@Derek ******
that I cannot say. Not while I was there no. The white robes that came near the end of my stay were all local Thais. I was the only foreigner. I was with only four other monks living there full time at that time. One additional nomadic monk joined us after I was there a month. Also, this was a long time ago. But as the other commenter noted, nobody is going to bother you for helping out at a temple. While technically not “legal” , it’s not going to be used against you. You might try asking the abbot for a letter of recommendation or permission stating your purpose and history? I requested for one to be issued for my return a year later as a layman so I could bring many new tools from the US and get thru customs easily and do volunteer work at that time. Albeit, mine was from the thai Buddhists regional administrator. As you know, things change rapidly in the kingdom and things are much different now than in
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. Don’t let the discourage you from merit making. There are always work arounds. Be humble and be patient and things will work out. One thing concerns me, I was in a far away and very isolated mountain top forrest temple and that may have made things a lot easier. I also was ordained by the regional administration head monk. I’m sure this made for less complicated time. Not sure of your exact situation, but look into it? Best wishes my friend. 🙏🏻