Thai social media "idol" monks draw ire of Buddhist establishment with laughter

Record ID: 1641146

  • Title: Thai social media "idol" monks draw ire of Buddhist establishment with laughter
  • Date: 13th October 2021
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PHRA MAHA SOMPONG TALKING AND PHRA MAHA PAIWAN GIGGLING MONKS TALKING DURING LIVE STREAMING VARIOUS OF PHRA MAHA PAIWAN SITTING AND LOOKING AT PHONE BANGKOK, THAILAND (RECENT - SEPTEMBER 16, 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) THAI BUDDHIST MONK 30-YEAR-OLD PHRA MAHA PAIWAN WARAWANNO, SAYING: "The Buddhist teachings aren't outdated but the method of teaching is s
  • Embargoed: 27th October 2021 06:07
  • Keywords: Buddhism Facebook livestream Thailand idol monks
  • Location: BANGKOK, THAILAND
  • City: BANGKOK, THAILAND
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Asia / Pacific,Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA001EYZQ1C5
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Every Friday night, Thai Buddhist monk Phra Maha Paiwan Warawanno sets his phone up on a tripod, clips a microphone on his saffron robe before sitting down behind a desk in his small study with a fellow monk.
    The Facebook livestream, where the two monks discuss Buddhist teachings, or Dhamma, is ready to begin.
    Drawing from relatable subjects, the duo deliver Dhamma-filled punchlines.
    They replace religious jargon with slang and colloquial expressions and add a lot of giggles to deliver modern life advice.
    The popularity of the two monks has rocketed in recent weeks among Internet-savvy Thais, many of whom find traditional Buddhism outdated and inaccessible with its temple decorum and incomprehensible Sanskrit chanting.
    Their Friday night livestreams usually attract hundreds of thousands of viewers within minutes and their record so far is two million viewers at once.
    Paiwan, whose follower count shot up by more than 800% to 2.5 million in just over a month, said he started doing Facebook livestreams to keep Buddhism relevant in Thai society, after temple scandals over murder, drugs and sex as well as money laundering investigations in recent years have tested even the faithful while alienating many others.
    "You can't spread the teachings in the old way anymore because it is too constricted with the lecturing and such.
    It will only reach a certain group of people, the elderly people. So my question is: is Dhamma (Buddhist doctrine) supposed to only stay with the old generation? They will eventually die. Without reaching out to the young, what will be the place of religion in the future? Religion will be abandoned and I don't want that to happen," he said.
    The livestreams started amid Thailand's worst outbreak of COVID-19 and months of nighttime curfews, providing a much-needed relief for many Thais with new-found free time before going to bed.
    "If you step into the temples, you will see there are barely any people visiting. The number of people of all walks of life have dwindled and especially with the COVID-19, they are almost all gone. So, we have to go online. People use their phones and so do monks. So wherever their attention is, we should send Dhamma there," said monk Phra Maha Sompong Talaputto, who has 1.4 million followers on Facebook.
    Despite their popularity among the young, Paiwan and Sompong have drawn criticism from Buddhist conservatives who deemed their mirth inappropriate.
    In Thailand, Buddhism is often riddled with conventions and formalities, and monks are expected to be calm figures with eyes towards Dhamma and not meddle in worldly matters.
    Last month, the two monks were summoned by a parliamentary committee on religion to explain their online activities, and senior figures in government and civil society warned them to tone down on the jokes and "inappropriate behaviour."
    On the summon, Phra Paiwan joked: "Laughing became a national problem!"
    Apart from the modern approach, fans like Onravee Tangmeesang, 32, says the monks' effort to engage the audience by reading comments or answering questions, live, has made it even more accessible, unlike the existing Buddhist convention in Thailand where communication is done through one-way preaching.
    (Production: Artorn Pookasook, Juarawee Kittisilpa, Masako Iijima)
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