VietNamNet Bridge – On the morning of November 16, Buddhist monk Thich Phap Dinh asked for the permission of senior monks of Phuoc Son Monastery (Dong Nai Province) to leave the priesthood and the proposal was approved.

Pop star fined VND5 million for kissing Buddhist monks




In his application, the young monk wrote: “I have been carefully taught about Buddhism morals by the masters at the monastery. Because I’m still young and vulnerable, with shallow thinking, I had gestures, words and thoughts that did not meet the standard of monks ...”

This monk felt that he was at fault with his masters, with other monks in his monastery, with the Buddhist Shangha, the entire monks and Buddhists and he wished to be forgiven.

As his parents do not have many children, the monk wanted to return to the secular life to help his family.
 
The monk promised that though he would be no longer a Buddhist monk, he would still follow the Buddhism morals. He also looked forward to become a monk again if he has sufficient conditions in the future.

Venerable monk Thich Buu Chanh of the Phuoc Son Monastery said: "Monk Phap Dinh applied for returning to the secular life because of family circumstances. According to the Buddhist provisions, nobody is forced to become a monk or to return to the secular life. Therefore when we received the application of Phap Dinh, we approved it."

After receiving the application, at 9 am on November 16, the Phuoc Son Monastery performed rituals for Phap Dinh and the monk has officially returned to the secular life.

On November 4, in a charity show in Ho Chi Minh City, pop star Dam Vinh Hung offered a rare wine bottle for charity auction. Before the auction, he promised to kiss the auction winner.
 
The winners were two Buddhist monks, who bought the bottle for VND55 million ($2,500). Incidentally, Dam Vinh Hung did not hesitate to kiss the younger monk (Phap Dinh) on his lips and the older monk on his hand.

The same-sex kisses between the male singer and the monk made the witness stunned. The pictures "grabbing" the kisses have been quickly spread on the Internet and received harsh comments. Many people said that this image is so offensive, especially in an Asian country as Vietnam. It is harder to accept the same-sex kiss of a monk.

As soon as the case was reported by the local media, the two monks were identified. They were also penalized: being kept in for three months.

Although the two monks got pretty strict punishment, the public wave has not yet subsided. Many people said singer Dam Vinh Hung must be punished for putting a bad image to the public.

Last week, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism summoned the singer to Hanoi and decided to impose a VND5 million ($250) fine on him.

Translated by T. Van