I watched the video in utter shock. It is bad enough to kill a sentient being in cold blood, but to do so after one has taken monk vows is a total disaster. And the trouble to which the so-called-monk went to inflict pain and harm on another being is amazing. I wonder how he ever became a monk and I wonder whether the monastery knew that he was capable of such acts.
There are other cases where a member of the Sangha behave is a manner not worthy of the robes. This is another reported case in America:
MOBILE, Alabama -- A Buddhist monk in Grand Bay used a wooden pestle to beat to death a fellow monk during an argument over food inside their temple, a prosecutor said in court this morning.
Vern Phdsamay, 32, is charged with murder. He is accused of beating to death the leader of the Wat Buddharaksa Temple, Chaiwat Moleechate, on Friday.
The temple, located in Grand Bay, serves the Thai and Laotian communities in south Mobile County. Both monks lived on the temple grounds.
During a bail hearing this morning, Assistant District Attorney Jo Beth Murphree gave a few details of the beating, arguing that Phdsamay poses both a danger to the community and a flight risk.
Murphree said Phdsamay picked up a large wooden pestle, more than a foot long, to strike his fellow monk at least a dozen times, mostly in the head.
After that, Murphree said, "he went back to his living quarters, showered and washed his clothes, and he went back and ate."
District Judge Charles McKnight ordered a $50,000 bail, of which $5,000 would have to be paid in cash.
McKnight said Phdsamay, a legal U.S. resident who emigrated from Laos in 2005, must surrender his passport before being allowed to post bail.
Phdsamay's lawyer, Neil Hanley, said Phdsamay doesn't know how to drive, speaks no English and has lived in the same place since he arrived in the U.S.
He said the monk has taken a vow of poverty and has no money.
He said the allegations against Phdsamay are out of character.
"This is a man who has dedicated himself to nonviolence, to services to the community," Hanley said.
McKnight scheduled a preliminary hearing for June 25.
_____