Monk turns influencer: Thai monk faces backlash for enjoying Japan trip
Thai netizens criticised a well-known Thai monk from Rai Pru Temple in the southern province of Trang after he shared videos of himself and other monks travelling to Japan and enjoying soft ice cream and snow, which is considered inappropriate for monks.
The Twitter account, Red Skull, shared a video of the deputy abbot of Rai Pru Temple, Phra Maha Sornnarin Dhammanarintho, or Joe, yesterday, December 27, with a caption that reads…
“Social media influencer in orange robe enjoying a seven-day trip to Japan! This is Joe, a monk who previously made headlines for diving in his robe. Being a monk is a dream job for people. You can earn a good income and travel abroad with this easy job! How did he do 10 routines of monks in Japan?”
The video shows Joe and four other monks at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok waiting for a flight to Japan. The group visited several tourist sites in Japan including the HEP FVIE Ferris Wheel, Tsutenkaku Tower, the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Kinkakuji Temple and the World Heritage Village of Shirakawa-go.
Joe was also seen enjoying ramen noodles and soft ice cream during the trip. According to traditional practice, monks should not buy food or drink and should only eat food offered by Buddhists. There is also a specific time for monks to eat. They should not eat or chew food after noon every day.
Buddhism office to investigate
Following the strict rules that Thai Buddhist monks should follow, many Thai netizens raised questions about why Joe and other monks did not seem to follow the 10 routines of monks during their trip. Some said that Joe’s actions and gestures in the videos were not as calm as monks should be.
Netizens commented…
“This profession is full of happiness! You can go anywhere and spend money on whatever you want.”
“Wear this uniform to get free accommodation, food and more money. What you have to invest in is your hair”.
“Some of the monks I know earn more than 100,000 baht a month.”
“Where is the National Office of Buddhism?”
“It’s time for a monk to be a travel influencer.”
Joe came under the fire before, after sharing a video of himself enjoying diving in the sea in the monk robe. He later stepped forward to apologise for what he had done and urged people to also focus on other videos in which he talked about the Dhamma.
After the video went viral on social media, the director of the Trang Provincial Buddhist Office, Sukpichai Chaowakun, assured the public that he would discuss it with Joe when he arrived in Thailand on December 30. Sukpichai added that he already asked Joe to delete all the videos in Japan from his TikTok account.
Influencer เดรสส้ม ทริปทัวร์ญี่ปุ่นฉ่ำๆ 7 วัน 7 คืน หลวงพี่โจเมืองตรังคนเดิมที่เคยเป็นข่าวทริปดำน้ำดูประการังทั้งผ้าเหลือง อาชีพในฝันของใครหลายๆคน งานสบาย รายได้ดี ได้ทัวร์ต่างประเทศด้วย
ไปเที่ยวต่างประเทศแบบนี้ ทำข้อวัตรของภิกษุ 10 ข้อยังไงวะ ทรงนี้อนาคตกาโตะ2 แน่นอนไอ้สัส… pic.twitter.com/tUvAcs8gC2
— Red Skull (@RedSkullxxx) December 27, 2023
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