Phra Ajahn Mitsuo Gavesako, abbot and founder of Kanchanaburi's Wat Pah Sunan Tha Wanaram, has left the monkhood and is travelling abroad indefinitely, reports said on Monday.
Phra Ajahn Mitsuo Gavesako surprisingly leaves the monkhood.
The incident has taken the monk's disciples and leading local Buddhists by surprise because he was still preaching last week and did not hint to anyone of his intention to leave.
The former abbot is a Japanese man whose full name is Mitsuo Shibahashi. He is renowned for his religious teachings which appear on various media.
He had gone on several pilgrimages around the world before becoming a novice monk at Bangkok's Wat Benchamabophit Dusitvanaram.
Mr Shibahachi was ordained as a Buddhist monk in Ubon Ratchathani province in 1975 by a venerable monk and was given the Buddhist name "Gavesako", which means "the shore seeker".
The monk later established Wat Pah Sunan Tha Wanaram, an international forest monastery, in Sai Yok district, Kanchanaburi province, and had been its abbot until he left the monkhood.
Phra Ajahn Mitsuo also started a foundation that provides scholarships to underprivileged children.
