The decision, concluded by the Standing Committee of the Executive Council, includes a two-year ban on preaching in any form and presiding over events that gather large crowds at Thien Ton Phat Quang Pagoda and other locations.

Additionally, the VBS has mandated Thien Ton Phat Quang Pagoda and Venerable Thich Chan Quang to withdraw all Three Jewels Refuge Sects containing content that modifies one of the five precepts, which is not in accordance with the basic precepts of lay Buddhists established by the Buddha.

Venerable Thich Chan Quang must also remove all sermons that cause social confusion.

The VBS document further requires Venerable Thich Chan Quang and the Management Board of Thien Ton Phat Quang to rectify the activities of Buddhist monasteries and youth groups of Phat Quang in various provinces and cities. During the disciplinary period, Venerable Thich Chan Quang’s lectures are prohibited from being posted on social media platforms.

The Central Sangha Council, the Central Legal Committee, the Central Control Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, and the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province will supervise the implementation of this discipline over the two-year period.

The Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province is responsible for guiding and ensuring favorable conditions for monks and nuns practicing at Thien Ton Phat Quang to stabilize according to the Charter of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and State laws.

The controversy arose from the content of the Three Jewels Refuge Order published by Thien Ton Phat Quang Pagoda, where Venerable Thich Chan Quang, as the "master who transmitted the precepts," altered the third precept from "No adultery" to "No betrayal."

Previously, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs had requested the Religious Affairs Committee (Department of Home Affairs) of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province to collaborate with the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha to examine and verify the statements and sermons of Venerable Thich Chan Quang reported by public opinion.

The Government Committee for Religious Affairs emphasized that any statements in circulated clips that are inconsistent with Buddhist teachings, canon laws, cultural traditions, or the history of the Vietnamese people, and any modifications to the prohibitions in the Three Jewels Refuge Order of Buddhism, would be strictly addressed.

Tinh Le