A Vietnamese monk who he would no longer adhere to a vow of poverty as he continued to study the Buddhist virtues. A newspaper report said he had announced he would no longer be begging for alms to prevent disruption to “security, order, and social and political safety.”
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Supporters were quick to question whether he had been forced to write the letter under duress, or whether someone else had wrote it for him.
At about the same time, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs announced on its website that Thich Minh Tue had “voluntarily retired.”
Why is he walking to India?
But then in November, Thich Minh Tue announced that he wanted to go on a pilgrimage to visit religious sites in India, where Buddhism originated.
The question remains whether he will be allowed to return to Vietnam after the pilgrimage, a Thai observer told BenarNews.
The observer, who requested anonymity for security reasons, noted that Thich Minh Tue is being accompanied by Doan Van Bau, a former security official in the Vietnamese government who specialized in criminology and psychological operations.
“It is unclear whether he was assigned to escort the monk out of the spotlight in Vietnam and lessen his influence there,” he said.
A Thai police officer said Thich Minh Tue came into the country legally.
“He didn’t indicate plans to travel to Myanmar, only stating he was coming for a pilgrimage, and we haven’t found any violations,” said Police Lt. Col. Kittipong Thanomsin of the border town of Chong Mek.
“There are no concerns or need for special coordination, as we conduct regular checks as usual,” he told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news outlet. “There has been no communication from Vietnam.”
Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. BenarNews’ Nontarat Phaicharoen and Ruj Chuenban in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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