Monk Thich Minh Tue
In the handwritten letter by Thich Minh Tue that was posted on the website of his brother's company on November 25, the monk expressed his wish to go to India.
The monk said his brother was helping him get the necessary papers for his trip. However, he knows it would be difficult to reach the destination by walking and wants people to help him find a proper way.
"I just want to walk because I'm strictly following the Buddha's teachings," he said. "I want people who know about the best way there and the necessary procedures for my trip to show them to me."
Monk Thich Minh Tue, whose real name is Le Anh Tu, 43, has attracted many followers while begging for alms throughout the country. However, on November 18, after big crowds caused traffic congestion, public disorder, and interference with his activities, he decided to stop his walks and become a hermit.
"I can return to my walking and begging for alms as there won't be any gatherings disrupting the public," he wrote in a letter signed on November 18, "I don't need bodyguards or people waving or greeting me. I only want to walk alone as it is better for my studies and practice of Buddha's teachings."
The monk previously wrote to local authorities asking for help to prevent people from posting images of him on social media without his consent.
After living as a hermit in Nha Trang City, Thich Minh Tue returned to his hometown in the Central Highlands Province of Gia Lai's Ia Grai District and has practised mendicancy since early November.
However, his appearance attracted thousands of people, and severe congestion often occurred along the paths he walked. His brother, Le Anh Tuan, had to send a team of bodyguards to protect him.
Police in Gia Lai Province have advised people not to gather and follow the monk in big crowds, as it causes public disorder.
According to the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, Thich Minh Tue began practising Buddhism, walking barefoot, begging for alms once a day every morning, and travelling across Vietnam in 2017. He made three such trips between 2017 and 2023.
In early 2024, he made the fourth walk from the southern-central province of Khanh Hoa, heading towards northern mountainous provinces. However, on his journey back to the south in May, large crowds started following him after his story was posted and spread on social media.
The monk was open to sharing his beliefs when asked. His strict practice includes walking barefoot, feeding himself only with alms, seeking shelter in forests, bushes, or cemeteries, and refusing all material possessions. His commitment to observing these precepts has moved and inspired many people.
Thich Minh Tue has become a national phenomenon, with hundreds of internet users, profiles, and social pages on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok following and broadcasting his walks.
Long lines of people queued up to wait for him and follow him as he reached the central region, including the curious and people who wanted to pay their respects, along with hundreds of social media followers who have been live streaming his journey on their channels—resulting in public disorder and traffic disturbances.