Chairman Toine van Beek of the Buddharama Temple in Waalwijk has received a high Buddhist award for his commitment to the temple and Buddhism. The award marks the end of a hard power struggle surrounding the administration of the temple, which started after Van Beek discovered that approximately two tons had disappeared under the previous administration.
The temple mainly donates cash. According to Van Beek, this was tampered with between 2017 and 2022. He discovered that one of the departed board members had opened several accounts in Thailand. According to Van Beek, the balance on those accounts amounted to approximately 9 million Thai baht, which amounts to approximately 224,000 euros. After cameras were installed, deposits into the accounts stopped.
Thai embassy involvement
Van Beek set up a professional administration and demanded receipts for all declarations. But not everyone was pleased with the way Van Beek was putting things in order. Gossip was spread and a smear campaign was started against Van Beek on social media. The Thai embassy also got involved and put pressure on Van Beek to resign, according to previous research by Omroep Brabant and NOS.
After several lawsuits in the Netherlands and Thailand, the power struggle finally stopped and relations calmed down, Van Beek now says. “In one of the lawsuits in Thailand, the judge had a probing conversation with the defamers. After that, the defamation stopped and I withdrew the lawsuit.”
Award
Van Beek was nominated for an award in Thailand because of his commitment to Buddhism and his steadfastness. An umbrella organization for Buddhist organizations spent a year investigating Van Beek and awarded him the award.
“It is quite an honor and was quite an experience to receive that award,” says Van Beek. “It is the highest Buddhist award you can receive.” He says about 2,500 people were nominated for the award, of whom between 180 and 190 actually received it.
Visitors come back
Previously, about three to four thousand visitors came to the temple every year. Due to the argument, the number of visitors decreased, but “we see that more and more people are returning to the temple. Even those who were previously involved in slander,” says Van Beek.
When asked whether the temple has seen anything back from the money that has disappeared, the chairman says: “It is very difficult to do anything about that. We have taken our loss and continued. But as Buddhists say: he will still get his karma,” says Van Beek.