| Iteachextra May 11 2012 23:24. Posts 46 | Profile # |
Monks are party animals?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/11/us-korea-monks-idUSBRE84A0A020120511
Six leaders from South Korea's biggest Buddhist order have quit after secret video footage showed some supposedly serene monks raising hell, playing high-stakes poker, drinking and smoking.
The scandal erupted just days before Koreans observe a national holiday to celebrate the birth of Buddha, the holiest day of the religion's calendar.
The head of the Jogye order, which has some 10 million followers, or about a fifth of the population, made a public apology on Friday, vowing "self-repentance".
South Korean TV networks aired shots of monks playing poker, some smoking and drinking, after gathering at a luxury lakeside hotel in late April for a fellow monk's memorial service.
"The stakes for 13 hours of gambling were more than 1 billion won ($875,300)," Seongho, a senior monk who uses one name, told Reuters on Friday.
He said he had reported the incident to prosecutors.
Gambling outside of licensed casinos and horse racing tracks is illegal in South Korea and frowned upon by religious leaders.
"Basically, Buddhist rules say don't steal. Look at what they did, they abused money from Buddhists for gambling," Seongho said.
The behavior of the supposedly abstemious monks has led to Korean media speculation of a power split within the order.
Seongho said he had obtained a thumb drive that contains a video clip from a camera hidden in the hotel. He would not say who his source was because of recent threats made against him.
The wayward monks appear to have upset many in Korea.
"A group of monks who gamble, drink and smoke in a hotel room is tainted in the eyes of all people in the nation," civic group Buddhist Solidarity for Reform said in a statement.
The scandal also excited attention on Twitter, with some posts calling for reforms within the sect.
" ...it can be good news. Please, Jogye Order, cut out the rotten part before it gets worse and take this opportunity to be reborn," one Twitter post said.
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| Lowko Netherlands. May 11 2012 23:28. Posts 249 | Profile # |
| That video. I'm sorry but this is so awkward it made me smile. Not meant to offend anyone ofcourse! |
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| shell Portugal. May 11 2012 23:34. Posts 1828 | Profile # |
lolol.. seems like they are like our own religious leaders..
In the end it's all the same, if there is in fact any God, then it's within us to do what we can for him and follow the "good words"..
But following a bunch of human religious zealots won't lead you into paradise, nirvana or 40 virgins..
There is no word of God, only word of men and we all know what men want: women, money and power!
It's not suprising or chocking at all.. christianity, jews, budhism, hinduism or islam "laws and words" were made by men and don't represent nothing more then words of power and control for the rest of mankind..
They are guilty of being just another human because they don't have anything holy... and they didn't respect the most basic laws of the religion they are leaders and representatives.. |
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| thoradycus Malaysia. May 11 2012 23:37. Posts 3212 | Profile # |
| Not surprised tbh. Everybody does "bad things"(subjective to different views of course) |
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 Hnnngg United States. May 11 2012 23:39. Posts 1065 | Profile # | |
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| Damrak Netherlands. May 12 2012 00:02. Posts 123 | Profile # |
| is gambling itself (in legal context) prohibited in buddhism and in south korea? And aren't most korean atheist? |
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| ddrddrddrddr May 12 2012 01:23. Posts 1268 | Profile # |
On May 12 2012 00:02 Damrak wrote:
is gambling itself (in legal context) prohibited in buddhism and in south korea? And aren't most korean atheist?
Not sure about legality but you can't gamble without greed and attachment to the material world. Pretty sure that would be against Buddhist doctrines. If they're gambling as in playing poker, I don't think there is a problem. |
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| CursedRich United Kingdom. May 12 2012 01:35. Posts 631 | Profile # |
| they should have got some hookers in, lightweights |
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| PassionFruit May 12 2012 01:41. Posts 179 | Profile Blog # |
| Haha, guess they never reached enlightenment. |
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| ShadeR Australia. May 12 2012 01:41. Posts 6657 | Profile Blog # |
| Reminds me of the Hi-tech monks in Thailand. Last edit: 2012-05-12 01:41:57 |
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| CrazyAsian United States. May 12 2012 02:07. Posts 185 | Profile # |
On May 12 2012 00:02 Damrak wrote:
is gambling itself (in legal context) prohibited in buddhism and in south korea? And aren't most korean atheist?
It is illegal outside of casinos and any registered establishments. |
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| GreEny K Germany. May 12 2012 02:09. Posts 7274 | Profile # | |
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| Jongl0 Sweden. May 12 2012 02:20. Posts 629 | Profile # |
| That's some high stakes. I guess that if you're going to break some rules, you might as well make it count. |
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| GomJabbar United States. May 12 2012 02:22. Posts 161 | Profile # |
As a poker player, it's always annoying to see poker labeled as degenerate gambling and lumped into other 'vices' like smoking and drinking (or, hell, actual gambling, like slots). I mean, Poker CAN be gambling, if nobody knows what they're doing and just randomly betting and basically flipping coins, but it's not for anyone skilled. Any game that can have consistant, long term positive expected value isn't really gambling.
Anyway... rant over. |
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| pred470r Bulgaria. May 12 2012 02:27. Posts 3131 | Profile Blog # |
| Those are some rich monks I must say. |
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| Tatari United States. May 12 2012 02:29. Posts 1021 | Profile Blog # |
If you're gonna risk your position as a holy man, may as well go balls deep with it with 1 billion won poker eh?
They didn't have call girls with them too? I guess they didn't want to go all out. |
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| solidbebe Netherlands. May 12 2012 02:34. Posts 3278 | Profile # |
| The man doing the commentary sounded very uncomfortable to me, as if there was a knife at his throat. |
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| BuddhaMonk Canada. May 12 2012 02:36. Posts 675 | Profile # |
| When I went to visit South Korea (to go to GSL!) I also visited some Buddhist temples and at one of them I saw a monk get out of a Mercedes while talking on his iPhone. |
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| Synwave United States. May 12 2012 02:41. Posts 2738 | Profile # |
On May 12 2012 02:22 GomJabbar wrote:
As a poker player, it's always annoying to see poker labeled as degenerate gambling and lumped into other 'vices' like smoking and drinking (or, hell, actual gambling, like slots). I mean, Poker CAN be gambling, if nobody knows what they're doing and just randomly betting and basically flipping coins, but it's not for anyone skilled. Any game that can have consistant, long term positive expected value isn't really gambling.
Anyway... rant over.
I think the point is that they are gambling with other peoples money. As I understand it they are basically gambling with donations to the sect. The point of the OP isn't whether poker is gambling based on the skill of the players involved or not.
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| Slayer91 Ireland. May 12 2012 02:42. Posts 8992 | Profile # |
Maybe they were just super excited about the release of diablo 3?
Raising hell indeed!Last edit: 2012-05-12 02:43:20 |
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