SHAOLIN TEMPLE figures in the popular imagination as a haven for disciplined learning. Located in the misty Song Mountains, it's one of the best known Buddhist shrines on the mainland and birthplace of the martial art made famous by its fighting monks. But visitors to the famous temple complex in Henan province these days find there's little resemblance to that ascetic image.
'This is kind of weird,' says 15-year-old Courtney Lee, an America-born Chinese on her first visit to the mainland. 'It's more modernised than I ever imagined.' Beside her, a young monk is busily sending text messages on his mobile phone.
The temple has zealously embraced the spirit of free enterprise in recent years, and many find it hard to reconcile the reality of Shaolin Inc. with the image of monks who give up material interests for the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment. Visitors are often startled to find that much activity at Shaolin these days involves paying tourists.
But the abbot, Shi Yongxin, insists the monks maintain the simple lifestyle that their predecessors practised 1,500 years ago. 'Our life has always been simple and austere, with frequent meditation and chanting prayer services.' Nevertheless, he travels in his own Mercedes, carries a fancy mobile phone and is something of a jetsetter, flying around the world to promote the Shaolin name. 'I've been to more than 60 countries,' he says. 'Just came back from Rome yesterday.'
Shi Yongxin was 34 when he became abbot in 1999, having spent 16 years at the temple. Like most of the senior monks, he's reputed to be a kung fu master. But the rotund monk doesn't look as if he has spent much time honing his fighting skills. Indeed, his most formidable weapon seems to be useful government connections. In recent years, the Shaolin organisation has been able to claim large stretches of land surrounding the temple complex.
Shaolin's transformation has roused criticism. The cradle of Buddhist learning and kung fu has been turned into a well-oiled moneymaking machine, cultural observers say. The success of the temple, which now admits 1.5 million visitors annually, has turned the monks into bewildered strangers in their own abode, or in the eyes of some, exotically garbed tourism workers.