Chinese authorities over the weekend launched a probe against Shi Yongxin, abbot of the Shaolin Temple, on allegations of embezzlement, misappropriation of temple funds, sexual misconduct, and violation of Buddhist precepts.
The Shaolin Temple, located in central China’s Henan province, was founded in the year 495. The temple, declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010, is described as one of the most famous Buddhist monasteries in the world and is widely known as the cradle of the Kung Fu martial art. Shi, who has now been stripped of his religious ordination, became abbot of the Shaolin Temple in 1999.
According to the Chinese state-owned Global Times, Shi was elected as vice chairman of the Buddhist Association of China (BAC) in September 2002 — an organization directly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party and widely denounced for allowing the Chinese regime to exert control of the Buddhist religion by appointing pro-regime Buddhist abbots in China and suppressing Tibetan Buddhism. Dictator Xi Jinping has championed the full subjugation of all religions, placing them at the service of the ruling regime’s communist values.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Shi also served as president of the Henan Provincial Buddhist Association since 1998 and was a deputy to the Chinese National People’s Congress from 1998 to 2018. The now-defrocked abbot was widely known by the nickname “CEO Monk” for his extensive commercialization of the Shaolin Temple’s cultural heritage and influence, turning it into a global brand.
“On a recent visit by a New York Times reporter, the opening act for the temple’s famous monk kung fu show was a calligraphy demonstration. The emcee pitched three calligraphy works, selling for 300 renminbi (about $42) each. At least one was sold successfully,” the far-left newspaper New York Times reported on Monday.
“To leave the show, audience members had to exit through a warren of gift shops selling not just the usual souvenirs — Buddhist figurines, T-shirts and refrigerator magnets — but also sneakers, jewelry, and Labubu dolls,” the report continued.
SCMP detailed that Shi made his last public appearance in early July, when he attended a meeting of monks. Chinese outlets stated that police whisked the monk away in the city of Xinxiang, Henan, on Friday. The monk had an active presence at the Chinese state-run social media platform Weibo, attracting over 870,000 followers.
In a statement reportedly posted on its account on the Chinese regime-controlled messaging application WeChat, the Shaolin Temple said that Shi stands suspected by multiple Chinese agencies of engaging in several criminal offences such as the misappropriation and embezzlement of temple funds and assets. Shi also stands accused of violating Buddhist precepts by engaging in improper relationships with women and fathering at least one illegitimate child. The temple reportedly asserted that further details will be released to the public “in due time.”
“Shi Yongxin’s actions are of an extremely bad nature, seriously undermining the reputation of the Buddhist community, hurting the image of monks,” the Buddhist Association of China reportedly said through a separate statement on Monday.
The accusations are not the first time Shi has been at the center of similar controversies. In 2015, a former temple apprentice accused Shi of embezzling temple funds. Anonymous letters penned at the time claimed that the abbot kept several mistresses in violation of Buddhism’s celibacy tenets. The Shaolin Temple denied all accusations against Shi at the time, who has remained the head of the temple until recently.
“If there were a problem, it would have surfaced long ago,” Shi told the BBC soon after allegations emerged.
Global Times reported that a “police note” reportedly went viral across Weibo on Sunday that showed Shi “attempting to flee to the U.S. with his mistresses and children.” The police note was dismissed as fake by the public security bureau of Kaifeng, Henan.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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