Warning About Bogus Monks Soliciting for Money/Red Packets

The Sangha and Management Committee of Palelai Buddhist Temple wishes you, your family, and friends a Very Happy, Healthy and Successful New Year ahead!

Chinese New Year is a period when the Chinese community traditionally presents red packets as a form of conveying well wishes, blessings and gratitude to each other. It was reported in the Shin Min Daily News on 13 February 2024 that a group of “monks” went to the Waterloo Street Guanyin temple area to solicit monetary donations from members of the public. From the report, they were behaving in ways which were very unbecoming of monks and were very aggressive - to the point of snatching money from the hands of donors. Their greed was in full display for all to see and is a disgrace to the monks’ robes that they were wearing. We can only conclude that they are bogus monks as their behaviour soils the Dignity and Nobility of the Buddhist monastic community.

We write to clarify that the Theravada Buddhist monastic code does not allow monks to solicit for donations of any sort. Monks rely on the lay community for support in only four ways: food, robes, lodging and medicine. These are to be offered by the laity voluntarily and there is no solicitation or coercion involved. The donor approaches the monk to request to donate to him. If a donor wishes to offer monetary support, the funds are managed by appointed lay stewards and not handled by the monks themselves. Moreover, the monks and stewards are informed of the intended purpose of the donation e.g. for medication or a temple’s building project.

It can therefore be seen from the above that the offering of money to monks are not in keeping with the Buddhist Monastic Code.

The monks’ alms bowl is part and parcel of the Theravada Buddhist monks’ insignia of the Buddhist holy life. Should any monk approach you with an alms bowl, the only appropriate gift that you can offer him is food. One of the four ways the lay community supports monks is by offering them physical sustenance (food) and in return, monks provide the laity with the gift of the Dhamma (Buddhist teachings). This is how the “Buddhist economy” is sustained - through an exchange of gifts, freely given. There is no money, coercion or solicitation involved at all.

Members and devotees are advised against giving cash or red packets to such bogus monks as it will only perpetuate wrong livelihood and will contribute to the demise of true Buddhist monastic practice.

Please help to maintain the dignity of the Noble Sangha by sharing this clarification with your family and friends. Should you wish to learn more about the practice of alms collection or Dhamma in general, please visit our website at palelaibuddhisttemple.org or Dhammatalks.org.

May you be well and happy.

With best wishes,

The Sangha and Management Committee,

Palelai Buddhist Temple,

Singapore.

警告：假和尚索取金钱/红包

巴礼莱佛寺僧伽及管理委员会恭祝您、您的家人和朋友新年快乐！在新的一年里，身体健康、万事如意！

农历新年是华人互赠红包的传统节日，以此表达美好祝愿、祝福和感激之情。据《新明日报》2024年2月13日报道，一群“和尚”前往滑铁卢街（俗称四马路）观音庙一带向市民募捐。据报道，他们的行为与出家僧人非常不相称，而且具有攻击性，甚至从捐助者手中抢钱。他们的贪婪充分地展现在所有人面前，这对他们所穿着的僧侣袈裟来说是一种耻辱。我们只能断定他们是假和尚，因为他们的行为玷污了佛教僧团的尊严和圣洁。

我们在此澄清，上座部佛教寺院戒律是不允许僧人募集任何形式的捐赠。僧人仅在四方面依赖在家人的支持：食物、袈裟、住宿和药物。这些都是由信徒们自愿提供的，不涉及招揽或强迫。施主通常会主动向僧人提出要求捐赠供品。如果捐赠者希望提供金钱支持，资金将由指定的（净人）在家管理员，而不是由僧人自己处理。此外，僧人和在家管理员（净人）会被告知捐赠的目的，例如：用于药物或寺庙建筑项目等。

由此可见，向僧人供养金钱是不符合佛教戒律的。

佛教上座部僧人的钵是比丘梵行标志的重要组成部分。如果有任何僧人拿着钵来向你走过来，你能供养他的唯一合适的礼物就是食物。在家众支持僧人的四种方式之一是为他们提供物质支持（食物），而僧人会向在家众开示佛法（佛教教义）作为回报。这就是“佛教经济”的运作方式——通过免费赠送的礼物交换。根本不涉及金钱、胁迫或招揽。

我们建议会员和信徒们不要给这些假和尚现金或红包，因为这只会延续他们的错误生活方式，并导致真正的佛教戒律与修行的灭亡。

请与您的家人和朋友分享此澄清，以帮助维护圣洁僧团的尊严。如果您想了解更多有关布施或一般佛法的信息，请访问我们的网站：palailaibuddhisttemple.org 或 Dhammatalks.org。

愿您一切安好，幸福快乐！

呈上对您最好的祝福！

新加坡巴礼莱佛寺

僧伽和管理委员会敬上