Monk fights UK university over inheritance

[Jessie Fong]

Hmmmm .... I am wondering ... As a monk, should he not just leave the will as it is? What will be your take on this?


Monk fights UK university over inheritance

The Buddhist Channel, March 30, 2013

Sedgwick, Maine (USA) -- A Zen Buddhist priest, longtime social justice advocate and author of a leading manual on prison chaplaincy, has come to legal blows with the University of Nottingham, claiming in a U.S. court that the U.K. institution wrongfully used duress to convince his father to bequeath the entirety of a $3 million estate to the school while leaving the priest and his two disabled children with $5,000.
The Rev. Kobutsu Malone, whose prison and death row chaplaincy has led him to numerous states, asserts in the action in the New Jersey court, that his father, Kevin B. Malone, a Roman Catholic who never attended The University of Nottingham, was moved to cut off his only child and grandchildren only after the priest wrote a letter detailing sexual, physical and emotional abuse he and his classmates suffered while enrolled as students at New Jersey's Bergen Catholic High School in the 1960's.

"The Execution of the Holy Spirit" (which can be viewed at http://www.bergencatholicabuse.com) was published in 2002, and was later posted to a blog on the Internet.  Several dozen other former Bergen Catholic students, now men in their sixties, some prominent in the local community, have added their own first-person accounts of enduring sexual abuse at Bergen Catholic similar to that recounted by the Rev. Malone.


 Unbenownst to the Rev. Malone until after his father's death in 2011, Kevin B. Malone removed the Rev. Malone and his two sons from his Will 32 days after "The Execution of the Holy Spirit" was published.
http://www.ethelandkevinmalone.com/

In documents filed with the court, the Rev. Malone has argued that his father disregarded his deceased wife, Ethel's, wishes that their estate should be divided between their son and two grandchildren. A pair of reciprocal wills made by the Rev. Malone’s parents in 1997, granted the remainder of their joint estate, now totaling over $2 million, to the Rev. Malone and his two minor children.

The documents charge that Kevin B. Malone changed his will six times following his wife's death, erratically changing both beneficiaries and executors.  For a time, Oxford University was to have been a beneficiary but was ultimately bested by the University of Nottingham, after a vigorous campaign by the institution.

[WisdomBeing]

If the father was sane and lucid at the time of issuing the will, then the father has every right to distribute his money according to his wishes. If he wanted to give away his money to a whore house, it IS his right!

However, I would imagine that the monk would want the funds because he could use the funds for Dharma purposes and if his motivation is pure, then he should fight for the money. After all, monks and dharma centers survive on sponsorship, and if there is a sum of money which is due to him, he should try to obtain it with the motivation of helping/benefiting others with the said funds. If he was to obtain the money and sponsor Dharma with it, he would also be able to dedicate the merits to his father, even though it is implied that his father was not supportive of the monk while he was alive. I hope Rev Malone manages to resolve this.

[Big Uncle]

Well, I think it depends on the monk's motivation. I think if he was fighting for the inheritance to have a good time and to finance his personal pursuits, then it would have been bad. I think he is working hard as a prison Buddhist chaplain and raising 2 kids. However, whatever it is, it does not look too good for him as a Buddhist priest to be wrangling over a fortune that is already not his. I dunno. I am quite mixed about this.

But when I step back and I think about it. If it was me, I would just forget it and try to get my own money in another way. Perhaps, if the money was never to come and it was meant to be like this. I would think that Dorje Shugden made it as such so my spiritual practice wouldn't be destroyed by having such vast sums of money. It would be a difficult fact to face but I would face it than wrangle for money in court. That wouldn't look too good considering being a Buddhist priest. After all, the Buddha talked about renunciation especially for the Sangha and shouldn't I be the one to practice it especially in such situations.

[fruven]

The thought of fighting in the court makes one a plaintiff and the other party a defendant. Therefore the outcome is dependent how one is offensive and the other defensive's skill. The outcome from the court is not definitive while karma is definitive. If one has the karma to receive resources, in this case, financial resource, one won't need to pursue legal means. It is like saying the Dharma is not enough to settle issues and we need the courts to decide for us. Financial support can come in many ways. It will come from the sponsors who wish to help to increase the Dharma teachings. What is rightly yours will be yours.

[Benny]

When it comes to Samsara , anything is possible when it comes down to MONEY ! I sincerely hope that , the truth will prevail in this case , hopefully the Reverend has got good intentions for "Challenging" the will of his late father. As far as the concept of last will and testament goes , the last or latest will , will be the enforcible will , thats how the whole concept of will writing goes . Changing the beneficiaries of will happens very commonly , unless Fraud is suspected.

Here , it is obvious this Reverend had a fall out with his Father, that is why i really hope this Reverend has a very good motivation to challenge this will in court . Only time will tell , if ever he wins , we would be likely to know how he uses his fathers money . In a way i agree with Big Uncle that this monk should just accept that it is not in his karma to have receive this benefit from his father. After all the other party is a Higher Education Institution , very much deserving of financial assistance .