Although Shaolin Temple abbot Shi Yongxin appears to live an affluent life with 15 cars registered to the temple, there is no evidence to back up accusations he stole money from pilgrims, investigators said. However, the probers said in their report that the temple has some financial and management issues that need to be corrected.
Anonymous Tips
The investigation was triggered by anonymous tips in 2015 that besides owning a lot of expensive vehicles, Shi Yongxin allegedly is a womanizer, stole millions of yuan from the Shaolin Temple and accepted bribes from Shi Yanlu, an apprentice, between 2010 and 2012. However, the probe found that Shi Yanlu gave the money before the Spring Festival of 2010 and 2012 which was part of Buddhism tradition, ECNS reported.
Donations as well from pilgrims and the big money from commercializing operations of the Shaolin Temple seems excessive for the temple, Xiong Kunxin, Minzu University of China professor of ethnic theory and policy, said. But investigators found that the money from the apprentice was used to develop the temple and fund the studies of other apprentices, China.com reported.
2 IDs
Also an issue that surfaced when the investigation occurred was that Shi Yongxin had two identification cards, according to Henan Daily. The first card, issued in 1965, is the original hukou, or household registration of the temple’s abbot under the birth name of 52-year-old Liu Yingcheng. The second hukou was issued in 1985 with his Buddhist name Shi Yongxin in which the Shaolin Temple was listed as his address. Public security officials just cancelled his first ID since he stopped using it since he got his Buddhist name, Global Times reported.
For promoting money-making kung fu shows in the temple and expanding Shaolin Temple’s brand globally, Shi Yongxin has been called by media “CEO monk.” Xiong proposed that because of these scandals which tainted the temple’s reputation and Buddhism, authorities need to strengthen their oversight over religious affairs.