Earlier this week, King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand revoked a royal decree issued in June that had elevated the ranks of 81 monks, citing recent scandals that he said had "caused deep mental suffering among the Buddhist faithful."
In Thailand, where over 90% of the population identifies as Buddhist, monks are held in high esteem. It is also customary for Thai men to temporarily ordain as monks to accumulate good karma.
However, the Buddhist establishment has been repeatedly rocked by scandals in recent years.
One of the most notorious cases involved Wirapol Sukphol, a jet-setting monk with a lavish lifestyle, who made international headlines in 2017 after being charged with sexual assault, fraud, and money laundering.
In 2022, a temple in Phetchabun Province was left without a single monk after all of its residents were arrested during a drug raid and subsequently defrocked.
Despite years of criticism regarding the lack of discipline and accountability within the Thai Sangha, many believe that little meaningful reform has been achieved in the centuries-old institution.
Experts attribute this to the rigid hierarchy, which discourages junior monks from speaking out.
But some observers see the current investigations—by both police and religious authorities—as a critical step toward long-overdue reform.***
