State irreligion

re: "Respect the robe" (BP, June 13, 2022) 

Dear editor,

Patcharawalai Sanyanusin is doubtless sincere in that perfect faith she has in Thailand's National Office of Buddhism. The problem is that the very existence of such an official state institution as a National Office of Buddhism betrays the true nature of the religion known as Thai Buddhism: it is not Buddhism, but Thai Buddhism. A religion that operates under the auspices of politicians to serve political purposes, as Thai Buddhism always has in exchange for grand temples and other gorgeous gifts, constitutes itself a political tool wielded for political purposes by political players. Indeed, Thai Buddhism is openly touted as a "pillar of the nation", than which nothing could be more explicitly political, no less political are those who most sedulously push that unBuddhist "pillar of the nation" narrative about the religion.

If Buddhism in Thailand wishes to be respected as a religion that teaches and practices spiritual principles of worth, it needs to free itself from the tradition going back many generations of loyally serving political players who find it a most useful tool for achieving their purposes, which too often have nothing to do with the Buddha's wisdom. Are the gilded temples luring in tourists worth the spiritual cost? 

 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 June 19, 2022, under the title "State irreligion" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2329278/by-the-same-tokin