https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1411567/parting-words-to-the-condemned
ID: 3447530 • Letter: H
Question
https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1411567/parting-words-to-the-condemned This is the link to open the article.1) Summarize the story, highlighting the main points, 2) Is the article sympathetic or opposed to the practice(s)? 3) What information is missing from the article? 4) Explain whether you feel the article is balanced, 5) Share a link to the story https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1411567/parting-words-to-the-condemned This is the link to open the article.
1) Summarize the story, highlighting the main points, 2) Is the article sympathetic or opposed to the practice(s)? 3) What information is missing from the article? 4) Explain whether you feel the article is balanced, 5) Share a link to the story 1) Summarize the story, highlighting the main points, 2) Is the article sympathetic or opposed to the practice(s)? 3) What information is missing from the article? 4) Explain whether you feel the article is balanced, 5) Share a link to the story
Explanation / Answer
A 53 year old monk and also the abbot of Wat Bang Phreak Tai, Phra Kru Srinonthawat, has been teaching dharma to death row inmates for 27 years. He shares his experience in helping people who are sentenced to death in Thailand. He helps the inmates, especially the death row inmates to practice meditation as he strongly believed will help them find peace and reflect on their crimes thus accepting the end quietly. He says that when he is allowed to see someone at 4 pm in the evening, he knows that an execution is scheduled for the next day. He comforts them by saying that they were lucky enough to know their date of death. He has helped almost 100 inmates and highlights that people who practised meditation were able to accept their death gracefully than those who didn’t. He says that many of them have committed mistakes or made bad choices but otherwise he considers them one among us.
He points out that Buddhism regards all life as equal and valuable and no one has the right to take anyone’s life. This asserts his view on death penalty. Thailand practices death penalty from 1935 and at present there are 502 inmates are in the prisons who are sentenced to death. Although anti-death penalty movements oppose death penalty, government says that still majority of people support death penalty.
Phra Kru Srinonthawat feels that he would be happy if death penalty is abolished in the near future because the act of retaliation is not in the Bhuddist Dharma.
The article is very sympathetic towards the inmates who are sentenced to death and opposes the practice of death penalty.
The testimonials of few prisoners who are sentenced to death could be added. Thailand is a Buddhist Country, so if Buddhism prevents the practice of death sentence why should the King or the government impose it.
The information about whether the Buddhist monks are talking to the government regarding this is also missing.The article is very well balanced because while the monk is not ready to comment on the death penalty which is a decision of the government, he didn’t forget to include the teachings of Buddhism.
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