Shi Hengshan commits suicide

[CFT]

Translation of the Singtao article.

師弟上吊枉死 師兄欲討公道主持釋果林﹕怎會刻薄徒弟

Younger martial brother needlessly dies by hanging, martial senior seeks justice; abbot Shi Guolin: why would I oppress my student?

(本報訊 )紐約法拉盛少林寺武術教練釋恒善懸樑自盡後，恒善的師兄釋延章和可樂娜少林寺法師恒霖等人，均對法拉盛少 林寺的主持釋果林表示不滿，認為果林沒有盡到僱主責任，希望社會能替恒善「討回公道」。他們並 表示，將在本 周五舉辦法會，為恒善之靈超度。

After the suicide by hanging of New York Flushing Shaolin Temple martial arts instructor Shi Hengshan, his elder martial brother Shi Yanzhang and master Henglin of Corona Shaolin Temple et al. hope that society can help Hengshan seek justice. They also state that this Friday they will hold a [Buddhist] ceremony to release his spirit [not sure what the right term is].

得知少林寺發生又一起惡性事件後，社區人士亦認為，少林寺本來是個佛教聖地、健身武館，是人們追求精神出世 、身體健康的地方，卻不想一再發生跳樓、自盡等惡性事件以及許多世俗糾紛，這實在令人無法理解 。

We have news of yet another malign incident at the Shaolin Temple. Local people believe that the Shaolin Temple should be a sacred Buddhist place, a martial training place for building the body, a place for attaining spiritual enlightenment. We don’t want to hear again of jumping off buildings, suicides and other secular affairs. This is all inexplicable.

皇后區可樂娜少林寺的恒霖法師介紹，可樂娜少林寺是在1992年成立，來自中國大陸的果林，最先是投靠可樂 娜少林寺，被師傅釋延常收留，一起修禪習武。幾年後，果林與他人一起另立門戶，並於1999年在法拉盛興建 了一間少林寺。恒霖法師表示，恒善走上絕路對佛教界震動很大，果林應對此負責。她認為，果林扣押恒善等武術 教練的護照，卻並未替他們辦身分，致使恒善等人身分「黑」了下來。本來有病卻沒有經濟來源的的恒善，發現自 己來美數年後居然沒有合法身分，心情更加鬱悶，終於走上絕路。恒霖表示，作為擔保恒善到美國工 作的寺廟主持 ，果林時常讓恒善吃些剩飯，令恒善身體越來越差。最近一段時間，果林更是刻薄恒善，最後將恒善「逼出」法拉 盛少林寺。她表示，少林弟子在美無親無故，希望社會給予幫助，為「可憐的恆善討回一個公道」。

Queens Corona Shaolin Temple master Henglin introduces: Corona Shaolin Temple established 1992. Guolin who comes from the People’s Republic of China first sought assistance from the Corona Shaolin Temple. He was offered shelter by Shi Yanchang, together they cultivated Chan (Zen) and practiced the martial arts. A few years later, Guolin and others left to create their own household; they built a Shaolin Temple in Flushing in 1999. Master Henglin believes that the terminal route that Hengshan took has greatly shaken the Buddhist world; Guolin should take responsibility. She was of the opinion that Guolin had confiscated Hengshan’s and other instructors passports, but had not arranged any kind of visas for them, thereby rendering all of them with illegal alien status [the article uses the term “blackened” status]. So Hengshan found himself ill, with no income, and the fact that he had been in the USA for many years with unlawful immigration status lead his emotional state to become even more melancholic, hence leading to his path on the terminal road. Henglin states that even though Guolin was the sponsor for Hengshan’s work visa, Guolin only let Hengshan eat leftovers, leading to Hengshan’s deteriorating health. Over a more recent period, Guolin abused/oppressed Hengshan, finally “forcing” him out of Flushing Shaolin Temple. She stated: Shaolin disciples in the USA have no relatives or friends, we hope that the community can help them, help Hengshan get some justice.

一位曾給法拉盛少林寺捐款，並幫助恒善尋醫問藥的女居士亦稱，恒善患病後血糖過低，需要及時治療才可避免精 神類疾病，果林卻對此漠不關心。她可以幫助沒身分的恒善辦聯邦醫療計劃，卻遭到怕麻煩的果林阻攔，致使本可 獲得公費治療的恒善病況轉差。她稱，果林從不給教練們人工，令武術教練生活困窘，離開少林寺便無法生存。居 士們可憐這些教練，平時偷偷塞給他們一些紅包，才能讓他們能夠在年底寄點錢回家。對於恒善的後事，她甚至懷 疑果林會借此斂財，因而希望社會將對恒善的愛心直接交給到美國料理後事的恒善父母手中。

A previous donor to the Flushing Shaolin Temple who helped Hengshan seek medical aid also said: after Hengshan became ill, his blood sugar levels dropped, requiring timely medical treatment to avoid mental health problems; Guolin was not remotely interested. She tried to help Hengshan, still with illegal immigration status, get on the Union (?) medical plan, but was frustrated in her efforts by the fearful Guolin. This lead to Hengshan losing the public funds available for medical treatment and led to a worsening of his health. She said: Guolin did not allow the martial instructors to work [elsewhere?], which meant that they lived in very hard-pressed conditions; leaving the Shaolin Temple would give them no means of surviving. Local people felt sorry for the instructors, normally secretly giving them red packets [lucky red envelopes of money] so that they could send some money back home for the New Year. As for Hengshan’s funeral, she even suspects that Guolin will use the occasion to collect funds. Therefore she hopes that the community’s goodwill should go directly to Hengshan’s parents who will be in the USA to arrange his funeral.

果林對以上所有指控均表示否認，他稱，不應把佛門弟子個人恩怨加到恒善事件上來，「讓外界看笑 話」。現在主 要的問題，是如何處理好恒善的後事。

Guolin denies all of the above accusations. He said that the internal arguments within the Buddhist sect should not be conflated with Hengshan’s issues, thereby becoming a laughing stock for the outside world. At present the pressing matter is how to arrange Hengshan’s funeral.