Let them eat cake

re: "Focus on the good in times of crisis" (BP, Opinion, May 25, 2020)

Dear editor,

I'm sorry Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, but from my perspective, as you would have us put it, your column is a morally disturbing defense of the indefensible. "The highly revered monk Phra Paisal Visalo" was piously doing what the unBuddhist religion known as Thai Buddhism, administered by the "amazing trusted Thailand" state under the National Office of Buddhism, has always done. He was propping up the conservative status quo of many generations in exchange for gilded temples, rich offerings and forced social reverence. "The highly revered monk" and you need to read and ponder the actual teachings of the Buddha, not the pseudo-spiritual gaudiness of rich self-adulation.

You might also find it helpful to read the excellent opinion piece by Paritta Wangkiat, "Thai TV series give ugly truths a rosy hue", also published in the opinion section of the May 25 edition of the Bangkok Post. Your "highly revered monk" seems as guilty as charged as the Thai TV series that Ms. Wangkiat rightly rails against.

 Felix Qui

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on May 29, 2020, under the title "Let them eat cake" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/1926100/perks-of-being-thai