Shaolin monks sent overseas for study
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, August 15, 2012
The time-honored Shaolin Temple, home of Chinese kung fu and Zen Buddhism, is sending an increasing number of promising youngsters to study abroad as part of an education plan.
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Monks of Shaolin Temple [file photo] |
Nearly half of the total 300 monks in the historic complex in central China's Henan Province are "post 80s," meaning those born after 1980, and many of them have studied in overseas Buddhist institutions and universities, said its abbot, Shi Yongxin.
The monks with overseas experience have a good command of foreign languages and get used to a modern lifestyle involving social networking, which enables them to reach more and more foreign followers, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
The ancient temple spends several hundred thousand yuan on fostering monks per year, Shi said.
The 28-year-old monk identified as Yanti entered Nanjing University in 2008 to learn religion and philosophy and studied another two years in Singapore.
Another monk, Yanzheng, 27, was instructed in Singapore for six years and then chose the well-regarded Hong Kong University to pursue his study.
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