They certainly look the part at first,with their shaved heads and long robes, often orange but sometimes brown or grey, but these Buddhist monks are not monks at all. Usually Asian men, there are a smaller number of women similarly dressed claiming to be Taoist nuns.
Across Canada they will approach people on the street and offer trinkets and ask for money. The trinkets could be in the form of a small gold-coloured ticket about the size of a playing card, or beaded bracelet along with the claim they will bring “peace.” Sometimes they claim to be collecting in order to build a temple.
Police generally do not get involved as the practice only becomes illegal if they become aggressive, which has been the case on a few occasions.
The fraudulent practice has been going on for at least a couple of years now, and in cities across North America, and indeed in countries like Australia, England, Japan, the USA, and elsewhere
In 2013, the Toronto Star newspaper quoted Keith Lao, owner of small store in Toronto’s Chinatown. He said, “Everybody (in Chinatown) wants to kick them out, including my store.” He added that phony monks are prevalent in China as well. “They say they are monks, but they still go drinking and partying.”
If they ask for money or a donation- they’re fake
Buddhist leaders are quick to point out that real monks never solicit donations on the street, and so anyone who looks like a monk asking for money is necessarily a fraudster.
Buddhist leaders are also upset in New York saying the fake monks undermine Buddhists’ credibility. In July 2014, the New York Times quoted Shi Ruifa, a monk in Brooklyn who is president of a confederation of nearly 50 temples: “They are damaging the reputation of real monks and damaging the reputation of Buddhists in America.”
This month in Toronto, a Buddhist nun, Venerable Miao Mu, told CBC, “We never do this, I think this is a kind of cheating.”
They say simply do not give money to anyone on the street pretending to be a monk and if the person becomes aggressive, to call police.
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