Thailand's National Office of Buddhism issues notice about 'group of mendicants dressed as monks'

After a period of monitoring, synthesizing information and supervising the group of mendicant pedestrians and Vietnamese YouTubers, the National Office of Buddhism - the agency responsible for managing all activities of Thai Buddhism - has issued a nationwide announcement.

This announcement was officially issued by the Office of National Buddhism, the Office of the Secretary General of the Supreme Sangha Council, the current governing body of all Buddhist activities in Thailand.

The announcement of the National Office of Buddhism, the Office of the Secretary General of the Supreme Sangha Council of Thailand stated that: "This group of people dressed as monks, walking for alms, along with Vietnamese YouTubers who followed them to film, record and broadcast on online media channels do not belong to the Thai Buddhist monastic system and are not Buddhist monks recognized by the Vietnamese Government ."

The announcement also said that this group of people passed through Thai territory to go to India, always accompanied by a group of YouTubers and TikTokers to film and stream on social networks, causing many controversies in recent times, possibly causing misunderstandings and negativity for Thai Buddhism.

Also in this announcement, it is stated that the above phenomenon may lead to misunderstandings among Thai monks and Buddhists, so after a period of synthesizing information, monitoring and verifying, the National Buddhist Office and the Office of the Secretary General of the Supreme Sangha Council of Thailand have officially announced nationwide.

It is known that the above notice has also been sent to the Vietnamese Buddhist community in Thailand.

The information given to Giac Ngo newspaper was confirmed by the National Buddhist Office. The official announcement above has the number: พศ 0007/1442, dated February 13, Buddhist year 2568, Gregorian year 2025, signed by Deputy Director of the National Buddhist Office Booncherd Kittitharangkoon, sent to the Buddhist offices of provinces and Buddhist communities in Thailand for information and implementation, and continued monitoring in terms of legality.

Buddhism is the state religion in Thailand. The Supreme Sangha Council is the Buddhist governing body that leads all aspects related to monks nationwide.

The Supreme Sangha Council is headed by the Patriarch. The management and administration work is assigned to the National Buddhist Office, which is responsible for liaising and coordinating to achieve the highest efficiency in all Buddhist activities with the state.

Read more Back to Topics

ACCORDING TO GIAC NGO NEWSPAPER - HOAI PHUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/van-phong-phat-giao-quoc-gia-thai-lan-thong-bao-ve-nhom-bo-hanh-khat-thuc-an-mac-giong-tu-si-20250329200044848.htm