Shaolin Temple's official website

Wai Jia: The Kung Fu Forum Shaolin Kung Fu
21

Hak Mei and his traitorous band of evil disciples at it again from beyond the grave!!

lol.

It’s odd that the Chinese would question the ethics and morality of buddhist temples owning property and being monied somewhat.

They have been tainted by western moral hodge podgery!

Go back in history, and you’ll find that every temple, every church, every cathedral cost a lot of money and sits on expensive property and has many precious items within and a stream of people continuously giving money to absolve themselves of some perceived sin.

Think!

22

Shaolin strikes back at online hacker attacks By Yan Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-24 08:00

The abbot of Shaolin Temple, which is famous worldwide for its kungfu prowess, defended his monastery Monday amid cyber-attacks and a new round of accusations over its growing commercialization.

“We all know Shaolin has kungfu,” said Shi Yongxin in an interview broadcast online with a website affiliated with the People’s Daily.

“Now there is kungfu on the Internet,” said Shi, referring to an earlier cyber-attack on Shaolin’s website.

A hacker on Nov 11 replaced the website’s front page with a mock letter of remorse in Shi’s name. The fake post accused the monk of commercializing the 1,000-year-old temple during his 10 years at its helm.

Shi, 44, is also deputy director of the Buddhist Association of China.

At first, Shi thought the people behind the attacks were just curious about the temple’s website. But after reading the letter, he believed they were making jokes about the temple, about Buddhism and about himself.

Shi stopped short of commenting on the letter’s contents.

The website, shaolin.org.cn, has been closed since administrators of the site noticed the attacks on Nov 11.

But Shi said the attacks were a warning to the temple as well as to him and they will make efforts to improve themselves.

“We’ve not considered suing the perpetrator yet,” he said.

“As monks, we should focus only on our Buddhist disciplines. We are not excited about filing lawsuits.”

Despite Shaolin’s reputation in the country for its money-making ability, Shi dismissed claims that the temple is the first Buddhist monastery to charge visitors entrance fees.

“I have called many times for the abolishment of entrance fees in recent years,” Shi said.

He suggested that no tickets be required for entry to all temples across China.

Still, life at the Shaolin temple is also witnessing a rise in food prices.

Costs for food for a monk at the temple is now 7 yuan a day compared with 5 yuan a day three years ago, Shi said.

At the temple, the monks’ daily diet of three meals consists of steamed buns, noodles and rice. All Buddhists are vegetarians.

Shi said he also follows these disciplines.

In the interview, Shi made a rare disclosure about his income as the head of the temple, saying he is not an exception as far as the so-called “danjin”, or salary, is concerned.

“The monthly danjin is between 100 yuan and 200 yuan, including mine,” he said.

Some monks can earn a monthly income of up to 1,000 yuan because they are supported by secular Buddhist believers. Compared with local living standards, this is a good income, Shi said.

Monks usually spend the money on stationery and materials for daily and religious use, he said.

23

well..they’re common people, understandable, but how does Buddhism make it different?

24

“shi” ?

who wrote that? lol

25

More response

We know there is kung fu on the internet. What do they think we’re doing here? :rolleyes:

November 24, 2009 1:00 AM
Hacks of Chinese Temple Were Online Kung Fu, Abbot Says
The Web site of China’s Shaolin Temple, a famous kung fu training ground, has been hacked multiple times by attackers critical of its commercial activities. Owen Fletcher, IDG News Service

A hacker who posted a fake message on the Web site of China’s famous Shaolin Temple repenting for its commercial activities was just making a mean joke, the temple’s abbot was cited as saying by Chinese state media Monday.

That and previous attacks on the Web site were spoofs making fun of the temple, Buddhism and the abbot himself, Shi Yongxin was cited as telling the People’s Daily.

“We all know Shaolin Temple has kung fu,” Shi was quoted as saying. “Now there is kung fu on the Internet too, we were hacked three times in a row.”

The Web site of the Shaolin Temple, China’s most famous ancient temple for kung fu training and a major tourist spot, has been down since a fake letter attributed to the abbot was posted there two weeks ago saying he felt ashamed of the temple. The abbot regretted sacrificing the temple’s sanctity to bring it expansion and fame, the fake letter said, according to a copy of the Web page cached by Google.

One online example of the Shaolin Temple’s commercial endeavors is on Taobao.com, China’s biggest online auction and retail site, where the temple’s official store sells bead bracelets, incense burners and pricier items like official Shaolin swords for around 10,000 yuan (US$1,466).

“I do not dare to pray for the Buddha’s forgiveness, I only ask that I will not go ****her and ****her down the no-return path of commercialization and become a sinner of Shaolin Temple and Buddhism,” the fake letter on the Shaolin site said.

Earlier this month a message, written in traditional Chinese calligraphy, was posted on the temple’s Web site telling Shi to “go and die.”

Shi replied to the allegations of commercialism by saying he supported the abolition of entry tickets for the temple, for which the temple splits revenue with the local government, the People’s Daily said. The attacks on Shaolin’s Web site should spur monks to improve themselves, Shi was cited as saying, adding the temple had not considered legal action in response.

Shaolin Temple, in China’s eastern Henan province, was founded in the year 495 and a group of its monks fought for the Chinese emperor during a war in the seventh century, according to the temple Web site. The iconic temple is known among tourists for the legions of young, robe-wearing devotees who practice martial arts and perform shows on its grounds.

Shaolin abbot defends lifestyle
By Echo Wang | 2009-11-24

THE abbot of Shaolin Temple, in central China’s Henan Province, yesterday fought criticism against him for “leading a material life” by claiming he and his fellow monks only received a monthly allowance of less than 200 yuan (US$29.29).

The comments from Shi Yongxin during an online interview with the People’s Daily Website were the abbot’s first response to a fake letter under his name posted by a hacker on the temple’s Website on November 11.

The letter accused him of exploiting the 1,500-year-old temple for commercial gain.

The bogus letter, posted with a picture of the abbot meditating, said Shi was ashamed of destroying the solemnity of Shaolin in exchange for fame and material wealth.

It said Shi accepted blame for the “temple’s failure.”

Shi, 44, shrugged off the personal attacks in the letter, saying the hacker was only joking with the Buddhists, the temple and the abbot. He said he admired the “online kung fu that overwhelmed Shaolin’s legendary defenses.”

The first monk in China with a master of business administration degree said his allowance had rarely changed since 1981 when he became a Shaolin monk. His daily food expense rose to 7 yuan from 5 yuan three years ago.

Charity donations

Shi said he led the same life as all the other monks in Shaolin, with a monthly allowance of less than 200 yuan.

He spent most of this on books and Buddhist artifacts.

Buddhists did not care about money and much of their allowance was given to charity, the abbot said.

He said it was necessary to merge Shaolin into the mainstream culture of the world.

That’s why he was promoting Shaolin as a “brand” through overseas businesses.

“The hacker’s letter is a spur for both me and the temple to do more to expand Shaolin’s businesses,” Shi said.

“Globalization is the only way that the world can understand Shaolin, a mainstream of Chinese culture.”

Shaolin Temple is famous for its influence on Chinese martial arts. It sends monks to Las Vegas and elsewhere to perform kung fu shows.

26

sweet jebas. :rolleyes:

change your passwords, ensure that your host and webmaster are on the up and up and get your content back up.

check your host for failures and change hosts if tehy can’t provide you with security after you have re-secured your passwords to your ftp site.

It’s not rocket surgery.
If only the abbot had just a little web fu savvy, he wouldn’t have to worry about his detractors, of which there are many.

so what, cover your leaks and get back to fetching wood and carrying water, or fetching and serving pages if you will. :slight_smile:

27

It was not uncommon for Buddhist monasteries all over China to own large sums of land prior to 1950. Holmes Welch, a scholar during mid-1900s had traveled to China and wrote about Buddhism and Taoism in Republic and Communist China said in his book The Practice of Chinese Buddhism 1900-1950 that,

In almost all cases where monasteris owned farm land, they leased it out and lived on the rents (218 Welch).

28

Finally! Shaolin’s website translated in English!

Check it out!

If you check out my new book, Shaolin Trips, you’ll see I’ve been asking the Abbot about this for years.

29

:rolleyes:

30

The official position

This is somewhat random but it came up when discussing the topic with another researcher, so I figured I’d add it to these threads: Big Buddha Beads & Shaolin Temple’s official website.

Buddhist Prayer beads - A sacred spiritual tool
2013-05-13
The overall purpose of Prayer beads [Chin.: shùzh or Buddha beads [Chin.: Fózh ], or Mindfulness beads [Chin.: niànzh ] is to create a sense of tranquility and inner-peace for not only the individual, but for the community as a whole. In reciting the prayer, a sense of peace will enter making an individual that much closer to reaching Enlightenment. But how can you handle Prayer Beads the proper way?

The origin of the prayer beads

The Lord Buddha designed them so that the most ignorant people could achieve correct practice and attitude because they could not master the storehouse of Buddhist knowledge, which was too difficult for them.
The Wuhuanzi sutra [Chin.: wúhuànz ] states:
'Once upon a time, there was a king of the kingdom of Magadha [Chin.: Mójituóguó ] whose name was Vaidurya [Chin.: Fèiliúlíy | Sansk.: Vairya]. He spoke these words in sorrow to the Buddha:

“My country is so small. In recent years, there has been famine and pestilence throughout my country. As a result, all the people are distressed. All the time, I can’t feel easy about that. We are in a painful position. The storehouse of the LAW is too profound and too vast to practice. So please teach me what the main point of the Law is.”

Then the Buddha instructed him:
“King, if you want to eliminate earthly desires and to put an end to their suffering, make a circular string of 108 beads made from the seeds of the Wuhuanzi Tree. Hold it always to yourself. Recite Triratna [Chin.: Snbo] The Three Jewels; ‘Namo Fo [Hail to the Buddha – Namo Fa [Hail to the Dharma] – Namo Seng [Hail to the Sangha]’. Count one bead with each recitation.”

Visualization

The beads form a circle with two strands and three strands that end in tassels. These sets of two and three strands are equal distance and opposite from each other.
Where these strands are attached to the circle, there is a large bead. This large bead represents the Buddha. The Buddha bead frequently ends in a tassel which represents the roots of the lotus plant: a plant of obvious significance to Buddhists. Directly under the Buddha’s bead, is a smaller one. This small bead represents the essential nature of the Law, which is absolute truth, which has existed since the beginning of time.
The Su Zhu consists by 108 beads [Chin.: bibmóuní ] of the same size that represent 108 passions and delusions [Chin.: bibfánno] also called the 108 karmic bonds [Chin.: bibjiéyè]. You will also find four smaller beads, usually in different color. Two of them are opposite each other on either side, seven beads away from the end with the two strands of beads attached to the figure.
The second set is 14 beads beyond the first set on either side.
These small beads represent the Four virtues of the Buddha’s life:

  1. The True Self of the Buddha
  2. The Purity of the Buddha
  3. The Boundless Eternity of the Buddha, and
  4. The Happiness of the Buddha.
    The four strands of beads, which have four larger beads shaped like jars, represent the three thousand worlds in a momentary existence, and the mutual possession of all of them. These beads, then, represent the true and essential nature of all life, which is 3,000 worlds in a momentary existence, each one of which is a perfect manifestation of cause and effect.
    These beads, shaped like jars, are called “The Jars” in which we store the benefits we have accumulated.
    The remaining single strand of ten beads, are the counting beads or adjacent beads.

Using Shu Zhu

The Shu Zhu is traditionally held in the right hand and supported by the left hand at chest (heart) level using the thumb and index finger of the right hand to “pull” the bead toward the heart as the incantation [Chin.: tuóluóní | Sanskrit: dhra - religious chant promoting virtue and obstructing evil] is said. We should count the beads on only one side - going from the Buddha’s bead and returning back again along the same side. Once the practitioner reaches the Buddha bead, the Shu Zhu is rotated (flipped) to return in the opposite direction—the Buddha bead is never crossed since this would be considered a sign of great disrespect —and the incantation is repeated. With each subsequent repetition of the incantation the adjacent bead or counting bead is brought forward to keep count of the number of times the incantation is said.
When not in use, Shu Zhu is frequently wrapped two to three times around the left wrist, stored in a special bag, or placed around one’s neck with the Buddha bead at the front of the body.
It is considered inappropriate to have others use or handle one’s Shu Zhu, to wear it while bathing or swimming, to place it on the floor, to keep it in a pocket below the waist, or to wear it while sleeping.
We should use our Prayer Beads with honest humility and with a sincere heart. They represent the Buddha.

By Shaolin Master Shi Yan Zhuo

Head Master of the Greek Shaolin Temple Cultural Center

31

Slightly OT

Shaolin Monks Attain Internet Nirvana With New 5G Setup
For Buddhists in central China, the desire for faster internet is no longer a source of suffering.

On Saturday, seven base stations for the fifth generation of cellular-phone network technology, also known as 5G, went into operation at the Shaolin Scenic Area and its Shaolin Temple, according to local media outlet Dengfeng News. Located in Henan province, the UNESCO World Heritage site sees 3 million visitors annually.

“Now I can connect with the Buddha without experiencing any lagging,” one netizen commented below a social media post about the news.

Earlier this month, the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued 5G commercial licenses to China Mobile — the company behind Shaolin’s new base stations — and three other state-owned telecom operators. (Image: VCG)

Dang. When I first went to Shaolin, we were happy just to get running water. Kids today. They don’t even know… :rolleyes: