Home / Top News Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read | Comment
Shaolin Temple not to go public, abbot says
Adjust font size:

The 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple in central China's Henan Province will not go public, its abbot Shi Yongxin said on Saturday.

"The risk of going public is too big, and it is against the Buddhist spirit," said Shi, also a deputy to the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature.

Dubbed "Shaolin CEO", Shi Yongxin is a controversial monk who has shaken people's notions of Shaolin Temple and Buddhism with his business-oriented transformation.

In 1994, he played a leading role in the Chinese religious community to register "Shaolin" and "Shaolin Temple" as trademarks, and set up a company to manage relevant intellectual property rights.

Two years later, he established a website for the temple, which was believed to be the first website made for temples in China.

Tidings of Shi's leading Shaolin monk delegations for overseas performance of martial arts and setting up martial arts institutes in foreign countries frequently appear on newspapers.

"It is not wrong to develop traditional culture within the framework of Chinese laws," he said.

Believing that the development of Shaolin Temple epitomized China's advancements, Shi disclosed that he was mulling over a motion calling for the preservation of China's traditional culture.

The Shaolin Temple is famed for combining martial arts with Zen Buddhism and features long sessions of meditation to purify the mind. It has attracted many dignitaries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2008)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Comment
Pet Name
Anonymous
China Archives
Related >>
- Shaolin Temple abbot publishes Kung-fu magazines
- Shaolin plans 300m yuan for new temple
- Shaolin kung fu
- Shaolin Temple monks not to attend Olympic kung fu competition
- Primary Schoolkids Learn Shaolin-style Martial Arts
- Mass Relocation Planned for Shaolin Facelift
- After 300 Years, Shaolin Temple Resumes a Ritual
Most Viewed >>
- Female members of NPC & CPPCC
- Liu Xiang wins 60m hurdles at Indoor Worlds
- China's employment situation 'very severe'
- Chinese furious at 'Tibet-independence' Bjork
- Abbot says Shaolin Temple not to go public

Product Directory
China Search
Country Search
Hot Buys