Shaolin is named after Shaoshi, which is one of the best. Suddenly, the pot was halfway up the sky, with thousands of valleys and mist falling below. —Li Shimin
Buddhism spread to the Central Plains very early in ancient times and took root in the land of China. Shaolin Temple is the most typical representative organization of Chinese Buddhism. Nowadays, the times are developing rapidly. Some old things want to keep up with the public and not be forgotten by history, and Shaolin Temple is one of them.
Under the leadership of the current abbot Shi Yongxin, the Shaolin Temple is becoming more and more "fashionable", such as establishing a Shaolin Temple company, publishing martial arts secrets on the Internet, etc. Many people think that the Shaolin Temple should be simple and ascetic. , such publicity goes against the tranquility. Some people also think that the monks of the Shaolin Temple also need to eat and live, and there is nothing wrong with promoting culture to increase income. However, the Shaolin Temple spends 140 million in charity every year for rectification. If this is true, where is the money spent?
The Shaolin Temple is more chivalrous
The Shaolin Temple has a long history. In the 16th year of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Indian monks came to the Central Plains to promote Buddhism. Emperor Xiaowen built a temple in Shaoshi Mountain of Songshan Mountain to accommodate them. , this temple is the predecessor of Shaolin Temple. Later, during the period of Emperor Xiaoming of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Bodhidharma came to Shaolin Temple and recruited monks to teach Buddhism. Shaolin Temple became famous all over the world.
It’s just that during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty hated Buddhism. In order to reduce the power of monks in the temples, he also ordered a ban on Buddhist preaching and supported monks to return to secular life. Later, he destroyed the Shaolin Temple. This is known in history as the Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty exterminating Buddhism. . Fortunately, Emperor Jing of the Northern Zhou Dynasty still respected Buddhist culture and restored the Shaolin Temple to its former size. In the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty granted the Shaolin Temple one hundred hectares of land and a lot of incense money, making the Shaolin Temple a large temple with land and money.
In fact, the most famous thing about Shaolin Temple is their Shaolin Kung Fu. In the early Tang Dynasty, Wang Shichong occupied the fertile land of the Shaolin Temple. In order to protect Shaolin, the thirteen stick monks of the Shaolin Temple helped Li Shimin defeat Wang Shichong. In order to thank them, Li Shimin gave the Shaolin Temple thousands of hectares of fertile land, which was crushed by water. Later, he helped the temple expand many times. Shaolin Kung Fu also became the top martial arts at that time, attracting countless people who wanted to learn from its masters, and Shaolin Temple was also hailed as the number one temple in the world.
In the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates were causing harm to the people in coastal areas. In order to save the people from fire and water, Shaolin monks took the initiative to fight against the Japanese pirates. In order to thank them, the Ming Dynasty renovated temples on a large scale and invited craftsmen to erect monuments and squares to build temples. Chivalrous people serve the country and the people. They practice martial arts not for fame and fortune, but only to strengthen their bodies and protect the common people. This chivalrous spirit has also impressed many well-known martial arts circles.
However, no matter how skilled you are, you cannot dodge bullets. In the early years of the Republic of China, the Beiyang warlords occupied major provinces in the country, and the Shaolin Temple could not avoid the disaster of war, and the temple was damaged many times. At that time, in order to keep up with the times, Monk Henglin of the Shaolin Temple purchased firearms and organized monks to create a security group to train combat skills and maintain local order, so that people near the temple could live and work in peace and contentment without fear of bandits. Henglin was also known as the "Shaolin Living Buddha" ".
The development model is becoming more and more commercialized
From the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Republic of China, Shaolin Temple seems to have been following the pace of the times, from promoting Zen Buddhism to Shaolin Kung Fu becoming famous all over the world, and then to Take up firearms and defend the people. The monks of Shaolin Temple are no longer just Dharma masters wearing cassocks, eating fast and chanting Buddha's name, but more like knights who protect the family and the country.
Nowadays, Shaolin Temple has not stopped following the pace of the times, such as establishing a Shaolin Temple company, applying for World Heritage, maintaining trademarks, etc. It is not like the monks we see in TV series, but full of modern atmosphere. of companies. All these changes are closely related to the current abbot of Shaolin Temple, Shi Yongxin.
Shi Yongxin came to the Shaolin Temple to become a monk at the age of 16. At the age of 19, he began to help the master in charge of the daily work of the Shaolin Temple. In 1987, Shi Yongxin's presiding master passed away, and he also inherited the mantle and presided over the affairs of the temple. But at that time, everyone's life was relatively happy, and they were very repelled by the poor environment of Shaolin Temple, so few people came to Shaolin Temple to become a monk.
In order to prevent Shaolin Temple from being left alone in his own hands, Shi Yongxin began to focus on how to promote Shaolin culture. He organized the martial arts books in the temple and founded the Shaolin Boxing Research Association, hoping that martial arts enthusiasts from all over the world could discuss martial arts together.
However, the impact of the Boxing Research Society was too little. Shi Yongxin was not satisfied with this and established the "Shaolin Temple Red Cross Society". He also led monks to perform martial arts across the country and brought Songshan to Shaolin Temple has been declared a cultural heritage of mankind.
Shi Yongxin put in too much effort to prevent Shaolin Temple from lagging behind the trend of the times, but many people have questioned this. Shi Yongxin’s operating model is more like a synthesis of religion and business. , there are many violations of everyone’s image of Shaolin Temple, so I can’t help but wonder whether Shaolin Temple violates the quiet tradition of Buddhism.
And what Shi Yongxin did is remembered more by Shaolin Temple Company than Shaolin Temple. Shi Yongxin was more like a boss than a host.
We all know that businessmen value profits, and the Shaolin Temple receives 140 million in donations every year, which is used to repair the Shaolin Temple. Will this money be spent by Shi Yongxin on his company? Already?
The Shaolin host was suspected of not abiding by the rules
Netizens who were suspicious of Shi Yongxin also came up with a lot of supporting evidence, such as having tens of millions of assets and In some luxury houses, Shi Yongxin drives a luxury car when he goes out. This is not at all like the pomp of a host. Everyone's suspicion of Shi Yongxin is getting deeper and deeper, and even a lot of negative news about Shi Yongxin has been exposed on the Internet.
These negative news about Shi Yongxin seem to be well-founded. Many people are beginning to be suspicious of these scandals, and some even accuse him of ruining the reputation of Shaolin Temple for thousands of years. As a result, the police conducted an investigation and found that these so-called evidences were forged, and the malicious speculations about Shi Yongxin were groundless. In addition, Shi Yongxin is still a deputy to the National People's Congress. If there were real problems, the country would have punished him long ago. Why wait for netizens to expose him?
The whereabouts of the 140 million donation
The Shaolin Temple now has an income of 140 million a year, so where is all this money spent? Shi Yongxin also explained this. 70% of the income of the Shaolin Temple is used for construction, 20% is used for the daily consumption of monks, and the remaining 10% is used for charity.
The internal buildings of Shaolin Temple have been seriously damaged after several wars, and the incense money at that time was simply not enough, so the current renovations of Shaolin Temple were all carried out after the reform and opening up. Moreover, the traces left by tourists for sightseeing and other cultural activities require money to deal with, so 70% of the income is spent on repairing the temple.
In addition, if the monks have no salary, who will do it? The young monks are all seniors, and they always need money to pay filial piety. As for charity, Shaolin Temple has had a tradition since the Tang Dynasty, but it has not had the energy to do this since the Republic of China, so now that there is income, it is natural to continue.
As for some people who think that Shi Yongxin’s approach goes against the tranquility of Buddhism, in fact, the inheritance of culture is far more important than sticking to rules. If Shi Yongxin didn’t do this, other abbots would do the same, because This is a necessary change for Shaolin Temple to cope with the changes of the times. Of course, everyone will think that even if the Shaolin culture is broken and lonely, everyone will still remember the Shaolin Temple and the glorious and famous temple in the world. But now the nondescript development is even more disgusting.
In fact, from Shi Yongxin’s point of view, Shaolin Temple is his destination, so Shi Yongxin will not stick to the old rules and let it be lonely anyway. All this is understandable. However, no one can have a perfect solution for the development trend that Shaolin Temple will choose in response to the changes of the times in the future. As for whether Shi Yongxin is right or wrong, time will prove everything.