A bribe (lannca) is something of value offered, given or solicited to influence a person in a position of responsibility to act contrary to his or her duty. A corrupt official wo
uld be dscribed as a ‘bribe eater’ (lanncakhadaka, Ja.II,196) in ancient India. The giving or receiving of bribes often means breaking the second and the fourth Precept and always involves cheating, greed, injustice and law-breaking.
uld be dscribed as a ‘bribe eater’ (lanncakhadaka, Ja.II,196) in ancient India. The giving or receiving of bribes often means breaking the second and the fourth Precept and always involves cheating, greed, injustice and law-breaking.All traditional Buddhists countries scored very poorly on Transparency International’s 2008 Corruption Perception Index. Out of 180 countries, Bhutan was the least corrupt Buddhist country at 45, next came Thailand at 80 and Sri Lanka at 92. Laos was 26th from the bottom and Cambodia 11th. The second most corrupt country in the world according to Transparency International was Burma.
Going by the 2008 CPI the Nordic countries ranked top. Singapore is the only Asian country in top 5 with Australia coming in 8th. All these are secular countries with no official, state or dominating religion. Maybe the Nordic countries are closer to Santa! And I think there is also a Santa in the Southern Antarctica where NZ is.
ReplyDeleteThat said, and what is really sad: countries with majority Buddhists or where Buddhism had taken roots for many centuries are just as corrupt as countries with majority Muslims and Catholics. This confirms my longstanding belief that mainstream religions are not working. Had Buddha became Santa?
Yet another list for Burma to score next to the worst on. Deep sigh.
ReplyDeleteCorruption is definately rampant in Burma at every level of society. Those who extort bribes may consider themselves as buddhists but they are not acting accordingly. But even those who practice accordingly have no choice but to give bribes to those people who ask for it.
ReplyDeleteIn Burma taking and receiving of bribes is generally accepted as a way of life among the local people...that's because most people sympathize with each other that they have "no other means" of earning money. There's hardly any employment available, and even for those employed the pay is too low for daily living. Well, thats why it is said that living under bad rulers (Kalavipatti) is one of the 4 misfortunes of a being.
ReplyDeleteA quick check shows that Myanmar ranked bottom 3 for 3 yrs 2007-2009. Excuses like poverty, low pay, 'no other means' except corruption, unemployment - all seem too intelligent an excuse. To top it all - compassion, sympathy is also used to justify corruption. I am amazed that greed, collusion, selfishness, taking advantage of position do not resonance with Buddhists and for all they have been taught! This reminds me of the ignorance of the Noble Truth of Suffering. Myanmar is suffering?
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