Shaolin in his heart
* Source: Global Times
* [23:46 October 24 2010]
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By Xing Daiqi
Using a cell phone, the Internet and driving an SUV, Abbot Shi Yongxin is one of the youngest and most controversial leaders of the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple. Known as the "CEO monk," Shi recently released his new book, Shaolin Temple in My Heart, which for the first time reveals his relationship with the monastery.
"Various rumors and distorted media coverage concerning Shaolin have put the temple at the center of disputes and made Shi a controversial figure. Based on my interviews and conversations with Shi, I hope the book will shed light on the real Shaolin, behind the smoke and mysteries," editor and publisher He Chengwei told the Global Times.
Entering the religion
Born into a Buddhist family in the countryside of Anhui Province, Shi grew up listening to pingshu, a traditional Chinese way of storytelling that often features the lives of monks and their marvelous kung fu. In 1981, at the age of 16, he packed some clothes and left for Shaolin Temple, which is not far from his hometown.
"Many people thought I became a monk because I could feed myself in the temple. However life in Shaolin was far more difficult than when I was at home. Nevertheless, I could still feel the spirit of Shaolin," Shi explains in the book.
After the 10-year Cultural Revolution (1966-76), Shaolin was not quite what Shi had imagined, with only 20 monks and a dilapidated temple. With diligence and hard work, Shi became a disciple of then abbot Xingzheng and soon was heir to the abbotship.
"It was not until many years later that I realized how risky it was for my master to take me as a disciple. At that time after the Cultural Revolution, China's religious policy was not restored yet. The monks were hardly able to wear their robes in everyday life, not to mention take disciples. This is the very reason why I devoted myself to Buddhism and to passing down the teachings of my master," Shi recalls.
He explains that during his religious practice, he came to understand the purpose of his monastic life - to solve the puzzle of life, where people come from and where they will go. More importantly, as the principal abbot, he had to take care of the life and death issue of Shaolin Temple itself.
"Shaolin was in a very difficult situation then, with no land and forest, except 1.7 hectares of farm land outside the wall, which could in no way support the monks in the compound," Shi explains.
"For all these years, I have been seeking a development model on how to promote Buddhism and restore Shaolin's past glory in a modern-day China. It would be a sin committed to the human race if we let the 1,500-year-old monastery deteriorate in our generation."
Shaolin goes global
The 1982 blockbuster The Shaolin Temple that featured action star Jet Li was such a huge hit that millions of visitors from Asia and the world began to flock to where it was shot.
"While people get to know Shaolin through its martial art, they also misunderstand it. Some Buddhist professionals even derided Shaolin for only doing kung fu and neglecting the religious practice - it is a misconception," Shi states.
The abbot explains that as a way to maintain a monk's health, after long periods of meditation, Shaolin kung fu pursues the harmony of body and mind, as well as the perfection of personality.
Nowadays, as an integral part of Shaolin culture, kung fu has been used as a means to reach out to the secular world, apart from the pure religious connection.
"If you talk about Zen Buddhism to people of different cultural and racial backgrounds, few people would understand, but through cultural activities like the performance of martial arts, things can be done more easily."
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Shaolin restored
In 1987 Shi became abbot and began to repair Shaolin's shabby temple. He instigated the publishing of its ancient martial arts records as well as establish-ing franchised offshoots of Shaolin kung fu overseas. He also applied for UNESCO heritage listing, which was awarded in August this year.
Because of Shi's business-like management of temple affairs, he often receives harsh criticism, with many claiming that the temple has been degraded to a company.
"I advocate Buddhism being part of secular life," Shi writes. "The mixing of Shaolin with society is to let more people understand and participate in religion and to better serve people. This is our historical mission."
"I hope that one day, the followers of Shaolin who can bear the wisdom of our ancestral masters will be as dense as the forest on the Shaoshi Mountain. That will be the Shaolin Temple in my heart."
Book Tag Shaolin Temple in My Heart by Shi Yongxin, 212 pp, Shanghai Story China Media Company, $7.50
