More Reflections On Ming Yi's Trial

The second thing that comes to mind about the Ming Yi affair is what it may tell us about Buddhist monastic life in the 21st century. Several people have already written to the press saying, in effect, ‘See! We told you so! If monks stray even an inch beyond their role as defined in the Vinaya, that’s what will happen’. In the aftermath of Ming Yi’s trial such arguments sound cogent. However, I really think they are the result of the one-dimensional thinking characteristic of Theravada – follow the Vinaya scrupulously and there will be no problems, don’t and there will be nothing but problems. If only it was that simple! There are many ways of being sidetracked from the spiritual life. Ming Yi seems to have been led astray by wealth and adulation. But I know plenty of ‘strict’ monks who never touch money but who are self-advertising, proud, petulant, domineering and self-satisfied – not offences against the law or against the Vinaya, but corruptions nonetheless.
And perhaps more importantly, there have been and still are plenty of monks and nuns who abide by the spirit of the Dhamma without being fastidious about the fine points of each and every Vinaya rule. One who immediately comes to mind is Venerable Fatt Kuan, a bodhisattva-like Singaporean nun who founded and ran the Tai Pei Home until her death in 2002. Ven. Fatt Kuan was one of the kindest, most imperturbable and smiling people I have ever known. She solicited and attracted huge donations and every cent of it went where it was supposed to go – to providing decent accommodation and a homely environment for several hundred poor elderly women and compassionate nursing for them when they became incapacitated. She also founded or ran the Tai Pei Buddhist Centre, the Tai Pei Senior Citizens Drop–in Centre, the Thuja Home and the Tai Pei Child Care Centre. She was widely respected for her dedication to the less fortunate and in 1989 was awarded Singapore’s highest civilian award by the President of the Republic. Despite all this very ‘un-Vinaya’ behaviour she remained modest, accessible, kindly and unaffected. Once, when she came to know that we were reprinting our children’s book, ‘Rahula Leads the Way’ she invited me to come and have tea with her one afternoon. We chatted while she served me tea with a biscuit (something that would put her beyond the pale in the eyes of the fundamentalists) and when I left she gave me an extremely generous donation to help reprint the book. I thanked her for her completely unexpected generosity and said I would make sure her name went in the back of the book as the main donor. In her typical self-effacing way she asked me not to do so and not even to tell anyone she had made a donation. I know for a fact that Ven. Fatt Kuan made many other anonymous donations to poor or struggling individuals and to worthy organizations, often without being asked.
Another truly admirable Buddhist cleric who comes to mind is Venerable Yen Pei who founded and managed the Singapore Buddhist Welfare Services. For the noble work done by this organization see http://www.sbws.org.sg/ All his welfare work did not prevent Ven. Yen Pei from also being a master of the Chinese Tipitaka and a popular and respected Dhamma teacher. One could also think of Venerable Bellanwila Dhammaratna, the Sri Lankan monk who long ago saw the crying need for Buddhist educational resources in Singapore and resolved to do something about it. As a result, the Buddhist community in Singapore has a superb library in English and Chinese, a top-class venue for public meetings, a thriving Sunday School and a program of Buddhist higher education (see www.buddhlib.org.sg/ ). Ven. Dhammaratana also runs the Buddhist Research Society which publishes numerous Dhamma books. None of this just appeared, it was the result of hard work, determination, continual fundraising and, I suspect, quite a few sleepless nights, on the part of Ven. Dhammaratana. And it goes without saying that none of it could have been achieved had he refused to travel in a vehicle (it is a Dukkata offence to do so), refused to received, write out or cash checks (offences against Nissaggiya Pacitiya 18) or if he had spent all his time trying to find sandals with one-layered soles (unless of course he was living in the regions bordering Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India, in which case he could have two or even three layers on his soles, Vin.I,197). Despite not being strictly observant monks or nuns, no aspersions have ever been cast on the integrity of these three clerics, and their services to Buddhism and to the community have been enormous.
So why did Ven. Fatt Kuan, Ven. Yen Pei and Ven. Dhammaratana remain true to the spirit of the Dhamma and Ven. Ming Yi apparently fall by the wayside? It would seem to me that the first three had internalized the Dhamma to the degree that they were/are impervious to greed, fame and worldly success and the fourth had not - not because they followed or didn’t follow a set of arcane rules. As is often the case, the Buddha has something pertinent to say on this matter. ‘Say a bad person is an expert in vinaya and he thinks, “I’m an expert in vinaya but those others aren’t’ and he exalts himself and disparages others. This is the Dhamma of the bad person. But the good person thinks like this, “It is not through being an expert in vinaya that greed, hatred and delusion are destroyed. Even if one is not an expert in vinaya one may still live in full accordance with the Dhamma, may practice correctly, may still live by Dhamma and therefore be one worthy of honour and respect". Thus, having made the Way itself the main thing, he neither exalts himself nor disparages others. This is the Dhamma of the good person’ (M.III,39).
Concluded Tomorrow
The top picture is of Ven. Fatt Kuan’s Tai Pei Buddhist Centre, the second picture is of Ven.Yen Pei and the bottom one is of Ven. Dhammaratana.