A-maizing hospitality: Shaolin temple monks share their first organic corn harvest with visitors
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 08 October, 2015, 4:54pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 08 October, 2015, 4:54pm
Celine Sun
celine.sun@scmp.com
Visitors to the Shaolin Temple in Henan province were given a taste of the monk's organic corn. Photo: Henan Business Daily
Tourists visiting northern China’s famed Shaolin Monastery in Henan province on the last day of the National Day holiday received a surprise treat from monks who cooked up more than a tonne of their own organically grown corn.
The corn was part of the first harvest this year at the temple that dates to the 5th century and is known as the birthplace of Chan (Zen) Buddhism and Shaolin Kung Fu, news portal Dahe.cn reported.
The temple established the farm in May this year as part of its programme to resume the temple’s tradition of farming, which was considered a method of Buddhist practice in ancient times. Monks in China traditionally did not beg, so grew their own food.
More than 400 monks at the temple planted wheat and corn on the farm without using pesticides or chemical fertiliser, and they expect to harvest 400 tonnes of corn this autumn.
One monk said they gave away corn to tourists on Wednesday because they thought it would be inconvenient for people to find somewhere to eat during the busy “golden week” holidays. But this would not be a regular practice in future, he added.
“We first have supply to our own temple and the orphanage we manage,” he said. “We may use the produce to ‘form ties’ with outside only if there’s an oversupply or the produce cannot be kept for long.”
The corn was the first harvested from a new farm started this year in the grounds of the 5th century Buddhist monastery. Photo: Chinanews.com
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