Draft:Thích Minh Tuệ

Thích Minh Tuệ (born Lê Anh Tú; 1981) is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who is known in Vietnam for his ascetic practices, specifically the thirteen dhutanga.

Early life
Minh Tuệ was born Lê Anh Tú on 1981 in Kỳ Văn, Kỳ Anh, Hà Tĩnh, Vietnam. He is the second child in a family of four children. In 1994, he moved along with his family to Ia Tô, Ia Grai, Gia Lai.

He served in the military upon high school graduation. He then attended Trung cấp Lâm nghiệp Tây Nguyên and worked as a cadastral surveyor for a private company with its headquarters located in Phú Yên.

Reglious background
On July 7, 2015, he started studying Buddhism in a temple with Thích Minh Tuệ as his Dharma name and then left to reside in a cave, begging for alms daily. To challenge himself, Thích Minh Tuệ has been traveling by foot across the country from South to North and vice versa since 2017.

Thích Minh Tuệ claimed that he is not a practicing Buddhist monk, is not part of the Vietnam Buddhist Sanga (VBS), and is not affiliated with any temples. This is also repeated by the VBS, Vietnam Goverment Committee for Religious Affairs (GCRA).

According to Hoàng Văn Chung, "If [one] believes and practices the Dharma then [one] is a Buddhist monk."

Commentaries

 * According to Nguyễn Hữu Liêm: "Buddhist monks begging for alms is nothing strange. [One] should view the journey of Thích Minh Tuệ as normal."
 * Thích Thanh Huân said: "The phenomenon of Minh Tuệ is not worth the spectacle."
 * "Not practicing in any temple, choosing a path for himself, a man named Thích Minh Tuệ suddenly became famous begrudgingly."

Social media
Thích Minh Tuệ's rise on social media has been dubbed an "Internet phenomenon."

Fashion
There have been T-shirts, caps, shoes, etc. designed corresponding to the colors of Thích Minh Tuệ's outfit.

Begging
On his fourth trip across the country, there were many people following him, praying, worshiping, donating, and others who joined him to practice asceticism.