Powerful Buddhist monks who have previously escaped punishment are the latest target of the government’s crackdown on excess wealth and alleged corruption. In July, Shi Yongxin, the head abbot of the Shaolin monastery, was dismissed and stripped of his monkhood after being investigated for misappropriating funds and fathering illegitimate children. The accusations were similar to those he faced in 2015, when he was cleared of all charges.
Shi’s downfall is the most high-profile in a series of scandals that have rocked China’s Buddhist temples in recent months. In July, a well-known monk called Daolu was stripped of his title by the Buddhist Association of China after police in Zhejiang province said he was being investigated for alleged fraud. He is accused of soliciting public donations under the guise of collecting money for unmarried pregnant women and needy children, which was actually spent on personal extravagances.
In August, a video of monks from Hangzhou’s Lingyin Temple sitting around a table counting wads of cash went viral, sparking a social media storm. “Those who worship Buddha become poor, and monks become rich,” wrote one social media user. The controversies reveal the increasingly precarious position of influential religious leaders in China, as official support for the commercialisation of religious sites gives way to an emphasis on frugality and political obedience.
China’s temples have swung in and out of political favour in modern history. During the land reform campaign in the 1950s, monasteries were stripped of their assets, and countless religious sites were destroyed or damaged in the Cultural Revolution. But as China entered a period of economic reform in the 1980s, temples were back in vogue, with many turning to tourism to support themselves, often with explicit government support. Shi Yongxin was the biggest beneficiary, turning the Shaolin monastery into a commercial empire worth hundreds of millions of yuan.
