Mr. Rattanakiri (if this is your real name??) For your information, I am not poor. I just looks old and poor when I visited the so called temple in Honolulu in 2007, because I just finished my hiking that day.
Oh yes, I do have proof before I made any statements about this so call monk. I have no hatred toward any good Buddhist. You came defense this person without knowing the real facts. People from Hawaii provided me documents about this person when he first wrote about Cambodia politic to Phnom Penh Post. A monk study political science???? A monk??? Political science?.........does it make any senses? Oh... boy do I have. I have done some researches about this person when I visited Hawaii, due to his miss steps in Buddhist practice. My question to you, do you know this person? If not, please keep out of this conversation. He has brought bad name to Cambodian monks and you should stop supporting bad monks. Sombat. ----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of rattanakiri Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2010 1:20 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Re : My Letter to the Phnom Penh Post as a buddhist, you should know being poor and ugly is because of your bad karma you did in the past. You should start as a good buddhist, by not repeating the same bad karma like accusing people of wrong doing without any proof or because your bias, and hatred. Heng Sombat wrote: > Sophan > > My name is Sombat Heng resident of Irvine California. I have > information of you when I visited Honolulu. I met you at the so > called temple. You displayed a questionable character. I know you, > but you not know me. You would know me because I was poor and look old. > > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jan 23, 2010, at 7:09 AM, sophan <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Dear Everyone; >> >> I don't understand why there are endless arguments and privacy attacks >> in here by our Khmer compatriots who have used their anonymous >> nickname such as thisbugone, heng sombath, pierre hendri etc. If I was >> not wrong, Rattanakiri is Dr. Narrankiri Tith (but please correct me). >> My letter to the Phnom Penh Post is not about my dorm stay or personal/ >> private life. It is about part of my opinion to fully exercise our >> citizen rights and freedom of expression in a democratic nation. The >> letters are also filtered and edited by the PPP before they were >> published. Why do they choose this private life to argue here? Is it >> called privacy attacking or knowledge improvement? I want to see any >> possible approaches which we (Khmers) can bring productive outcomes to >> our community and nation rather than malicious speech. >> >> Otherwise, if someone wants to know what is exactly operating inside >> the dorm please click this link: >> http://www.eastwestcenter.org/about-ewc/housing/student-housing/ >> and don't forget to read the "Resident Conduct Code". Look at the >> picture and the room inside this link: >> http://www.eastwestcenter.org/about-ewc/housing/housing-facilities/ >> There are 12 floors. The 9th and 10th floor is for male students only, >> and the 5th and 6th floor for female only. The rests are for mix and >> couples. When I was a monk, I stayed in the 9th floor. During that >> time, many Cambodian-Americans living in Hawaii took turn to bring >> food and pacchai boun (four necessities) to offer to me almost every >> week. I am really grateful and appreciate with their Saddha >> (dedication) and Panna (wisdom) in Buddhism. >> >> Overall, I am appreciate and grateful with everyone who have expressed >> concerns about me in both personal life and academic study. >> >> Sincerely, >> >> Sophan >> >> On Jan 23, 8:54 am, Pierre Henri de Poipet <[email protected]> >> wrote: >>> It's not fine for monks to live in the dorm with females, only for >>> normal guys like us. >>> How can we party, listen to AC/DC, drink Bud, smoke, watch porn and >>> eat dinner or score if monks are around ? >>> >>> Joe, from Poipet >>> >>> ________________________________ >>> De : thisbugone <[email protected]> >>> À : [email protected] >>> Envoyé le : Ven 22 Janvier 2010, 16 h 57 min 45 s >>> Objet : Re: My Letter to the Phnom Penh Post >>> >>> Off campus housing is not the same as the dorm. What kind of pills >>> are you taking while writing the email below? If one chose to be a >>> monk one must follows by its religion. >>> >>> On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 8:55 PM, rattanakiri <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>> I went to college once. I know these co-ed international student >>> dorms are like an apartment building. Everyone has his or her own >>> room. This is far from what you have implied. Even if he decided to >>> live off campus, it is the same setting. Each apartment complex is >>> going to females and males residence. Where do you think he should >>> stay? Freshmen dorm? >>> >>> >>> >>>>> Heng Sombat wrote: >>> >>>>>> Hey Rattankiri, >>> >>>>>>> You miss the whole picture here. Monks are subjected to be a >>>>>>> pure person >>>>>>> that we all respect and trust during his period of serving his >>>>>>> monkship >>>>>>> regardless young or old. If you claim that it is fine for a >>>>>>> monk to live in >>>>>>> the same dorm with female(s), I must say that you have lost >>>>>>> track and you do >>>>>>> not have any believes in Buddhism. Or you are pretending to be >>>>>>> Buddhism. Or >>>>>>> you are an idiot just like what "thisbugone" said. Please check >>>>>>> with your >>>>>>> parents about Buddhism before you response. >>> >>>>>>> Sombat >>> >>>>>>> -----Original Message----- >>>>>>> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] >>>>>>> On Behalf >>>>>>> Of thisbugone >>>>>>> Sent: Saturday, January 16, 2010 11:23 AM >>>>>>> To: [email protected] >>>>>>> Subject: Re: My Letter to the Phnom Penh Post >>> >>>>>>> Monk and women can stay together lol. You must be an idiot! >>> >>>>>>> On Saturday, January 16, 2010, rattanakiri >>>>>>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>>>>>> Some people may not realize it but speak ill of someone >>>>>>>> including making a >>> >>>>> harsh and quick judgement unfairly on someone is unbecoming a >>>>> buddisht. Remember, Buddha teaching speak rightly only. >>> >>>>>>>> In a poor country like Cambodia, monastery life is a way out of >>>>>>>> poverty >>> >>>>> and a chance for a proper education. In fact, many celebrated >>>>> Khmer leaders >>>>>>> and scholars owed their career to their days in as a monk. I >>>>>>> think not any >>>>>>> Cambodians would be shocked if a monk rejoins his civilian >>>>>>> life. Cambodian >>>>>>> buddhists offer money, food to monks in order to receive good >>>>>>> karma, >>>>>>> blessing. Should the monks refund the money, foods back if he >>>>>>> returns to >>>>>>> civilian life. Would you expect the monk perform a return of >>>>>>> good karma, >>>>>>> blessing back to heaven from those people? Give me a break. >>> >>>>>>>> Savouth Chea wrote: >>> >>>>>>>>> Aloha, >>> >>>>>>>>> As a resident of Hawaii, which Sophan Seng claims he >>>>>>>>> represents, I wanted >>> >>>>> to share my observations, thoughts, and also questions about his >>>>> motives. >>>>>>> Unfortunately, I didn't like what I saw of him, and I only >>>>>>> foresee further >>>>>>> disruption. >>> >>>>>>>> Sophan Seng came to Hawaii to further his education back in >>>>>>>> 2006. The >>> >>>>> first time he set foot in Hawaii, I introduced him to some Cambodian >>>>>>> community members since he was a Khmer new to the island. Some >>>>>>> knew his >>>>>>> background from the past and had their opinions (good but mostly >>>>>>> bad), but I >>>>>>> tried not to take people's word for it. As months progressed, >>>>>>> however, I >>>>>>> came to see that the warnings I had heard were true. First, he >>>>>>> used the >>>>>>> Buddhist religion to advance himself rather than becoming a monk >>>>>>> selflessly >>>>>>> in dedication to Buddha. How do I know this? While attending the >>>>>>> University of Hawaii, he lived in a co-educational dormitory. >>>>>>> One may think >>>>>>> this is not a big deal nowadays, but should a monk put himself >>>>>>> in the >>>>>>> company and living quarters of females? Is this appropriate? >>>>>>> He often >>>>>>> flirted with young female members of our community and made >>>>>>> inappropriate >>>>>>> comments - causing some of our youth and their parents to become >>>>>>> very upset! >>>>>>> He was affiliated with a so-called ‘temple’ in Hawaii, >>>>>>> and performed >>>>>>> Buddhist ceremonies. That was reasonable because he was a monk, >>>>>>> right? But >>>>>>> in 2009, he visited Cambodia from Hawaii, ostensibly still a >>>>>>> monk, but came >>>>>>> back to the United States only a couple of months later with a >>>>>>> wife! Prior >>>>>>> to his trip back to Cambodia, he told members of the community >>>>>>> in Hawaii >>>>>>> that he was going there to represent and gain support for the >>>>>>> temple and the >>>>>>> Buddhist religion. The ‘temple committee’ gave him $400, and some >>>>>>> individual people also gave him money, since he was a monk >>>>>>> and/or student. >>>>>>> Poor him, right? When he came back with a wife, people were >>>>>>> shocked. Did >>>>>>> he care? Apparently not. He did not attempt to explain himself >>>>>>> nor >>>>>>> apologize for using the monies to go back to Cambodia to get >>>>>>> married. No, >>>>>>> he used religion for personal gain. Sad but true. >>> >>>>>>>> To people that do not know him, Sophan Seng represents himself >>>>>>>> as a >>> >>>>> ‘community facilitator.’ To be a facilitator, ideally one has to be >>>>>>> neutral, or at least try to maintain neutrality. Instead, he >>>>>>> openly >>>>>>> expresses his opinion about Cambodian politics. In fact, even >>>>>>> as a monk, >>>>>>> whose studies are supposed to focus on learning and >>>>>>> internalizing Buddhist >>>>>>> principles and the path to peace, he chose to pursue a degree in >>>>>>> /political >>>>>>> science/. Most if not all of the articles he has written to >>>>>>> the Phnom Penh >>>>>>> Post (PPP) discuss politics. At the close of each of his >>>>>>> articles, he >>>>>>> signed "Sophan Seng, University Hawaii at Manoa, United States," or >>>>>>> "Cambodian Students of Aloha" (the University's student >>>>>>> organization). This might indicate that his opinions echo >>>>>>> those of other Khmer at the >>>>>>> University of Hawaii. They do not. Again, he is not >>>>>>> representing the >>>>>>> university, Khmer in Hawaii, or the United States of America. >>>>>>> He used these >>>>>>> closures to make himself look good with outside parties. Not >>>>>>> all Khmer in >>>>>>> Hawaii (or elsewhere in the United States) agree with him. >>> >>>>>>>> In his previous correspondence, Sophan stated, “If you want to >>>>>>>> know me >>> >>>>> more, go to these links.” The links he provided, >>>>> http://www2.hawaii.edu/~csaloha/officers.html >>>>>>> <http://www2.hawaii.edu/%7Ecsaloha/officers.html> and >>>>> http://www2.hawaii.edu/~sophan/<http://www2.hawaii.edu/%7Esophan/>, >>>>> are >>>>>>> links that were self-created -- using the university- related >>>>>>> resources >>>>>>> (originally created for the use of the student group as a whole) >>>>>>> for >>>>>>> personal gain, again. Was the information he put on the site >>>>>>> approved by >>>>>>> the majority of the students in the organization? Has anyone else >>>>>>> affiliated with the CSAloha used this site for personal >>>>>>> boasting? No. Not >>>>>>> even the founders, myself or Mr. Chanthoeun To, ever considered >>>>>>> using this >>>>>>> site to toot our own horns. The purpose of CSAloha, ‘…does not >>>>>>> represent >>>>>>> any political or religious ideologies both on/off campus.’ Yet >>>>>>> he used the >>>>>>> university-based name/group to send articles about politics to >>>>>>> PPP and other >>>>>>> media. Like Mr. Heng Sombat mentioned in his email, ‘He just >>>>>>> wanted his >>>>>>> name to be read in Phnom Penh Post.’ >>> >>>>>>>> Most of the articles he wrote to the PPP from Hawaii attacked >>>>>>>> the current >>> >>>>> Cambodian government and sided with opposition political parties. >>>>> Hmmm . . >>>>>>> . Sophan, when you were in Cambodia, did you write any articles >>>>>>> to the PPP? >>>>>>> Or did you simply enjoy yourself there and then come back to the >>>>>>> safety of >>>>>>> the U.S. to criticize Cambodia? Why attack the government of >>>>>>> your own >>>>>>> country? Do you just use your country for personal gain as >>>>>>> well? Samdech >>>>>>> Hun Sen has been a Prime Minister for years. He lives in >>>>>>> Cambodia most of >>>>>>> his life, unlike Mr. Sam Rainsy. When problems arise in the >>>>>>> country, >>>>>>> Samdech Hun Sen is still there. How about Mr. Sam Rainsy? He >>>>>>> leaves the >>>>>>> country when problems come up. Then, his students and his >>>>>>> followers pay >>>>>>> the price since they can’t leave the country like him. Now, I >>>>>>> am not >>>>>>> affiliated with any political party in Cambodia. I am simply >>>>>>> noting that >>>>>>> you only support a given official or bureaucrat when it suits >>>>>>> you. Perhaps >>>>>>> it is easier to get an American scholarship if you are attacking >>>>>>> a socialist >>>>>>> country leader rather than supporting him? Sophan, why try to >>>>>>> divide the >>>>>>> country instead of uniting it? Are you using your Canadian and >>>>>>> US bases to >>>>>>> get asylum to live abroad permanently?? >>> >>>>>>>> Your articles to the PPP do not help the current issues in >>>>>>>> Cambodia; >>> >>>>> instead, you are dividing the government and her people. Before >>>>> you decide >>>>>>> to sound off your opinion again, you should take a look at >>>>>>> yourself in the >>>>>>> mirror again and think about whether you are helping Cambodia >>>>>>> with your >>>>>>> words and actions, or, by pretending to be some sort of expert >>>>>>> from the >>>>>>> safety of your current North American address, making things >>>>>>> worse for the >>>>>>> people of our motherland. >>> >>>>>>>> Savouth Chea >>> >>>>>>>>> Honolulu, Hawaii >>> >>>>>>>>> -----Message d'origine----- >>>>>>>>> De : [email protected] >>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>>>>>> [mailto:[email protected] >>>>>>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>] De la part >>>>>>>>> de Heng Sombat >>>>>>>>> Envoyé : samedi 9 janvier 2010 21:08 >>>>>>>>> À : [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>>>>>> Objet : RE: My Letter to the Phnom Penh Post >>> >>>>>>>>> Sophan, >>> >>>>>>>>> The CSALOHA website is very outdated >>>>>>>>> (http://www2.hawaii.edu/~csaloha/officers.html >>>>>>>>> <http://www2.hawaii.edu/%7Ecsaloha/officers.html>). I do not >>> >>> ... >>> >>> read more » >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. >> This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. >> Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. >> >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc >> Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org
