I just got notified that there’s a scam on Facebook asking for donations in my name. Don’t do it!
I’m not on Facebook or any other social media (except very rarely reddit), and I don’t accept personal donations. I have no personal funds, and all my costs are handled by a steward. The only online donations that I’m associated with are for SuttaCentral, but those funds pay our developers and other costs and do not go to me at all.
If you see such a scam on FB or anywhere else, help me out by reporting it, thanks.
Okay so update: maybe it isn’t a scam at all! There’s another Sujato, it seems, and my informant tells me it may be him.
Anyway, the advice remains, be careful with these kinds of requests. There have been many over the years via email and so on, it seems they especially target monastics so they can take advantage of people’s generosity. Take care out there.
There is no way the version from Wat Gonzodhamma could be mistaken for the Sutta Central version of Bhante Sujato. “Independent Street Bhikkhu”, “Nomad Dhamma Gangster”, “Silently Watching the Watcher An Enigma” Yeah … Nah!
I’m delighted to learn about the lesser-known Bhante Sujato. His website describes him as a British former crack addict who now brings the Dharma to addicts and other people of marginalized communities in Boston (USA).
Did anyone notice the name of his monastery?? Wat Gonzodhamma - this Venerable has quite a sense of humor. (Edit: There’s no actual monastery by that name that I can find online, he’s just being humourous.)
Gonzo is American slang meaning outlandish or bizarre. The word was coined in Boston (his current city of residence).
Sujato Bhikkhu is a very nice monk. He was the one who raised the alarm for a Burmese Bhikkhuni who lived as a refugee in Thailand a few years back and he helped her a lot. I think @UpasakaMichael met him too. Unfortunately the Bhikkhuni has disrobed since then.
Yes, I met up with him in Chiang Mai many years ago. It seemed that whatever wat he had ordained in he was no longer able to stay so I helped him with accommodations for a bit. He’s a UK citizen, but wanted to go to the US and so he was able to get a visa, stayed for a year or so at an unused retreat center in Michigan for a while owned by a Chicago Theravada temple. Per Facebook, he’s moved on to the east coast and trying to stay supported. I’ve always been a bit unsure of his training and monastic foundations, but in any case, he was truly critical to helping the Myanmar Bhikkhuni that had been assaulted by a monk in Burma, was pregnant with this monk’s child, and thrown out of the country into Thailand. Through the British Sujato Bhikkhu I connected with her in Chiang Mai and a number of us tried to help her as best as we could, including trips to UNHCR in BKK. She ended up back in Myanmar living in her brother’s village as a lay person.
