Für'n Arsch: Die Pagode Phat Hue und ihr Abt Thich Thien Son (alias Thay)

Ein ehemaliges Pagodenmitglied sandte die folgende email, die ich im Wortlaut unkommentiert wiedergebe, ohne mir deren Inhalt zu eigen zu machen. Darin erhebt der Mönch Hue Gioi, den die Pagode ausgerechnet noch als Teil ihrer Gemeinschaft auf der Website führt, schwere Vorwürfe gegen den Abt von Phat Hue, Thich Thien Son (alias Thay). Sie beziehen sich vor allem auf - nach den Ordensregeln - sexuelles Fehlverhalten (Oralverkehr, Analverkehr), das den lebenslangen Ausschluss von Thien Son (Thay) aus der Mönchsgemeinschaft zur Folge hätte, und u.a. auf Zollvergehen (also auch auf mutmaßliche "weltliche" Straftaten). Hue Gioi spricht davon, dass der Abt vor Hue Giois Ordination  auch mit ihm Sex hatte. Hue Gioi ("William Jackson") ist laut Facebook am 25.08.1982 geboren und stammt aus Westborough, Massachusets. Er hat nach meinen Informationen dem Abt eine hinreichende Frist gegeben, von sich aus zurückzutreten, die dieser ungenutzt verstreichen ließ.

Ich verneige mich vor Hue Giois Entscheidung und seinem Mut, Klartext zu reden.

Weitergeleitete E-Mail (von yogaraum11@web.de, Absender namentlich bekannt)

"Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

der betroffene Mönch Hue Gioi (William Jackson) hat seine Erlaubnis gegeben, seinen Erfahrungsbericht weiterzuleiten, damit andere Menschen vor Thich Thien Son gewarnt werden können. Er ist über seine Emailadresse zu erreichen und steht jedem für weitere Fragen zur Verfügung. Diese Information, deren Verbreitung auch von ehemaligen SchülerInnen und ehemaligen MitarbeiterInnen des Abtes gewünscht ist, wird breit gestreut und auch in die Öffentlichkeit gelangen, um andere Menschen zu schützen, die gutgläubig in Thich Thien Son noch einen vollordinierten Mönch sehen, was er auf Grund seiner Taten de fakto nicht mehr ist.


Von: Hue Gioi <huegioi@googlemail.com>
Datum: 8. Juni 2010 16:10:47 MESZ
Betreff: TTS Allegations
 
Dear Venerables,
My name is Thich Hue Gioi. I am an American Bhikshu. I was ordained in the Vietnamese tradition with Thich Thien Son as my teacher in 2005 and fully ordained in 2008. In the time I have spent at Pagoda Phat Hue in Frankfurt I have experience and witnessed much behavior that took me some time to digest.

Before I was ordained as a monk. Thich Thien Son took me under his wing and was seemingly very kind an attentive to my needs. Very open minded. This was something that I felt I needed in my life. I had read much about the Buddhist teaching but he was the first monk I saw who embodied much of what I had been reading and he claimed at the time to be of great practice,realization and spiritual might. I believed it.

I had shared with him I may have some issues with my own sexuality and he told me that I could try them out on him and that he would compassionately go along. Along with tradition teachings in which he added his own spin and the same with practices the sexual "work" continued until I was ordained in 2005 as a samanera.

After being at the Pagoda Phat Hue in Frankfurt for a number of years I began to get a different picture of the Master. I started to realize his faults. It was then I started learning more about different traditions from different masters. I also had the opportunity to visit Burma and see Buddhism from different angles. It was that time as well that I read through the Majjima Nikaya and realized that what my teacher was teaching did not match up. I spend the next year in turmoil making plans on how I was going to leave the temple. As well trying to figure out what was real and what was not in the Temple. During this time I spoke with many different teachers as well as a therapist. It was like I had been blind to all these harmful things that had been happening right in front of me.


Metta and Mudita,
Thich Hue Gioi


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During my stay at Pagoda Phat Hue, I personally witnessed Thich Thien Son's committing numerous Parajika offenses as a fully ordained Bhikkhu. They are as follows:

STEALING: Taking large amounts goods through customs in order to avoid tax on them. He also encouraged his students to do the same.

SEXUAL ACTS: He engaged in sexual acts such as kissing, touching the sexual organs, oral sex, and anal sex. I witnessed these acts occur on at least two people. I also experienced such acts myself, which occurred before I ordained as a monk. Thich Thien Son's explanation for the sexual acts was, “It is a short cut. You need to experience both sides of your sexuality to become a good practitioner.” He told me in confidence that he "has had sexual contact 10 men and with a woman, but was not aroused". As well, he has encouraged minors to kiss him and others. But he justifies this as only touching skin to skin.

CLAIMED ENLIGHTENMENT: He said that he had no sexual desire and that he also had numerous psychic powers, including mind reading, seeing past lives, etc. Due to his behavior, I have reason to doubt this.

I could make a very long list, but instead I will point to what I believe to be the roots of his conduct:
He is very judgmental of his own behavior but believes the way out of this is shamlessness. He as well, expects perfection of himself, but he is unable to live up to these standards. In turn he is very critical to those close to him. He tries to present this perfection to the outside world. Thus, he tries to prove his abilities by accepting many large challenges but often due to his arrogance creates a heavey burden for those around him. He expects others around him to clean up after his mistakes, and blames them for their incompetence to do so which pushes people away. Telling them they are not compassionate, or loyal. To counter-act this abandonment, he assumes the guise of accepting responsibility for the problems of his students and ordained.

He tells his students they are not capable to see as clearly as him, especially women. This would not be a novel issue in its self, but the cycle that follows is to him. Many of his students become dependent on him, and he does not teach them how to solve the problems on their own, but rather presents them the problems to solve. He tells them he knows where their problems come from and can solve them and proceeds to make up likely stories, which are often half-truths. They become dependent on him for each step then he blames them for being too needy (this is called a double bind in psychology). He often tries to get away from his students to do things in private, such as secretly indulging in sexual relationships, and going on trips to different countries without his robe, and other instances.

He does this to escape the trap he has created for himself. It is the cycle that all of us in samsara have, but his, is seemingly very clear. He is lonely and believes that these behaviors will bring him lasting happiness. This behavior then reflects in the way that he teaches his students without clear direction. He helps them to find their problems, but leaves them to their own devices on how to solve them, because the way he solves his own is by indulging in sensual pleasures, but as a Buddhist monk, he cannot openly teach this and I believe, even let himself believe this is the case."
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