Prayer and Profit

Shi Chizhong， abbot of the Huanglong Temple， Yunnan Province， has mostly remained in seclusion since he had three strings of ancient prayer beads he collected valued by an unnamed auction house at 100 million yuan （US$16.7m）. Now， tourists flock to his temple simply to catch a glimpse of this expensive symbol of Shi’s office. If the beads are auctioned successfully， Shi claims， the funds will be used to renovate and expand the Huanglong （Yellow Dragon） Temple. The planned renovations are expected to cost the temple’s administration 400 million yuan （US$66.7m） to complete. According to Chinese media reports， Shi also plans to auction other precious Buddhist artifacts to pay the balance， a move which has led to scepticism that the abbot is simply aiming to make a quick buck by selling off the contents of his temple to the highest bidder.

“If I didn’t sell my prayer beads， I would break them up and give a bead to each of my disciples，” he told NewsChina. “However， I’d prefer to exchange the beads for a new temple something solid and tangible that will be a legacy.”

Despite Shi’s posturing， however， there has been considerable public backlash against him and his fellow monks， with many pointing to Buddhism’s strict prohibitions against engaging in commercial activities.

Repairs

Located in ethnically diverse Jianshui county， the Huanglong Temple is the largest occupied temple in its area， with most neighboring halls， however， abandoned due to their inaccessibility and a lack of funding. Huanglong permanently accommodates over 30 monks and nuns in the same complex an arrangement officially forbidden in all Buddhist orders. This “cohabitation，” despite Shi’s claims that the genders are separated by a minimum of one meter at all times， is just one reason why the temple has raised eyebrows among the laity， and also the impetus behind administrators’ desire to expand， in order to accommodate men and women in separate prayer halls.

Under Shi’s management， the Huanglong Temple has already undergone extensive refurbishment， with its prayer halls newly painted and fitted with fresh statuary. Some areas even have Wi-fi. “The old temple was run down， worn and in a shambles before Shi arrived，” nun Qing Hui told our reporter. “All the roofs had collapsed and there were no Buddha statues. It was my master [Shi Chizhong] who gradually repaired and renovated it.”

Born into an ethnic Yi family in 1942， Shi has studied Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） and wushu martial arts， both of which disciplines have strong links to Buddhism， since childhood. He claims to have been rescued from a garbage can by a monk after being abandoned at birth， and that this monk brought him home.

After his father’s death， Shi became a businessman， though often approached local monks for help and advice. At the peak of his career， he owned 13 enterprises， though he claims to have “abandoned them all”when he entered monastic life at the age of 52.

“I became increasingly interested in Buddhism during my business career. I believe that Buddhism can tell people how to behave and to realize their dreams，” Shi told our reporter.

Shi’s self-professed passion for restoring old temples， he claims， stems from his experiences during the Cultural Revolution， when thousands of historic temples were vandalized， looted and burned by activists inspired by Chairman Mao’s exhortation to destroy all links to the past.

Before relocating to the Huanglong Temple， Shi had made a name for himself restoring temples in Qujing， a nearby city. The Jianshui County government invited Shi to “revitalize local Buddhism” from a base at the Huanglong Temple. Having been used as office buildings and classrooms in the early days of the People’s Republic of China， the 800-year-old temple was practically a pile of rubble when Shi first laid eyes on it.

According to local official Li Jinyuan， who accompanied Shi on his first visit to his future workplace， the monk “wept” when he saw the state the Huanglong Temple was in.

Shi determined that expansion could save the temple， and applied to lease the three hills surrounding the complex from the local government. He drew up plans to construct three huge Buddha statues， three pagodas， five halls， an 81-meter-long sculpture of a yellow dragon the temple’s namesake and an investiture office where monks and nuns can formally enter monastic life. Currently， the closest such office is over 500 kilometers away.

“We are enjoying the Buddhist culture passed down from our ancestors，” Shi told NewsChina while outlining his plans for Huanglong.“Centuries later， we will become ancestors too， so we have to leave something to future generations.”

Fundraising

According to Shi， the local government approved his plans as early as 2004， but he was left to raise the funds. “I ran out of money in Qujing and greatly underestimated the expense of renovating the Huanglong Temple，” he said. “It is indeed much more costly than building a new one.”

Different from the other big temples like the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province， famous for its kung-fu and now more like a Buddhist Disneyland than a quiet place of reflection， the Huanglong Temple has never charged for admission and does not encourage visitors to make donations. “Many temples have been commercialized， with monks living on wages and ‘bonuses’ from pilgrims’ donations， but I hope to support the temple and my disciples in Buddhist ways，” Shi said.

The first fundraising idea Shi came up with was selling his own Buddhist calligraphy， a scheme he later expanded to include paintings of tigers， which， in Chinese folk beliefs， can drive away evil spirits. In terms of price tags， Shi would ask customers to pay what they felt was appropriate， and he talked proudly of selling more than 300 works a year.

Since Shi’s 312-meter-long painting of 500 Buddhist clerics was recognized by the British-based Carrying The Flag World Records as the world’s longest scroll painting， however， Shi’s artworks have become in- creasingly commercialized， and thus controversial. According to some media reports， an unidentified buyer has made an offer of 60 million yuan （US$10m） for the scroll. Many began to speculate that the value of the scroll had been intentionally overstated in order to make more money for Shi. Shi fell back on claims that his work’s value was “tied to his business network” and people’s “respect” for his attitude towards the Huanglong Temple， rather than the objective quality of his paintings.

By selling calligraphy and paintings， a fundraising method that he claims is Buddhist， Shi has reportedly amassed 40 million yuan（US$6.7m） in 10 years， all of which he claims has been spent on the first phase of renovations to the Huanglong Temple.

The problem now is the 400 million yuan （US$66.7m） needed to pay the remaining balance， a vast sum which almost led Shi to give up on the project. However， the abbot told our reporter that since the media have publicized both his plans and his budget， he has to see the renovations through.

Auctioning his antique prayer beads was simply a way to raise funds quickly， though many have challenged Shi on whether he actually has the right to sell the symbol of his office even questioning whether they are in fact his property. “I bought the beads privately in the 1960s at a very low price，” he told NewsChina. “At the time， they were seen as pretty much worthless. If the auction helps promote the construction， I will make the process more transparent， and publish financial records.”

Charlatan？

Many local people still remember the grand ceremony of Shi Chizhong’s investiture， when he was formally made the abbot of the Huanglong Temple in 2009. Visitors and disciples crowded into the temple while local police lined the access road. Shi made his way from hall to hall， flanked by robed disciples bearing lanterns， and chanting.

“It was like the coronation of an emperor，” Shi said. “I remember when I walked out of the hall， all the people in the yard outside the temple fell to their knees.”

In the People’s Republic， all senior Buddhist clerics have to have impeccable political as well as religious backgrounds. Shi was vetted by the Party school and obtained a Master’s degree in Buddhism from the Renmin University of China. During his time at the Party school， he wrote a paper entitled “Buddhism Should be Subject to the Law.”

“In the past， a monk could stay out of politics， but today， no abbot can maintain a temple and support his disciples without contact with the government and officials，” he told NewsChina. “I know a good monk should have no involvement with the economy， politics or the secular world， but this principle simply cannot be applicable to modern abbots [in China].”

Shi’s luxurious accommodation has also caused controversy. He maintains private apartments in the temple， which include a long gallery， living quarters， a hall for greeting guests， a goldfish pond and a small swimming pool which Shi claims is for performing ablutions prior to prayers. He also has a personal assistant which he refers to as an“old disciple，” and keeps a private Subaru SUV which he claims he “has to use to attend government meetings.”

“If I took a bus， I would be taken for a phony monk，” he told NewsChina.

“The government should investigate [Shi]，” ran one popular post on bulletin board . “Is he raising money for a temple or for a private villa and luxurious car？”

Shi claims that his lifestyle is a standard one for an abbot， and he enjoys a certain amount of celebrity， with his disciples spread throughout the country. Shi keeps in touch with these former students and those interested in Buddhism via online instant messaging.

“People come to me with various worries， about love， career， family， health and death，” he said. “I often serve as a psychologist or even a judge to help them through tough times. But I will not tell them their fortunes， as many desire I prefer to tell them how to behave.”

“Religion is a science rather than a superstition，” he continued.“Many people easily lose their way in life， filling their own heads with illusions and believing they will be blessed simply by praying to a Buddha statue. But true Buddhism helps people identify their problems and solve them.”

To reinforce his ideas about Buddhism， Shi has even written songs， shot music videos for them， and then sent copies to anyone he believes to be interested in Buddhism. He has even self-funded his own biopic， though a lack of commercial interest has prevented it from being screened. Shi claims that government officials called the mini-series“inspiring.”

“I may be not a good monk， but I hope I can support good monks，”Shi said.

“Buddhists believe that all things in the universe are void， and that we should want nothing from the material world，” he said， stroking the prayer beads on his chest. “But I don’t think I can live like that.”