You are here: Home > China > Nation

Adjust font size:

Monks from the temple cheer for their team during a national badminton tournament. [Photo/China Daily]

For many monks, the passion for sports can be traced back to the time when they were young.

Yan Kong became a monk in 1998 and attended the Minnan Buddhist College in Xiamen of Fujian province. He recalls that many of his classmates would go to neighboring Xiamen University to play basketball, ping-pong or tennis. Later, the hobbies were naturally brought to temples.

"Maybe the life of monks has been thought to be mysterious or stereotyped as secluded meditation," he says. "Actually, we also participate in social activities."

In the past, when agriculture was the pillar of the social economy, Buddhist temples had farmland and monks had to feed themselves by doing strenuous farm work. Then, farm work played the same important role as Zen meditation, according to Yan Kong.

And that's why a founding father of Zen had a famous saying that carrying water, hauling firewood, eating and putting on clothing are all part of Zen for Buddhist monks.

Now, temples in cities do not need to cultivate farmland, so monks can turn to sports and social activities, which help to enrich their lives and their meditation, Yan Kong says.

Print E-mail

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)

Add your comments...

• User Name Required
• Your Comment
• Enter the words you see:    
  Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.