A Buddhist leader in Thailand has announced plans for a new set of “good manners guidelines” to curb the behaviour of gay and transgender monks, who have been smoking and drinking as well as wearing make-up and tight robes.

While the new Buddhist guidelines are broad, Senior monk Phra Maha Wudhijaya Vajiramedhi, told the BBC he was hoping to target the ‘flamboyant’ nature of trans identifying monks who carry hand-bags and sculpt effeminate eyebrows.

The senior monk acknowledges the large trans and gay community in Thailand, but “he [hopes] his course could at least persuade them to curb their more extrovert habits”.

For a belief system that is based on the renunciation of worldly matters, an interest in ones appearance seems a bit of a contradiction, regardless of sexuality. Some estimate that Thailand’s population is around 90% Buddhist, and most men men spend at least one year in a monastery during their younger years.

In the past, there have been cases of monks violating vows of celibacy, and contravening the traditional 75 Dharma principles of Buddhism.