Family seeks help in finding Vietnam’s missing 'barefoot monk'

The younger brother of a popular independent Buddhist monk unrecognized by Vietnam’s state-sanctioned religious authorities has sought police assistance in locating him after he went incommunicado about three weeks back.

Le Anh Thin, the younger brother of Thich Minh Tue said that the family is “worried and confused” as they have received no information about him for nearly 20 days since June 12, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on July 1.

“Our family in particular, and many Buddhists at home and abroad who are fond of Thich Minh Tue, are very worried and confused,” Thin said in a letter addressed to police in Gia Lai province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands.

Tue had earned widespread popularity for his barefoot pilgrimage across Vietnam earning him the moniker “barefoot monk.”

His journey has been widely documented by influencers on TikTok and other social media platforms. Reportedly, many supporters were drawn to him for his simple lifestyle and humble demeanor.

Thin said that Tue had told his family members on June 12 that someone from an unknown agency or organization had asked him to temporarily move to another place for five to seven days.

He had also told his relatives that the “authorities believed that his growing number of followers was becoming a threat to public security and order,” Thin alleged in his letter.

Thin also pointed out that Tue had asked Thin and his wife to build some fencing to protect trees near Tue’s shelter – an indication that he really intended to return.

Tue whose real name is Le Anh Tu is not officially recognized by the state-sanctioned Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, or VBS. He has also not claimed that he is a monk and has emphasized that he was an individual trying to follow Buddha’s teachings.

However, owing to his simple lifestyle and humble demeanor many have regarded him as a monk, RFA reported.

In May this year, the VBS in an announcement said that Tue “is not a Buddhist monk,” which technically meant that he could not openly practice Buddhism in the country.

Religious groups or individuals require official recognition to practice their faith despite Vietnam’s constitution giving everyone the right to freedom of religion.

In June, Vietnamese police detained Tue and several of his followers during a raid in a forest in Thua Thien Hue province in central Vietnam.

He was later staying in Gia Lai province’s Ia Grai district, where many of his relatives live.

Reportedly, police officers accompanied him as he begged for food near his parents’ home.

An unnamed observer of Buddhism from Vietnam, who declined to be named due to security reasons, told RFA that he believed that the fate of Tue and his fellow monks was “precarious.”

“Many international human rights and policy organizations are watching what Vietnam is going to do with these independent religious practitioners,” the unnamed observer said.

Gia Lai provincial police’s criminal division did not respond to queries from RFA regarding the whereabouts of Tue.