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Thread: Buddhists behaving badly

  1. #31

    15-second-long scuffle, featuring a lot of what appears to be hair-pulling

    I didn't see the hair-pulling but it would have had to have been below the belt.

  2. #32
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  3. #33
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    Beat me to the punch, PalmStriker

    Forgive the merge, but we do already have this thread going. I'm copying this to our WildAid-Tiger-Claw-Champion thread too, just to ttt that one.

    Thu Jun 2, 2016 6:35am EDT Related: ENVIRONMENT, THAILAND
    Three monks charged in Thailand as tiger potions, charms point to illicit trade
    BANGKOK | BY PATPICHA TANAKASEMPIPAT


    A Buddhist monk walks past a tiger before officials start moving them from Thailand's controversial Tiger Temple, a popular tourist destination which has come under fire in recent years over the welfare of its big cats in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, Thailand, May...
    REUTERS/CHAIWAT SUBPRASOM

    Thai authorities charged three Buddhist monks on Thursday after they were caught trying to smuggle tiger skins and charms made from tiger parts out a temple which monks said was a tiger sanctuary but critics said was a money-spinning tourist trap.

    The Buddhist temple west of Bangkok has long been popular with tourists who paid about $20 each to get in and pose for pictures with its tigers, and to feed cubs and walk among them.

    But the temple had come under mounting allegations of abuse and illicit wildlife trafficking and authorities armed with a court order raided it on Monday to confiscate the 137 tigers found there and take them to a government wildlife sanctuary.

    The discovery on Thursday of the tiger skins and charms, or amulets, made from skins in a pick-up truck, and jars containing the bodies of tiger cubs in the temple, pointed to an even more lucrative business than thought.

    "The jars have labels, so I think they've made medicine here," said Adisorn Nuchdamrong, deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, who has been overseeing the raid to remove the temple's tigers and search its premises.

    Authorities found 20 glass jars containing baby tigers and tiger organs in a "laboratory" in the temple, reinforcing suspicion it was making folk medicine, he said.

    Tiger parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine, a multi-million dollar business that has driven tigers in the wild to the brink of extinction and fueled the rearing of tigers in parts of Asia, especially in China.

    "We will discover more as we search on," Adisorn told Reuters.

    Two temple devotees and a monk found in the pick-up truck, and two monks who helped load it, were charged under wildlife laws, Adisorn said.

    Representatives of the temple were not available for comment.

    The confiscation of the tiger products followed the discovery on Wednesday of 40 dead tiger cubs in a freezer.

    Wildlife officials suspect the cubs were being preserved for use in potions.

    Thailand is well known as a hub for illicit trafficking of wildlife products, including ivory.

    Activists had for years criticized the temple and urged tourists to shun it, and complained that wildlife protection laws were poorly enforced.

    The Department of National Parks had removed 84 out of the 137 tigers found at the temple by Thursday.

    Workers have been using tranquilizer darts to sedate the animals before lifting them into cages and on to trucks for the journey to the government sanctuary.

    (Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert Birsel)
    Wonder what our freelance contributor Dax Howard has to say about this. He wrote Hit Tiger: No really, go hit that tiger in our MAY+JUNE 2015 issue which discussed when he worked at the Tiger Temple.
    Gene Ching
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  4. #34
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    Dax commented on his facebook feed

    Dax also posted this...and more.

    Forty dead tiger cubs found in freezer at Thai temple
    Officials have removed 61 live tigers from Tiger Temple in ongoing operation after allegations of wildlife trafficking


    Adisorn Noochdumrong, the deputy director general of the Department of National Parks, stands by the carcasses of 40 tiger cubs and a bearcat found at the Tiger Temple. Photograph: Dario Pignatelli/Getty Images

    Oliver Holmes in Bangkok and John Vidal
    Wednesday 1 June 2016 08.36 EDT Last modified on Wednesday 1 June 2016 17.00 EDT

    Wildlife authorities in Thailand have found 40 tiger cubs in a freezer during a police raid on Tiger Temple, a tourist attraction that has faced repeated allegations of animal trafficking.

    The discovery occurred after officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), backed by police, closed the temple this week to relocate 137 tigers to government-run sanctuaries.

    “International pressure concerning illegal wildlife trafficking is also part of why we’re acting now,” said Adisorn Noochdumrong, DNP deputy director general, who said that the cubs’ carcasses were found in a kitchen area.

    “They must be of some value for the temple to keep them. But for what is beyond me,” he told Reuters.

    The cubs, some of them bloodied and mangled, were laid out on the floor along with other animals, including a binturong, a small rare species also known as a bearcat.

    Promoting itself as a spiritual sanctuary for humans and animals, Tiger Temple has been keeping the big cats and other animals for 15 years. It charges tourists to take photos of themselves stroking adult tigers and bottle-feeding cubs.

    The tigers are cared for by staff and volunteers. Monks reside at the Buddhist temple, west of Bangkok in Kanchanaburi province.

    Wildlife authorities have removed 61 animals so far and vowed to close the temple for good. The site has been accused of illegally breeding tigers and some visitors say the animals appear to be drugged. A handler was recently filmed smacking a tiger on the head.

    The temple denies accusations of abuse and trafficking and other visitors have lauded the conditions and the care taken over the animals.

    The raid is the culmination of a battle that has been going on for years between the government and the temple, which says the tigers will be worse off in the care of the DNP.

    Responding to requests for comment, the temple said on its Facebook page that a vet had requested the cubs be frozen and preserved six years ago. “He made that decision probably to keep as proof against the allegations of selling cubs,” the temple said.

    It added that Thai authorities were “fully aware” the cubs were being kept frozen. The temple pointed to a post dated 4 March that directly referred to the preserved cubs.

    “In 2010, the ex-vet of Tiger Temple changed [the] policy. Instead of cremation, the deceased cubs were preserved in jars or kept frozen. We have documented all the deaths from 2010 and have photographic evidence of them still being within the temple,” it added.

    Thailand is a central route for illicit wildlife trade through south-east Asia, including ivory and rhino horn. Tiger parts, including bone and *****, are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Raids often find the tigers cut in half with their organs preserved on ice.

    The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species banned the trade in tiger parts and products in 2007.

    Two weeks ago, a 26-year-old man from the central province of Ha Tinh in Vietnam was found with four frozen tiger cubs at the border of Laos. He said he had bought the carcasses from a Laotian at a border market for 2 million Vietnamese Dong (£62). He was caught while delivering them to the buyer.

    The move to shut down the temple has been widely praised by animal rights groups.

    “The Tiger Temple has been involved in the illegal trade for years and animal and conservation groups have long tried to have it closed,” said Debbie Banks, campaigner on tigers and wildlife crime at the Environmental Investigation Agency in London.

    The charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said this week that the temple was “hell for animals” and called on tourists to stop visiting any animal attractions.

    The WWF (formerly the World Wide Fund For Nature) also commended the DNP for the raid.

    “This week’s actions to remove the tigers from the Tiger Temple are long overdue and we strongly encourage the Department of National Parks to make the removal of the tigers permanent,” said Yowalak Thiarachow, country director of WWF-Thailand.

    “The Tiger Temple has been posing as a sanctuary for tigers while secretly acting as a tiger farm and selling tigers and tiger parts on the black market for an enormous profit,” he added.

    Thailand has an estimated 1,200-1,300 captive tigers in at least 33 facilities, he said.
    Gene Ching
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  5. #35
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    Thanks, Gene ! I couldn't locate this thread but now I know it's in the Shaolin forum.

  6. #36
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    Killer taking refuge

    This reminds me of the old Shaolin creation myths, how criminals, warlords and political refugees allegedly took refuge at Shaolin and added their martial skills to the curriculum. Of course, in this modern-day context, it's totally different. I doubt Zhang contributed his stabbing method to the monks of Longxing (if they even have a martial tradition there).

    Monk on the run: Chinese 'killer' becomes temple abbot
    AFP 8h


    A Chinese man who lived on the run as a monk for 16 years after allegedly killing three people was discovered when he applied for a passport to travel and submitted his fingerprints © AFP/File Manan Vatsyayana

    Beijing (AFP) - A suspected murderer on the run for 16 years in China found refuge in Buddhist temples, eventually rising to become an abbot, state media said Wednesday.

    Zhang Liwei was detained by police earlier this month on suspicion of stabbing three people to death with accomplices in 2000, the Beijing News reported.

    After the killings in his home province of Heilongjiang, deep in northeastern China, Zhang fled nearly 2,000 kilometres (more than 1,000 miles) south to Anhui, changing his name and finding work as a temple cook and ticket-seller, it said.

    Later he moved to the Longxing temple in Fengyang county, shaving his own head and proclaiming himself a monk.

    He became a member of a local political consultative congress -- an organ of the county government -- and two years ago the monks elected him abbot on the recommendation of his predecessor, according to the report.

    He was only unmasked when he applied for a passport to travel abroad and submitted his fingerprints -- which allegedly matched those of the wanted man.

    The monks appreciated his efforts to improve their living conditions and buildings, the report said, adding that the temple had donated around a million yuan ($150,000) to charitable causes in recent years and Zhang was supporting two rural orphans financially.

    But a neighbourhood nun was unmoved.

    "The Buddha tells us to be contrite," the report quoted her as saying. "He should have turned himself in if he sincerely repented of what he did."
    Gene Ching
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  7. #37
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    Slightly OT

    Not sure if this is 'Buddhists behaving badly' because their soundsystem was so loud of if the tourist deserves 3 months hard labor for pulling the plug - talk about your draconian karma.

    Myanmar Gives Tourist Who Pulled Plug on Buddhist Chants 3 Months in Prison
    By SAW NANGOCT. 6, 2016


    Klaas Haijtema, a 30-year-old from the Netherlands, said that an amplifier broadcasting the chants had disrupted his sleep. Credit Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

    MANDALAY, Myanmar — A Dutch tourist who unplugged an amplifier that was broadcasting Buddhist chants, which he said disrupted his sleep, was sentenced to three months of hard labor in prison by a court here on Thursday.

    The tourist, Klaas Haijtema, 30, was found guilty of causing a disturbance to an assembly engaged in religious worship. He had been staying at a hostel in Mandalay on Sept. 23 when a nearby Buddhist center began broadcasting the recitations of religious devotees.

    “I was really tired that night and woke up to the noise,” Mr. Haijtema told the court during a hearing last week. “I was very angry and assumed that children were playing music. I told them to lower the volume of the loudspeakers before I unplugged the amplifier, and they didn’t understand me. That’s why I unplugged it.”

    Mr. Haijtema wept after the prison sentence was announced. He was also fined the equivalent of $80 for violating the terms of his entry visa, which require visitors to obey Myanmar’s laws and customs. Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country, and Mandalay is a relatively conservative city.

    Mr. Haijtema’s lawyer, U Hla Ko, said that he would file an appeal and that the Dutch Embassy should ask for Mr. Haijtema’s release. Attempts to contact an embassy representative on Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful.

    Buddhist organizations in Myanmar often use loudspeakers at high volume to broadcast sermons, perform rituals or solicit donations, and many social media users took Mr. Haijtema’s side after his arrest was reported.

    Two lawyers not involved with the case said the Buddhist center, or dharma community hall, that woke Mr. Haijtema appeared to have violated the law by using loudspeakers after 9 p.m. The law also bans their use before 6 a.m. and requires a permit.

    “The one that broke the law is the dharma community hall, not the Dutch man,” said one lawyer, U Zaw Win.

    The leader of the Buddhist center, U Kyaw San, said in court last week that Mr. Haijtema had worn his shoes into the center, which Buddhists consider an offense in a sacred place. Mr. Haijtema said that he was unaware that the building had a religious purpose and that he had seen no signs telling people to remove their shoes.

    A resident who lives near the center, Ko Hla Myo Aung, said that there were six others in his ward and that all of them broadcast chants at high volume late at night and early in the morning.

    “If the Buddha were still alive, he would go deaf from the noise from the loudspeakers,” Mr. Hla Myo Aung said.

    Other Westerners have recently run afoul of laws against insulting religion in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Last year, a bar manager from New Zealand was sentenced to two years in prison for posting an image of the Buddha wearing headphones on Facebook. He was granted amnesty and released this year.

    A version of this article appears in print on October 7, 2016, on page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: Jailed for Pulling Plug on Buddhist Chants.
    Gene Ching
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  8. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    Not sure if this is 'Buddhists behaving badly' because their soundsystem was so loud of if the tourist deserves 3 months hard labor for pulling the plug - talk about your draconian karma.
    This is an example of a state co-opting a religion for national identity-formation purposes, and having a huge chip of resentment on its shoulders toward the west. It's a show trial. They are looking for the occasional westerner to make an example of, and the Dutchman was the lucky one. If it hadn't been him, they would have found someone else to parade around over a ridiculous and completely trivial offence. No true practising Buddhist monk or layman would wish prison on someone over this. Touchy, patriotic, corrupt officials who enjoy lording it over their communities on the other hand, often hide behind religion. My tc, ymmv.

  9. #39
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    Phen Sokphanna

    Here's follow-up on the first post on this thread.

    Judge Suspends Case For Monk Charged With Attempted Murder
    Bay City News Service Published 6:09 pm, Thursday, December 15, 2016

    OAKLAND (BCN)
    A judge today suspended criminal proceedings for a Buddhist monk who's charged with attempted murder and aggravated mayhem for allegedly trying to stab a fellow monk to death at an Oakland temple last year.
    Acting after the monk's lawyer questioned his mental competency to stand trial, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Paul Delucchi ordered that two psychiatrists examine 31-year-old Phen Sokphanna and report their findings at a hearing on Jan. 26.
    Oakland police said Sokphanna grabbed two knives and stabbed 66-year-old Mahamonirath Pinn several times in the head and face at the Cambodian monastery at 624 Douglas Ave. on June 16, 2015. Officers who responded to the incident found Pinn suffering from stab wounds but Sokphanna fled before they arrived.
    Pinn was shown a photo of Sokphanna and he confirmed Sokphanna was the man who stabbed him, according to court filings by Oakland police Officer Michael Troupe. A witness also identified Sokphanna as the suspect, police said.
    After he was arrested Sokphanna admitted that he had carried out the stabbing, according to Troupe.
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  10. #40
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    4 million meth pills?!?

    Breaking Buddhist Bad.

    Myanmar monk arrested with 4.6million methamphetamine pills
    WORLD Updated: Feb 06, 2017 20:02 IST


    File photo of police in Myanmar's Tamu district showing a test kit used to identify pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient for the highly addictive drug methamphetamine, or "meth". (Reuters)

    A Buddhist monk in Myanmar has been caught hiding more than four million methamphetamine pills in his monastery, police said on Monday, following a record haul of stimulant seizures last year.

    The monk, named Arsara, is in custody after police discovered hundreds of thousands of the tablets in his car as he was driving from Shwe Baho village in the town of Maungdaw in Rakhine state bordering Bangladesh.

    “First the police found 400,000 drug pills” when they searched his vehicle on Sunday evening, local police chief Kyaw Mya Win told AFP.

    “The police then went to the monk’s monastery and found another 4.2 million pills.”

    Myanmar is one of the world’s top narcotics-producing nations, churning out huge quantities of methamphetamines as well as opium and cannabis.

    The meth pills are hugely popular across Asia among everyone from wealthy clubbers to exhausted blue-collar employees working long shifts.

    Last year police confiscated a record 98 million stimulant tablets, nearly double the 50 million seized in 2015.

    Drug prosecutions also jumped around 50% from 2015 to 13,500, which police said reflected the growth in the local drug trade.

    Trafficking has particularly been on the rise in Rakhine state, home to more than a million people from the impoverished Muslim Rohingya minority.

    In September, state media reported that two men had been arrested after 6.2 million methamphetamine tablets were found in their car in Maungdaw.
    Gene Ching
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  11. #41
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    Slightly OT

    What the hell is happening in Thailand?

    Monks break through temple barricades
    20 Feb 2017 at 00:39
    WRITER: PONGPAT WONGYALA

    Thousands of monks and followers broke through barricades to enter Wat Phra Dhammakaya Sunday, as temple devotees launched a campaign on social media to mobilise hundreds of thousands of supporters nationwide to pressure officials into ending the temple search.

    The incident occurred before the 3pm deadline given by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) for people and monks who are not residents to leave the Pathum Thani temple to enable searches as DSI officials and police have sealed off the temple to control movements in and out.


    The insults mostly bounced off security forces who tried to herd all sect followers out and all monks into one area to help their search for elusive Dhammajayo. (Photo by Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

    "We have cooperated with the government every step of the way but this is one step too far," senior monk Phra Pasura Dantamano told the Reuters news agency.

    "We're asking authorities to suspend the emergency law and lift their siege. Our supplies are low and we have been without power or water for three days."

    Meanwhile, Phra Sanitwong Wutthiwaso, the temple's communication head, asked officials not to cut off the water and power supply, saying the temple's management had cooperated well with the searches.

    The Facebook page "Thai Monks" posted a message calling Dhammakaya supporters nationwide to gather at the temple within 48 hours to oppose an order issued under Section 44 of the interim constitution to enable the temple searches.

    The Facebook page is meant to show that monks from all regions of the country are ready to support efforts to pressure officials if they use force against the temple. About 500,000 followers from the Central region are expected to turn up in support, according to the Facebook page.

    The Facebook page also posted a message: "The government is broke! Want to disrobe all the Dhammakaya monks and take eight tonnes of golden [Buddha] statues."

    Later Sunday afternoon, as monks and temple followers showed their signs to the media, the DSI posted this meme on its Facebook page



    Meanwhile, about 1pm Sunday, followers and monks breached the barricades at Gates 5 and 6 on Bang Khan-Nong Sua Road in Khlong Luang district and managed to enter the temple's compound before boarding vehicles parked inside the temple to reach the inner areas through a special entrance.

    During the breach, a follower threw a news agency camera belonging to a correspondent, worth about 300,000 baht, to the ground, breaking it.

    About 10 minutes later, followers and temple monks emerged from inside the temple. Wearing face masks, they cut open Gate 5 and formed a human shield confronting police.

    Pol Lt Gen Charnthep Sesavet, commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 1, tried to negotiate and calm the situation. Scuffles lasted for about 20 minutes before each side backed off.

    At 3.30pm, temple followers and monks set up a tent near the Khlong L 2 canal outside Gate 5 and Gate 6 to welcome additional followers who were coming in to support the temple.

    Standoffs between police and followers and monks continued into the evening.


    Dozens of monks (in background) and some lay people held up signs, mostly in English, criticising the security forces. (Photo by Apichit Jinakul)

    Pol Lt Gen Charnthep said police needed reinforcements to control the situation and prevent any ill-intended parties from triggering an incident. He said officials had taken pictures of people who broke through their barricades and would later take legal action against them.

    DSI deputy spokesman Woranan Srilam denied claims on social media that officials would seize temple assets including golden Buddha statues.

    Pol Maj Woranan warned that anyone who instigates resistance against officials will face legal action.

    DSI director-general Paisit Wongmuang later issued a summons for 14 senior monks of the temple to report to him at the Region 1 Border Patrol Police Bureau in Khlong Luang district at 6pm.

    They include its former abbot Phra Dhammajayo.

    Pol Col Paisit said non-resident monks and lay people were ordered to leave Wat Phra Dhammakaya by 3pm Sunday or they would be considered as having defied an order of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and be liable of up to one year in jail and/or a fine of up to 20,000 baht.

    Since Thursday, DSI and police have searched the 2,300-rai temple compound for Phra Dhammajayo, 72, who is wanted for forest encroachment in connection with his meditation centres in several provinces, money laundering and receiving stolen assets in connection with the multi-billion-baht embezzlement at Klongchan Credit Union Co-operative.

    Meanwhile, Phra Ajarn Thammasak, who claimed to be a monk at Wat Phra Dhammakaya for 30 years, held a media briefing outside Gate 5, revealing that Phra Dhammajayo used a car to escape arrest on Feb 16 — the first day the raid began.

    Phra Thammasak said the former abbot has fled but not gone far because he is sick. He also said he was ready to lead reporters to see the former abbot's escape route. He did not say where he had gone.

    Phra Thammasak said he decided to come forward because he was not satisfied with the temple's management, who were aware the former abbot was not inside the temple, but still let the DSI search go on.

    This could have led to clashes between followers and officials and the DSI would have been blamed for any losses, the monk said.
    Gene Ching
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  12. #42
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    Colin Lochrie

    Self-described as a zen monk. That's like self-identifying, is it?

    Knightswood man who shone laser pen at Clutha pilot launched hate campaign at religious groups


    Colin Lochrie
    10 hrs ago / Court Reporter, Reporter

    A BUDDHIST lecturer who shone a laser pen at Captain David Traill’s helicopter the day before he crashed into the Clutha has dodged jail – over a hate campaign against Jews, other Buddhists and medical professionals.

    Knightswood man Colin Lochrie, 32, described himself as “a radicalist zen monk” who hounded religious organisations and behavioural experts with abuse.

    The details emerged this week when Lochrie appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court to be sentenced over a series of phone calls he made in July 2014.


    Procurator fiscal depute Scot Dignan explained: “He left a voice message for the Glasgow Reform Synagogue [in Newton Mearns] which was of a threatening nature.

    “He indicated he was from Golden Dawn London and complained about the manner in which they conducted their faith.

    “He phoned James Alexander, a psychotherapist, as he [Alexander] was walking along Sauchiehall Street.

    “He [Lochrie] said, ‘give up your profession, otherwise the consequences will be dire – you have been warned’.”

    Lochrie then phoned the Buddhist group the Western Chan Fellowship, in England, and left a voicemail for their secretary, Alysun Jones, also a clinical psychologist.

    Mr Dignan explained: “He said he was ‘a radicalist zen monk’ and instructed her to give up her profession.

    “He stated, ‘we are watching’ and this caused her great distress.”

    All the calls, between July 10 and 13, 2014, were made from Lochrie’s mobile phone.

    Lochrie, of Kirkton Avenue, Knightswood, admitted his guilt last year while behind bars for his Clutha helicopter laser pen stunt.

    He pleaded guilty to three charges of sending messages or leaving voicemails which were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.

    Sheriff Colin Pettigrew deferred sentence until a date when he should have been released from prison to see if he could stay out of trouble.

    But he ended up serving another jail term – when he was caught with a knife disguised as a credit card – and the case had to be adjourned again.


    And, when he returned to the dock to learn his fate, Sheriff Pettigrew allowed him to walk out of court as a free man.

    He placed him on a Community Payback Order, as a direct alternative to custody, requiring him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work in the next nine months, reduced from 180 hours as he admitted his guilt. He also ordered him to be supervised by social workers for a year and to return to the dock in June to monitor his progress on the order.

    Last year Lochrie was jailed for 14 months at Glasgow Sheriff Court for targeting Captain Traill’s helicopter on November 28, 2013, as it flew over his west end home.

    Captain Traill was forced to take evasive action to save his vision being affected by the green light that repeatedly lit up the cockpit.
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  13. #43
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    Thailand continued

    More on the latest Thai Buddhist conflict here.

    Thai Junta Replaces Director of Buddhism Department With Policeman
    Feb. 25, 2017, at 8:04 a.m.


    Buddhist monks stand in front of soldiers between a wire barricade at Dhammakaya temple, in Pathum Thani province, Thailand February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom REUTERS

    BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's military junta removed the chief of the department responsible for overseeing Buddhist affairs and replaced him with a police officer on Saturday, amid a stand-off between officials and monks at the country's largest temple.

    Thousands of followers of the Dhammakaya Temple have defied orders to leave temple grounds for over a week, blocking attempts by police to seek out their former abbot, who is accused of money laundering.

    The standoff at the scandal-hit temple represents one of the biggest challenges to the authority of Thailand's junta since it took power in 2014.

    Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha used what critics call "the dictator's law" to replace Phanom Sornsilp, the lay head of the National Office of Buddhism, with an official from the Department of Special Investigations (DSI).

    "The reforms must be implemented quickly and cannot follow normal procedure," the statement in the Royal Gazette announcing the move said.

    The DSI are currently in charge of ongoing operations to find and arrest Phra Dhammachayo at the Dhammakaya Temple. It has ordered 14 other senior monks belonging to the temple to give themselves up or face arrest.

    The National Office of Buddhism is responsible for the administration of the religion followed by some 95 percent of Thais, but does not have the power to defrock monks.

    The Dhammakaya Temple is unusual in defying the military government. Opposition from political parties and activists has largely been silenced since a coup in 2014.

    The former abbot faces charges of conspiracy to launder money and receive stolen goods, as well as taking over land unlawfully to build meditation centres. His aides dismiss the accusations as politically motivated.

    The Dhammakaya Temple's brasher approach to winning adherents jars on conservatives, who say it exploits its followers and uses religion to make money. The temple says it is as committed to Buddhist values as anyone else.

    (Reporting by Cod Satrusayang; Editing by Matthew Tostevin and Ros Russell)
    Having been to Thailand and having spent some time at Wat Pho, their take on Buddhism is unique. Thailand is the most Buddhist country in the world. That has its positive and negative aspects. I'm starting to think I should split Thai Buddhism off into its own indie thread.
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  14. #44
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    Slightly OT

    Fake Buddhists for sure. I see this scam running in SF all the time - lots of fake Chinese Buddhist Monks handing out malas to scam tourists.

    Fake monks targeting foreign visitors to Japan?
    Richard Simmonds 3 hours ago



    Mock monks after your money? On layman‘s terms.

    Buddhist priests and monks are a common sight in Japan, whether they be meditating, conducting religious ceremonies or looking wonderfully comical riding bicycles.

    But recently posters have been popping up around Harajuku station in Tokyo warning tourists not to give money to a scam-artist masquerading as a monk, a man who ‘allwas swindles [sic]’ . While the non-native English may give us a chuckle, somebody out there has taken the time to warn visitors of the non-‘temples man’ swindling passers-by.

    ▼ The same poster could be seen in a number of locations


    More provocative is the statement that the rapscallion is Chinese. While this might be like tabloid newspapers in the UK branding every homeless person in London as members of Eastern European criminal gangs, with the arrest of a 54-year-old Chinese man for impersonating a monk and soliciting donations from foreigners in Ueno Park and Akihabara, it may have been referring to an actual individual.

    The arrested man had been able to make around 20,000 yen (US$185) by selling prayer beads or thank you notes, supposedly to fund temple maintenance. The thank you notes, written in English, apparently cost the fake clergyman about one yen each to buy in China. Given that the 20,000 yen was allegedly made from just ten foreigners, that’s quite the mark-up.

    Unfortunately, with the number of foreign visitors to Japan set to increase as the 2020 Olympics approach, scams like this may also increase. Anyone wanting to contribute to the upkeep of the many beautiful temples and shrines around Japan should do so at the collection boxes on site, or by buying one of the numerous omamori (good luck talismans) with the added bonus of possible good luck!

    It should also be noted that not all Buddhist priests are after your money, some are just after your underwear.

    Reference: NHK News Web
    Images: ©RocketNews24
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  15. #45
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Party like Buddhist nun

    I've partied with Buddhist nuns. It was fun. Nun fun.

    Buddhist association takes legal action after video shows ‘monks partying'
    Video allegedly shows Buddhist monks partying
    10 APRIL 2017 • 5:41PM

    A local Buddhist association has vowed to sue media outlets and netizens, after a video allegedly showing members partying at a nun's wedding went viral.

    The Wutaishan Buddhist Association (WBA) of North China's Shanxi Province accused media of "tarnishing Buddhism" over the video.

    Most men and women in the video were bald, in robes, and busy taking pictures of themselves or a group. Some people shouted "unify the world", and some were seen holding a board with characters "Wuxingbi".

    In a statement issued over the weekend, the WBA claimed that the guests were actually members of a pyramid scheme called "Wuxingbi," whose members shave their heads.

    WBA lawyer Wei Haisheng told media on Sunday that the association had reported the case to police.

    "It's time for us to take actions to defend the reputation of Buddhism,” he said.
    Okay, the truth is that I've been to banquets with Buddhist nuns. They were super sweet and very polite, dressed in Buddhist nun habits and making sure to serve others before they ate. It was nothing like this video for sure.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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