Buddhism is more akin to a philosophy than a religion. It requires no supernatural beliefs. You either practice the eightfold path or you don't; and it is prone to the same excesses as other systems. See the book Zen At War (1997) for plenty of examples. Those lovely Japanese Zen gardens, said to be for meditation, doubled as military parade grounds and were very popular among medieval Japanese warriors.

Actually he did live in that world, but he left it all behind. They'd be wise to remember that.

To keep his son from witnessing the miseries and suffering of the world, Siddhartha's father raised him in opulence in a palace built just for the boy and sheltered him from knowledge of religion and human hardship. According to custom, he married at the age of 16, but his life of total seclusion continued for another 13 years.
The prince reached his late 20s with little experience of the world outside the walls of his opulent palaces.

In Thailand, young men join the monastery the same way kids in the United States go off to summer camp. Perhaps a better example is how Swedes spend their mandatory "military" service. So you'll have (male) Thai kids, rich and poor, going in and out again.

It's pretty different from most Westerners' impression of Buddhism, which is basically Tibetan.

Reaction from Thailand's National Office of Buddhism, from the English-language Bangkok Post.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/35…

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/35…

There is no emperor but the emperor of ice cream.

This is why I can't accept the Western deification of the Dalai Lama, who talks about peace and justice but wants his followers to live in a feudal world.

Before enlightenment: chop wood, carry water.
After enlightenment: chop wood, carry water.

The material world doesn't disappear. You still have to live in it, regardless of any enlightenment you may have attained. You can choose to eschew the opulence, however.

If people aren't really pursuing enlightenment, but are forced/required to go to monasteries, as @3 points out, chances are they may get sucked into material pleasures just like anyone else.

Using the image of a not-really-practicing monk to discredit the validity of a philosophy is just silly.

There are places where Buddhism is the 'state "religion"', which is also just silly.

@7: He has always just been a tyrant who wants his lands and vassals back so they can slave for him. He likely laughs himself to sleep every night about how stupid and easy to fool we Americans are.

@8, ftw, Charles is trolling with the post. Also agree with @7 that the deification is overly simplistic, but I do think the Dalai Lama is serving an important role in drawing attention to the actions of CPC.

@9, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

@1 Buddhism is certainly a religion -- religions do not have to have a diety to be a religion (although Mahayana Buddhism does deify the Buddha much more than Theravada).

@9 Children who study at monasteries in SE Asia can indeed leave whenever they like, although there may be social pressure to remain. And children can join the Sangka for as little as one day. While there may be pedophilia among some Buddhist monks, the fact that many monks are temporary monks (including some married men with children, for example) who can return to non-celibate life likely eases some of that pressure.

And in Southeast Asia, homosexuality is more tolerated (countries are more heteronormative than homophobic), so gays aren't driven to the monkhood in the way that gay Catholics are driven to the priesthood. Tibetan Buddhism is virulently anti-gay, Mahayana and Theravada less so.

@9 I'd like to see links to stories...

In terms of the "materialism" of monks, sure, some may just be rich kids sent nice things by their parents. But it is also true that since lay Buddhists make merit by giving to monks, it's possible that the bags were given to them, or that a rich sponsor paid for them to fly a private jet to conduct a ceremony. And aviator shades? You can buy those for pennies (well, baht) anywhere in Thailand. They're not a sign of wealth, but rather they cut down on glare and are good for your eyes when it's bright out.

Buddhism, like a lot of things, is really big. Because of its bigness you can find just about anything.

Deity figures that people pray to for things? Yep.
People living in caves? Done.
Bored laypeople who go to a few things a year? It's in there.
Sorcery? Oh yeah.
Pedophiles, saints, con artists, zealots, all that and more.

Their are corrupt monks just like their are corrupt priests.

We really idealize Buddhism in the west and have condensed it down to an attractive pure product. It is not the reality.

@14: agreed. It is difficult to make any affirmative statement about Buddhism that is completely free of contradictions and assumptions. It can be useful to distinguish between Buddhism as a belief system, as an ethical system, as a cultural institution, as an economic force, etc. Just like Judaism, etc.

As often practiced in the West, Buddhism does not require supernatural belief including belief in reincarnation. It is practiced very differently in other parts of the world.

Individuals with the clothing & lifestyles of Buddhist monks but who enjoy lives of luxury and privilege are by definition not Buddhist monks.

@16

Agreed. A guy I know that is like a sangha mate(we have a grand lama in common) said that most western Buddhists are more like Kundun while he(and me, truth be told) are more Golden Child(with spirits and all the stuff that makes most westerners cringe)

The history of monasticism in organized religion: some dudes are repelled by the wealth and hedonistic excess of the Church and its institutions, founding their own monastic order according to principles of strict asceticism. The laity are so impressed with this piety they donate massive amounts of land and money. In a few generations it becomes a club house for the gentry's second sons. Some dude are repelled by the wealth and hedonistic excess of the Church and its institutions...

What @3 said. This has much more to do with Thailand than Buddhism. Everyone who says otherwise is making lazy assumptions about a very, very diverse belief system.