A Vietnamese Buddhist monk on a pilgrimage barefoot from his homeland to India ran an unexpected opposition to Sri Lanka on the last stage of his circuit trip around Asia.
A witness told Radio Free Asia that when the Vietnamese monk Thich Minh kills and his entourage were about to go to a local Hindu temple to rest, a local monk, claiming to be Sangha Buddhist Sri-Lankaise, came to the temple and asked that it was not.
Local Sri Lankans opposed, taking sides with their Vietnamese visitor.
The Sri Lankan monk then released his phone and read the contents of a letter allegedly sent by Thich Nhat Tu, a representative of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha supported by the State, to justify his request that Thich Minh kills the legendary temple composed of Giriulla, a city in 30 miles in the north of the capital.
“He highlighted the letter and read the content to prove that this group of monks is a false monks and violated the law,” said Nguyen Minh Chi, a Vietnamese filmmaker who witnessed the exchange.
The letter is visible in the video and the photos of the incident, filmed by YouTubers accompanying Thich Minh Tue.
RFA has not been able to check the authenticity of the letter. He has a signature and the name of Thich Nhat Tu, as well as the seal of the International Buddhist Council of Vietnamese Sangha, for which he serves as an assistant chief.
Thich Minh kills was finally able to enter the temple.
He became an unlikely internet sensation last year in Vietnam, where his simple lifestyle touched a sensitive string. His barefoot walks have become viral and the sympathizers came out en masse.
Last December, he left Vietnam on a trip to India, the birthplace of Buddhism. After crossing Laos, he entered Thailand with a plan to browse myanmar exhausted in conflict, but encountered problems with logistics and visa. He has since went to Malaysia and a week ago arrived in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist nation. He always hopes to go to India.
His shipment is not without controversy. The Buddhist sanctioned by the state of Vietnam Sangha did not officially recognize him as a monk. At one point, before the start of his international mistakes, the authorities of Communist Vietnam, suspicious of his popularity, announced that he had “voluntarily retired”.
A statement was published Wednesday on two Facebook pages linked to Thich Nhat Tu, the Vietnamese Sangha representative, denying the letter.
He includes a section calling for close cooperation between the Vietnamese and Sri Lankan Sanghas on the question of Thich Minh kills, saying that this is a question linked to “the national order and security”.
A follower of Thich Minh killed expressed exasperation on controversy.
“Why do people who practice Buddhism together are constantly fighting?” asked Phuoc Nghiem in a video he published on Wednesday. “We only practice (religion), but they continue to file complaints.”