The Nation Wednesday 25th February, 2015

Dhammakaya is one among many temples giving priority to amassing wealth by encouraging worshippers to donate large sums. Followers are told that, by doing so, they improve their chance of securing a place in Heaven. This is a damaging distortion of the Lord Buddha's teachings.

We are dismayed that the Sangha Supreme Council, the monkhood's governing body, has failed to act on a decision made by the late Supreme Patriarch in 1999 that Phra Dhammachayo be defrocked for embezzlement and distorting Buddhist teachings.

Members of the National Reform Council's committee for religious reform have called for the 1962 Monastic Act to be amended so that it better reflects the Thailand of today. Their push for reform includes proposed changes to the Sangha Supreme Council's structure. However, this has drawn the ire of the Network of Buddhists, a group of monks and lay people who insist that moves to overhaul the Sangha Council would lead to division and severe conflict among the clergy.

Monks practise the dharma as taught by the Buddha in order to seek the enlightenment that brings liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering.

However, there are other, more earthly incentives for entering the Thai monkhood. Monasteries offer free food, lodging and a refuge from the daily struggle to m...

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Its time to reform Thai Buddhism

The warning came up after Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha has yet to respond to the network's demand that the National Reform Council committee on the protection of Buddhism be abolished.

Led by NRC member Paiboon Nititawan, this committee has shifted the public spotlight to the controversy surrounding Dhammakaya Temple, its abbot Phra Dhammachayo, and the decision of the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC) to let him stay on as a monk.

Phra Dhammachayo was accused of many wrongdoings, including embezzlement of temple properties. Because he returned those properties, the SSC ruled in 2006 that he would not be defrocked.

"Why doesn't the government have a discussion with the NRC chairman over the problems this committee has caused?" Phra Methi Dhammajahn, an assistant abbot of Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit Temple and a vice rector at Mahachulalongkornra-javidyalaya University, asked yesterday.

He was speaking in his capacity as an adviser to the Association of Academics for Buddhism. Earlier this week, he led his supporters in submitting a petition to Prayut via a government complaint-receiving centre. Phra Methi Dhammajahn felt Paiboon's recent activities constituted intimidation against the SSC.

Meanwhile, high-profile monk Phra Buddha Isara vowed to monitor today's SSC meeting closely in anticipation that the council might do something about Phra Dhammachayo's case.

"I will visit the SSC every day if it does not find Phra Dhammachayo guilty," he said.

Phra Buddha Isara, the abbot of Or Noi Temple, yesterday called on the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate public prosecutors' 2006 decision to drop the embezzlement case against Phra Dhammachayo. The same year, the SSC cited this decision in concluding that Phra Dhammachayo did not need to lose his status as a monk.

"An investigation should be launched to make it clear why the public prosecutors changed their minds," Phra Buddha Isara said.

He said he had heard that the first team of prosecutors handling this case in fact went ahead with the arraignment but the attorney-general at that time intervened, removed the first group and established a new team to handle the case.

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Network of top Buddhists warns of uprising against NRC panel

Now free to buy a diamond-encrusted bass guitar, treat her axolotl to a life of luxury and convert to Buddhism, Olivia Mead says she is happy to be Perth's newest multimillionaire.

The third and youngest daughter of the late mining heir Michael Wright learnt on Thursday she had successfully challenged his will after a WA Supreme Court judge agreed she had not been left enough.

On Friday, clearly weary of intense media attention, she issued a brief statement.

"I am happy with the court's decision, and that I've finally been heard.

"While I understand the public's interest in my case, for now I'd just appreciate some privacy to come to grips with everything."

Ms Mead is the product of Mr Wright's relationship with Elizabeth Anne Mead after he divorced three earlier wives.

Her half-sisters were bequeathed $400 million each, but the 19-year-old was only in line for up to $3 million when she turned 30, and could have even wound up with nothing.

The will was worded so Ms Mead could be deemed an "excluded person" if she, for instance, incurred a drink-driving conviction or took a deep interest in Buddhism or perhaps Islam, Master Craig Sanderson found.

He also found she had received the bare minimum of financial support from Mr Wright during her youth.

And while a wish-list she had to provide of her expected future needs included some extravagant items - including the bass guitar and upkeep for her pet axolotl - she was not "a gold digger" and had just let her imagination run wild the same way most teens would if posed the same question.

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Soon-to-be-millionaire Mead seeks privacy

CNN Its estimated 36 million Americans suffer from migraines. Migraines are a neurological disorder commonly characterized by severe headaches. Medications can alleviate migraine symptoms, but there is no cure. Dr. Carolyn Bernstein from Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center says theres not one thing we can do to end the migraines for all time at this point. But there are a lot of different options that doctors can offer and hopefully get people in a better place.

Dr. Bernstein is a migraine sufferer herself, andis exploring alternative ways to manage the disease. One thing shes come up with: indoor cycling. Its a form of exercise ideal for migraine sufferers, Bernstein says, it works because its low-impact.

A Swedish study from 2008 found a regular indoor cycling program actually improved migraine symptoms over a three-month period for most participants in the study. As always, consult your doctor first, as excercise has also been known to trigger migraine headaches.

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HealthWatch: Migraine Pain