Renowned monk V. Vajiramedhi has denied speculation of a link to embattled direct seller The iCon Group after a brief clip of a long sermon he delivered went viral on social media platforms.
The founder of the Cherntawan International Mediation Centre issued the denial on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
He said people had misinterpreted the message he delivered to a group of iCon members because the recording of the 72-minute sermon had been heavily edited and posted online as a short video.
Executives of The iCon Group went to the monk's meditation centre in Muang district of Chiang Rai and invited him to deliver a sermon, which he did on March 12.
His topic was "The secret to being rich", which he said was in line with dhamma guidelines on being successful.
In his sermon, the monk gave as an example a woman who wanted to get up the next morning and find herself already becoming rich, instead of spending the needed one hour everyday learning from a tutor.
V. Vajiramedhi said he told her, "if you can do that, you are The icon".
The example was not real, it was just used in his preaching.
His remark was greeted with cheers by the attendees, including founder and CEO Warathaphon Waratyaworrakul, known as Boss Paul, and celebrity Yuranant Pamornmontri, widely called Boss Sam. (continues below)
The monk preaches to a group of iCon Group members on March 12. (Photo: The iCon Group Facebook account)
His sermons on social media platforms show the monk teaches that the secret to getting rich is patience, calmness and being able to wait, as there is no shortcut to becoming rich.
V. Vajiramedhi said he apologised if his preaching caused any misunderstanding and promised to be more aware of what he says in future.
Monks invited to preach at the company were not involved in its business, he said. "You simply have to use common sense to understand this," he added.
V. Vajiramedhi is the latest high-profile figure to be dragged into the scandal surrounding the company.
The iCon Group issued a statement on Tuesday to clarify the matter, saying monks were invited to teach every month. The monks did not speak out in support of the firm, it said, and apologised to all those monks affected by the speculation.
