Gay monks rampant in North (part 1)

So many young Thai gays enter the monkhood these days that one day Buddhists might have to set aside temples specifically for gay monks, says Phra Payom Kalayano, abbot of Wat Suan Kaew in Nonthaburi.

Thais who want to make merit by giving food or money to gay Thai monks can go to those temples. Thais who are annoyed by the presence of gay monks can go somewhere else, he told Bangkok Today newspaper.

The newspaper asked how older Thais must feel when they spot gays among temple monks.

Even in a monk's yellow robes, gays still look the part. With their spiked hair, pretty faces, and pert chests they can look prettier than girls. Thais who make merit at temples and encounter pretty-boy monks might be put off.

Increasing numbers of gay males are following in the footsteps of straight men, entering the monkhood when they turn 20, to thank their parents for their hard work in raising them.

Once, few gays entered the monkhood. Today, the abbot says, five to 10 per cent of monks are gay.

They are particularly common in the northern region, while in the Northeast region, he notices many monks who are trying to be gay, but have yet to perfect the art (แฉ! พระสายเหนือ ตุ๊ดเยอะ).

Phra Payom has a sense of humour. Last year he baked up a batch of so-called Jatukham cookies, which he sold in smart aluminium boxes to mock the craze for Jatukam Ramathep talismans then sweeping the country.

He says that if the thought of a temple dedicated to gay monks sounds strange, even odder is that fact that so many young men who are gay would want to enter the monkhood.

Senior monks do screen young men who apply to join. However, they cannot be too strict about eliminating gays, as many temples are short of monks. No one wants to see temples end up deserted.

'The parents of gay men who apply to join the monkhood, funnily enough, are also often generous benefactors of temples...if we were to turn away their offspring, there would be trouble.'

The Buddhist canon forbids from entering the monkhood men who have changed their sex, who are obvious lady-boys, or men who have castrated themselves. These rules have been in place for a long time, as has the screening process to select men for entry to the monkhood.

However, in this age of human rights - and the need to find benefactors for temples - monks can do little but acquiesce.

now, see part 2