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As a religious leader, the allegations were shocking. Mistresses, illegitimate children, misuse of funds. Yet in the year 2015, the chief monk of Shaolin monastery, the cradle of Zen Buddhism and kung-fu in China, was untouchable. The abbot, labeled the “CEO monk” who converted the ancient monastery into a business venture worth hundreds of millions of yuan, stayed in power. Shortly after, he was exonerated of all charges.

A Decade Later

But a decade after, the sixty-year-old monk was not so lucky. In July, shortly after Shi returned from a visit to the Vatican to meet the deceased Pope Francis, the monastery released a statement stating that he was under scrutiny for allegedly diverting money and for siring children out of wedlock with multiple mistresses. Less than a two weeks after, he was removed and stripped of his monkhood. He has not been heard from since.

Shi’s demise, for allegations similar to those made—and survived—in the year 2015, was the most prominent in a string of scandals that have rocked the nation's monasteries in recent months.

Issues and Political Pressure

The controversies highlight the increasingly precarious situation of powerful clerical figures in the country, as government backing for the commercialisation of religious sites gives way to an focus on austerity and loyalty to the state.

In the same month, a well-known monk called the monk Daolu—real name {Wu Bing|Wu—was lost his title by the Buddhist Association of China after police in Zhejiang province announced that he was under investigation for suspected deception. The monk is alleged to have collecting public donations under the guise of collecting money for single expectant mothers and needy children, which was actually spent on luxury items. The facts are unclear if he, who has vanished since the news broke, disputes the claim.

In the following month, a recording of monks from the city of Hangzhou's Lingyin Monastery sitting around a desk counting large sums of money went viral, catapulting the ancient temple into a social media storm.

“Those who worship Buddha become poor, and clerics become rich,” wrote one social media user.

Prosperity and Spirituality

There is nothing inherent in Buddhism in China that prohibits the accumulation of wealth, notes an expert, an scholar of East and South Asian religions. In the Middle Ages, monasteries acted as financial institutions, loaning cash to merchants while imposing substantial fees.

But while collecting donations for religious purposes is considered permissible, growing personally rich can put a mark on one’s reputation.

Criticism comes from the public who see riches as being harmful to faith, and, more often, from the government, which under the leadership of the country's leader has targeted opulence and corruption.

Restructuring the Temple's Business

China’s temples have alternated in and out of government support in modern Chinese history. During the Chinese Communist party’s (CCP) agricultural restructuring in the 1950s, temples were lost their properties. Many places of worship were destroyed or damaged in the political movement of the 1960s and 1970s. But as the nation entered a period of market changes and opening up in the 1980s, temples were back in vogue, with many turning to tourism to sustain operations, often with explicit state backing.

Among the prominent abbots who seemed to benefit personally in this time, the abbot was the biggest. Born Liu, he entered the monastery in Henan as a 16-year-old in 1981. Back then, the temple was in disrepair. But as Shi rose the ranks to head abbot, he worked with local officials to re-open religious spaces and sell tickets to tourists. Quickly, millions were flocking in, with the municipality taking a 70% share. Gift shops selling Shaolin-branded products also appeared, and the commercial entity was created.

Shi’s star rose in the meantime. In 2006, the Dengfeng city government awarded him a luxury sports car worth a million yuan to recognize his contributions to local tourism. He dismissed complaints, stating “Monks also need to eat.”

With money came influence. Between 1998 and 2018 he served as a representative to China’s National People’s Congress. Over the years, he encountered international figures, Henry Kissinger and royalty, and took a group of kung-fu practitioners to Russia for a show at the request of Vladimir Putin. It led one local near the temple to observe that the political heft of local CCP officials seemed insignificant in comparison with Shi.

Growth and Challenges of the Temple Economy

Its fame increased as the so-called “religious commerce” in the country expanded—its economic value is predicted to reach 100bn yuan by the end of this year.

While the nation faces stubbornly sluggish expansion, temples in theory are a gift to both authorities and ordinary people. The officials gain from increased local consumption as people flock to religious destinations, while people finding it hard to find work or purpose in Chinese society are increasingly turning to spirituality for support.

Yet temples also must navigate an ever-tighter line between public appeal and state compliance. “The Chinese government is highly watchful to how much influence is being amassed by faith,” the expert says.

Analysts think that Shi’s downfall could have been due to a loss of backing rather than any particular misconduct.

“Typically that there is something else [going on] that has to do with patronage,” says Ian Johnson, the writer of a book on religion, a book about spiritual life in China.

The leader has shown a particular interest in indigenous faiths. In his earlier years he assisted in restore important Buddhist temples and develop them as tourist attractions, a model for how the secular government could work with faith.

But in recent times, Xi has tried to reduce the over-commercialization of monetizing spirituality. In 2017, Beijing revised its regulations on religious affairs, stating that Buddhist and Taoist sites could damaging the “respectable image” of the nation's ancient religions. The new regulations required that Buddhist and Taoist sites must be charitable entities and prohibited the excessive promotion of paid-for religious practices such as lighting offerings and selecting fortunes for fortune-telling.

Changes Ahead

Now it appears that the temple, set in the rugged Song Mountains, is being brought to heel. Upon being appointed in August, Shi Yongxin’s successor, an abbot named Shi Yinle with a image for modesty, declared an overhaul of Shaolin Inc. He halted paid shows, banned costly blessing ceremonies, said he would remove {temple shops|on