I watched Buddha Data from Tomorrow and I series on Netflix—I'm not exactly sure when, probably last year.
It’s about a monk who struggles to receive alms because people start using a “merit” app created by someone whose parents had been financially ruined by unethical monks. Those monks had pressured people to donate by promising a better life after death. After seeing his parents suffer, the creator developed the app as a response.
The monk in the story has a tech background and decides to build another application to counter the first one. Eventually, the new app faces serious problems, the public becomes angry, and the monk is forced to leave his monastery.
The series claims to portray the future of Buddhism, but it also reflects the current situation.
Not all monks behave in such ways, but some do, and I’ve personally witnessed cases—one person even sold their flat to donate to a monastery.
Meditation and mindfulness are often criticized, and people look for faults in those practices. But generosity is always praised. Vegetarians are criticized too—people say it’s not something the Buddha required, or that plants have life as well, or they accuse vegetarians of thinking they’re morally superior.
Yet donors are constantly praised, treated as if they stand above others. This praise doesn’t come only from monks but also from those who manage donations for pagodas, local religious sites, and many other places.
Everyone knows, though, that many of these people use donations for personal benefit. A friend once told me that his daughter, a young woman, visited a famous pagoda and was publicly scolded through a loudspeaker by the treasurer simply because she didn’t donate. Later, they discovered he was deeply in debt and was seeking money for himself, not for the pagoda. People who threaten others with “hell” if they don’t donate don’t seem very afraid of “hell” when they misuse those donations.
Pagodas themselves aren’t part of the Buddha’s original teachings—none existed in his time. People began building stupas for his relics, and over time these evolved into pagodas. They became symbolic structures in Buddhism, likely promoted by those with great social and political power, such as kings. People had little choice but to follow, and after centuries, pagodas became accepted as part of “true” Buddhism.
Generosity followed a similar path. The Buddha taught that generosity is wholesome and important, but not a core requirement—other practices can replace it. Many local religious leaders and dhamma teachers rarely mention this, and those who ask for donations often try to hide the related teachings.
Many ideas have become distorted. In our community prayers, we were taught to honor parents and teachers alongside the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. The Buddha acknowledged their importance, but not on that level. As children, we were told we would “go to hell” for simply talking back to a parent or teacher. Questioning them was discouraged; obedience was expected. The same applies to elders in general.
People disliked this when they were young, yet when they eventually become parents, teachers, or elders themselves, they enjoy the instant authority. So the cycle continues. As a result, people don’t know how to negotiate or communicate respectfully. Socially, it becomes a choice between complete obedience or total rebellion. The healthier possibilities in the middle are rarely taught, and the consequences in our society are already obvious.
These were the thoughts that came to me this morning.
© Dr. Tune. All rights reserved.
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