Buddhism is big business for new breed of monks
Pastor Dale Morgan
Buddhism is big business for new breed of upwardly mobile monks*
ETHAN MCNERN
PIETY and a knowledge of Buddhist scriptures used to be just about the
only qualifications needed to become a Chinese monk. Now computer
skills, foreign language ability and a degree in financial management
are also desirable.
Three decades after temples were destroyed and scriptures burned during
the Cultural Revolution, Buddhism is making a comeback in China. And,
like most things in the super-competitive, rapidly developing country,
it has become both big business and a field in which people are eager to
get ahead.
That's creating a new breed of multi-tasking, tech-savvy, upwardly
mobile monks.
"Our recruiting process is highly competitive," said Hui Jue, the deputy
general manager of the 120-year-old Jade Buddha Temple in central
Shanghai, who recently completed a master of business administration
degree at Jiaotong University.
Fifteen monks from his temple have been on foreign language courses at
the Shanghai International Studies University, and another batch have
started MBA studies in Jiaotong's business school.
Such skills are necessary, Mr Hui believes, for the temple to spread
Buddhist teachings in the modern world and to manage its growing
business interests. As well as its grounds, Jade Buddha owns a
vegetarian restaurant, a four-star hotel, a seven-floor office building
and a food factory.
Many of China's temples have been little touched by time, especially in
remote areas of the country. But Jade Buddha Temple's modern approach is
no longer unusual.
Buddhism, introduced into China in about the first century, is the
biggest religion in the country, with as many as 100 million adherents -
that's more than 8 per cent of the Chinese population - according to
some estimates.
The persecution of the Cultural Revolution is long gone and, while the
government is not very enthusiastic about any religion, in recent
decades it has given more support to Buddhism than other faiths.
China now has some 13,000 Buddhist temples and about 200,000 monks and nuns.
The ancient Shaolin Temple in Henan province has capitalised on its
reputation as a birthplace of the martial arts to host international
guests and stage kung fu displays around the world.
It owns a martial arts training school and Shaolin Development, a
company producing vegetarian snacks and Zen tea. It also co-operates
with entertainment companies in film-making and online game production.
Guangxiao Temple in Guangdong province has launched online worshipping,
so users can offer virtual incense, fruit and flowers to electronic Buddhas.
The internet is also important for Mr Hui at Jade Buddha Temple. "The
first thing in my daily work is to open the laptop to check e-mails and
surf the internet," he said. "Everything in the temple is now processed
online. No paperwork. Those who failed to pass the computer test were
laid off and reassigned to non- office jobs."
Surfing the internet may seem a dangerous activity for people who are
meant to be sequestering themselves from the world for spiritual
contemplation. But Mr Hui has thought of that.
"Only certain people, such as we managers and those in charge of public
relations, can get access to the internet. Others can only use the local
area network, because it is hard to control what they will read on the
internet," he said.
Mr Hui concedes that the lifestyle of a modern monk does not always
permit much focus on the spiritual realm. "Interacting with the outside
world occupies most of our time, so many monks have to use the noon
break if they want to do meditation," he said.
But overall, he does not regret the change. "Before, everyone, including
the abbot, had to clean the temple, and old monks were assigned to check
tickets and guard the temple," he said. "But they often smoked and fell
asleep, causing bad influences. Now, we have hired professional service
companies to be responsible for temple security and cleaning. This works
very well."