Funeral Chanting Monk Complaint About Rite Rate
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Recently, I came across an article about a monk who complained to MP, Mr Yaw Shin Leong, about unlicensed monks working in Singapore. His main reason for his complaint was how the Foreign Talent monks is charging the rite at a lower rate.http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STI
Frankly, when I saw the article, I am rather disappointed with his complaint. Firstly, the role of monk is to educate and lead people on the Buddhist path. Secondly, if he desire to conduct religious rite for the dead, he should do it out of compassion for the dead and family instead being hardcore about the money.
Personally, I had came across monk and nun who will provide the funeral rite with no mentioned of cost. The family of the late will provide transport and offer whatever amount they can afford as Ang Bao to them or the temple. These are the type of monk and nun the Buddhist community should respect and support.
I hope the Buddhist community will assist the public in such matter. In fact, a lot of family late lost their faith in Buddhism especially young adult due to the money oriented and fake funeral chanting monk.
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In Buddha Sakyamuni era, monks and nuns never will involve the funeral service because they solely on teachings and actualization. However, there is a dire need in present times for monks/nuns who are voluntarily offering (on request for) their compassionate service in funerals, which is in accordance with Earth Store Bodhisavatta Sutra that the decease will receive 1/7 of the merits transferred. On hardcore for money in rite from monk/nun, not only no merits, and according to earthstore sutra is that they need the abbot to chant for them cos is hellish reward :D
Amituofo/\
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during Buddha time, they just burn the corpse on woods. Still doing it this way in India.
Then buddhism spread to China, and they added in elements of Taoism, burning gold papers, paper houses etc. During the Liang Wu Emperor time, he engaged an abbot to chant for his deceased queen who gave him a dream that she had being reborn into a python due to her jealousy and anger in her lifetime. I think this started the engagement of monks for funerals to chant for the deceased.
In Singapore, when you have made an arrangement with a buddhist temple , the package included the setting up of the funeral altar and the engagement of monks to chant.
There is no conflict of money as everything is already being arranged by the buddhist temple.
If the case mentioned above is true, then some foreign monks are asking for more ang pows from the deceased family members. This may be against the temple's arrangement. However it is up to the family members to give or not to give the ang pows (red packet).
When a monk is chanting for a good rebirth of the deceased, the monk/nun maybe taking over the negative karma of the deceased so that the dead can go to a good place, so it is not too much to give ang pows to thank the monk/nun for their trouble.
But if there are really FT monks (from China, Taiwan for eg ) coming to ask specifically for money to chant at a funeral and is money oriented , then we should publicize such bad behaviours and stop the trend.
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But monks also need to eat.
Monks in Singapore must meet the cost of living in Singapore, FT monks only need to meet the cost of living of China.
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i have actually met a fake monk , he dressed up as a thai monk but he gave himself away when he spoke with china accent. I am not surprised if these FT monks are fake ones.
They all think Singaporeans are dumb and singapore money is easy to earn.
Best to arrange a funeral with the buddhist temple, then no conflicts when you pay everything in a package.
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Even monk job also got competition from FT.
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Originally posted by Leogirldreamer:
Best to arrange a funeral with the buddhist temple, then no conflicts when you pay everything in a package.
Agree, for funerals services, it has to go through the temple, even in packages so that the money can be wisely used to maintain the temple and circulation of DVD, conduct highly subsidised dharma classes, provide free clinic service and other adhoc charitable aid etc. As for monks/nuns expenses, the temple will provide them, and if in the funeral compassionate services, one voluntarily give red packets for blessing (great monks/nuns are obliged to accept red packet from devotee so that the devotees can plant blessings), and also that the monks/nuns can go window shopping ard etc - big vehicle dharma monks/nuns :DAmituofo/\
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I suggest the Buddhist associations register their monks with the Police so they can check the monk's IC any time.
Foreign "monks" should be arrested for illegal begging.
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Whose Buddhism is it anyway
There was an intriguing article in the Straits Times last Friday on foreign Buddhist monks in Singapore. Apparently, these foreign monks were willing to charge less to perform funeral chants at wakes. The competition was so stiff that a local Singaporean monk had turned to his MP (Member of Parliament) for help (you can’t fault him for trying).
According to the article, the monk saw his income dropped by as much as 70% in the last 2 years because of foreign competition.
Informed Buddhists would find the claims by the monk bemusing because we know that monks and nuns are not supposed to charge for any of their services (funeral chants or otherwise). He would certainly be shocked to learn that genuine monks and nuns in Singapore can easily give these foreign monks a run for their money because they charging nothing for their services! [1]
But I like to highlight another more serious issue in this post. While accurate information on Buddhism are readily available on the Internet, many Singaporeans still associate the religion with geomancy, amulets[2], fortune telling and… monks charging for chanting at funerals, none of which has anything to do with Buddhism!
It is important that we uphold the image of Buddhism. Imagine for a moment that Apple were to allow other companies to use their brand. We will soon see iShaver, iWashing Machine, iBlender, iSofa appearing in the market, all carrying Apple’s logo! People will be totally confused as to which are real Apple products. Many of these non-Apple products will surely be of poor quality and design, further damaging Apple’s brand.
Yet this is what we are seeing in Buddhism in Singapore. For a very long time, we have allowed people wearing monks’ robe to read fortunes, perform geomancy readings and to sell amulets. We, the real practitioners of the Buddha’s teachings have lost control of the Buddhist “brand” to these pseudo-Buddhists believes. And many of them are giving Buddhism a bad name. [3]
What can we, as informed Buddhists, do about it? I suggest 3 solutions:
Firstly, we need to speak up. The Internet and social media has greatly empowered the ordinary folks. We can inform others on social media and online forums, where discussion has cropped up, as to what is and isn’t Buddhism.
Secondly, Buddhist leaders should speak up against practices that go against Buddhist principles. While ordinary Buddhists can inform at the grassroots level, only the leaders can presence an official stand on these issues. Sadly I’ve not seen any official statement coming out the make a stand on this issue.
Lastly, we need to reach out to these people who are giving Buddhism a bad name. Some are just opportunists, in for a quick buck. Others have genuine bread and butter concerns which we as Buddhists should help to address.
Incidents like these can be great opportunities for Buddhism to grow if we address them appropriately. Lets hope we get it right sooner than later.
Notes:
[1] We need to understand the “Business model” of deaths. Love ones of the departed usually contact the funeral parlor to help arrange the funeral. These funeral parlor are businessmen who make a living from these services they provide. Usually it is these funeral parlor who contact “money charging monks” to chant at funerals.[2] I recall about 2 years ago, the Straits Times ran a half page article on “Thai Buddhism” and amulet business in Singapore. Again, while amulets are very popular among Thai Buddhists, they have nothing to do with Buddhism. In the thousands of suttas recorded in the Buddhist cannon, the making and use of amulets were never recorded.
[3] A friend once told me of her angry encounter with one of these “monks”. At the funeral of her relative, the “monk” told her that if she wants him to chant more “powerful” sutras, she would have to pay more and hinted that she should not mind paying more (a more “powerful chant could cost a thousand dollar more) if she loved her relative. This “monk” is clearly a businessman in a monk’s robe.
- web source: http://ahandfulofleaves.net/dhamma/?p=1873
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Don't know about the invasion by foreigners. We got the monk from the monastery Porka See for chanting, the amount was reasonable, below 500.
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If these monks would to know the bliss of being a monkhood :() In fact, there is no such definition in Buddhism as local or foreign monks, the term is coined in Singapore arises from political issues between FT/LT. From the ceremonial angle of conducting triple refuge, the monk/nun is a witness ceremonially on behalf of all sangha....:D
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are they really monks? or just some guys looking for $?