher requirements for men who plan to be in the monastic world for a long term. And monks who are disrobed due to severe violations of monastic rules, such as breaking the vow of celibacy or committing murder, should not be allowed to get ordained again.

Aspirants who plan to be in the monastic world for a long term should be subjected to a test of determination, first practising the eight precepts for strict Buddhists for a period of time to ensure that they are really prepared for all 227 a monk has to abide by.

A test of determination like this is used in Thai Buddhist temples overseas, particularly ones that are overseen by foreign-born abbots ordained in Thailand. Perhaps they have found flaws in the system.