BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai Buddhist temple has been reprimanded by religious authorities for selling amulets containing the ashes of cremated infants to raise money for a plot of land and a crematorium, an official said on Tuesday.
The bodies of 28 foetuses or infants who died of natural causes were cremated legally at the temple's aging incinerator, they said, as Thailand's craze for Jatukam Ramathep amulets promising wealth showed no signs of easing.
"It is not illegal, but it is inappropriate," an official of the local office of Buddhism told Reuters.
"The chief provincial monk has submitted a formal reprimand letter to the temple's abbot," said the official, who declined to be identified.
The Thawee Kara Anant temple in a northern Bangkok suburb was taking advantage of a craze for the amulets that promise to make their owners "super rich" or "rich without reason" sweeping across predominantly Buddhist Thailand.
In July, it made 140,000 disc-shaped amulets about the size of a coffee-cup lid from a variety of herbs and human ashes and had sold most of them, a monk at the temple said.
The idea of mixing the human ashes into the "Multiple Rich" amulets came after neighbours told the abbot they saw spirits of dead infants buried in the temple graveyard in their dreams asking to be freed, monk Lertsak Thitayano told Reuters.
"The abbot wanted to set them free so he decided to cremate them and make merit for them by mixing their ashes into the amulets to empower them in helping the people," he said.
To gain maximum "power", the Jatukam Ramathep amulets, named after two Hindu gods, have to be prayed over by monks for days.
A top-of-the-range gold-leaf edition from a well-respected temple costs 10,000 baht ($300) or more -- more than a month's wages for many Thais.
Some monks have come out swinging against the frenzy, saying it has turned the Buddhist priesthood into an "amulet-blessing industry" despite the religion's shunning of earthly possessions and materialism.
The nation of 65 million people, most of whom remain deeply superstitious despite the rapid modernisation of places such as Bangkok, has spent more than 20 billion baht on the amulets this year, newspapers say.
http://africa.reuters.com/odd/news/usnBKK51983.html
Showing posts with label power. Show all posts
Showing posts with label power. Show all posts
06 September 2007
07 August 2007
Rules fail to cool Jatukam fever
Marketing gurus said earlier this year that those involved with the making of Jatukam Ramathep should be honoured for their excellent job.
The market value of this talisman has skyrocketed despite the absence of any evidence that supports the existence of the Hindu god.
Creativity thrives as the market gets saturated. A research study found out that the talisman started to experience a drop in market value in June when it was estimated that nearly 1,000 editions had been produced.
TITV last weekend aired some scenes at temples where new editions of Jatukam were being produced. Each edition needs a new marketing scheme to make sure that the public knows of its supernatural power and will scramble for one of the amulets.
The more they know of the power, the higher the success of the new edition. At one temple, the abbot sliced a blade on the back of a half-naked man, as if to show he could be saved from harm via the power of Jatukam.
More interesting was an interview with an official from the Religious Affairs Department. Asked whether the department would do anything with the temples or abbots involved in such horrible marketing schemes, the official was reluctant to make an outright statement. He simply said the department would look into monks' discipline to see if they violated any rules.
In conclusion, it would take time to see what they can do with monks involved in crazy marketing campaigns.
Bolder was the Consumer Protection Board. Daily News reported on Monday that the board had received more than 100 complaints about Jatukam in the past few months. Initially, the board set out to protect consumers with a regulation that bans the words "luck", "rich" and "invulnerable" in advertisements, as these claims could not be proven. Without those words, the talisman may not attract buyers.
Failing to follow the rules, the makers are liable to fines of Bt30,000 or six-months' imprisonment, or both. Meanwhile, media that run such ads would be subject to half the penalty.
On the same day, when the Buddhist Lent started, many newspapers ran Jatukam ads. Two editions are "Ruay Jing" (Really Rich) and "Mee Tae Ruay" (Richness Only). Needless to say, they violate the consumer board's rule.
The fine may be too low or the makers may not yet be informed of the fine. Whatever, if the rule is really enforced, the board would only become richer and richer.
achara_d@nationgroup.com
The Nation
The market value of this talisman has skyrocketed despite the absence of any evidence that supports the existence of the Hindu god.
Creativity thrives as the market gets saturated. A research study found out that the talisman started to experience a drop in market value in June when it was estimated that nearly 1,000 editions had been produced.
TITV last weekend aired some scenes at temples where new editions of Jatukam were being produced. Each edition needs a new marketing scheme to make sure that the public knows of its supernatural power and will scramble for one of the amulets.
The more they know of the power, the higher the success of the new edition. At one temple, the abbot sliced a blade on the back of a half-naked man, as if to show he could be saved from harm via the power of Jatukam.
More interesting was an interview with an official from the Religious Affairs Department. Asked whether the department would do anything with the temples or abbots involved in such horrible marketing schemes, the official was reluctant to make an outright statement. He simply said the department would look into monks' discipline to see if they violated any rules.
In conclusion, it would take time to see what they can do with monks involved in crazy marketing campaigns.
Bolder was the Consumer Protection Board. Daily News reported on Monday that the board had received more than 100 complaints about Jatukam in the past few months. Initially, the board set out to protect consumers with a regulation that bans the words "luck", "rich" and "invulnerable" in advertisements, as these claims could not be proven. Without those words, the talisman may not attract buyers.
Failing to follow the rules, the makers are liable to fines of Bt30,000 or six-months' imprisonment, or both. Meanwhile, media that run such ads would be subject to half the penalty.
On the same day, when the Buddhist Lent started, many newspapers ran Jatukam ads. Two editions are "Ruay Jing" (Really Rich) and "Mee Tae Ruay" (Richness Only). Needless to say, they violate the consumer board's rule.
The fine may be too low or the makers may not yet be informed of the fine. Whatever, if the rule is really enforced, the board would only become richer and richer.
achara_d@nationgroup.com
The Nation
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