BOSTON — The Buddha taught that tanhā, the Pali word for craving, is the origin of suffering. Police in Massachusetts allege that one Sri Lankan monk may have taken an unusually hands-on approach to studying the doctrine.
Mahayaye Vineetha Thero, 32, a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who served as the Buddhist chaplain at Tufts University in Massachusetts, was among seven men arrested on Saturday during an undercover Boston police operation targeting alleged purchasers of commercial sex, according to U.S. media reports. He had held the chaplaincy since December 2024, providing spiritual care and support to students.
The arrests were made under an undercover operation dubbed “Operation Red Card,” which police said was launched to disrupt human trafficking and the commercial sex trade ahead of FIFA World Cup matches scheduled in the Boston area. Major sporting events routinely draw heightened law-enforcement attention to sex trafficking.
Police alleged that the monk responded to an online advertisement placed by undercover officers posing as sex workers. Investigators said the monk sought various sexual acts and offered payments ranging from US$125 to US$400. The suspects were taken into custody at the Moxy Boston Downtown Hotel, where, police said, several were carrying the exact sums they had allegedly agreed to pay.
Mahayaye Vineetha Thero was charged with paying for sexual services, a misdemeanor. He pleaded not guilty when produced before the court and is due to appear again on September 2. His attorney had not publicly commented on the allegations at the time of reporting, and the charges remain unproven.
The monk resigned from his Tufts post with immediate effect following the arrest. In a statement, the university said it was informed of the resignation on Monday. University Chaplain Rev. Elyse Nelson Winger told members of the Buddhist chaplaincy that a search for a successor would begin over the summer and that existing Buddhist programmes would continue without interruption.
