Planking (for those of you who’ve been living on a different planet for the past few weeks) is an Australian craze for lying flat in an usual position, then posting a photograph of yourself on the Internet. Planking has now spread globally, including to Thailand. However, one planker is now in hot water for doing so.

This monk is planking inside his kuti.

The picture was posted on Twitter and has been widely criticised. The Network of Organisations for the Protection of the Nation, Religion and Monarchy has condemned the photograph, saying that it hurt Buddhism, and Phra Phrommolee (a senior monk of the Sangha Supreme Council) has urged senior monks to stop any other monk or novice from planking in the future.

[523]