“I always believe that Buddhists should live in the real world [to make ourselves useful]. The world is changing and we have to change with it.”

— Shi Yongxin, abbot of Shaolin Temple in Henan ProvinceHelen Deng

HE drives a Volkswagen SUV. He owns an iPad and an iPhone. He has an MBA degree. He frequently makes headlines for the wrong reasons.

In many ways Shi Yongxin is more like a pop star than a Buddhist monk. He has been the subject of widespread rumors this month, with netizens saying that he kept a mistress at Beijing University, had an affair with celebrity Yang Lan, and had US$3 billion deposited at overseas banks.

In an interview with the Global People Weekly, Shi Yongxin denied all the rumors, saying his car was a gift from the local government and his iPad and other gadgets were all gifts from devotees. He added that his salary was 700 yuan (US$111) and most of his income came from donations.

Shi Yongxin did not want to say any more about the rumors. He cited a dialogue between two monks during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to explain his attitude: “When monk Han Shan asked monk Shi De: ‘What should I do if the world defames me, cheats me, humiliates me or laughs at me?’ Shi De replied: ‘You should endure and respect, and you will see the result in a few years.’”

Ugly rumors surrounding Shi Yongxin, the abbot of Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, are nothing new. The centerpiece of many kung fu novels and films, Shaolin Temple is one of the most high-profile brands to have come from China in any industry, thanks in no small part to the abbot, whom media have dubbed the “CEO monk.”

The temple’s business ventures include investments in its famous globetrotting kung fu performance troupes, renting out the Shaolin name for films, cartoons and stage productions, and an early-stage investment in a possible line of traditional Chinese medicines. The creation in 1998 of the Henan Shaolin Temple Industrial Development Company saw the temple become the first Chinese religious organization to register a trademark for its name. It has also sent monks to set up more than 40 Shaolin kung fu and meditation centers across North America, Europe and elsewhere, but the abbot says these and most of Shaolin’s other “cultural activities” barely break even. Instead, he says, the vast majority of the temple’s “a few dozen million renminbi” in annual income comes from tickets sold to the roughly 2 million tourists that visit the site every year.

Shi Yongxin is unique among Buddhist monks in China. People who choose this career are expected to live a quiet, secluded life. But Shi Yongxin does not think so.

“I always believe that Buddhists should live in the real world. Buddhists are not immortals. We eat, drink, use electricity and drive cars. If you live a secluded life on a mountain you are not making yourself useful. The world is changing and we have to change with it,” said Shi Yongxin.

Shi Yongxin was born Liu Yingcheng in Yinshang County in Anhui Province in 1965. He was the third of five children. His father Liu Dianjue is a worker who frequently has to travel far from home, and his mother is a farmer. His parents are both pious Buddhists.

As a child Liu Yingcheng wanted to be a monk, because he believed “monks can ride on clouds and live like immortals.” He heard about Shaolin Temple from legends his father told him. In March 1981, without his parents’ permission, Liu Yingcheng came to Shaolin Temple asking to become a monk. The then abbot Xing Zheng accepted him, saying that it was his “destiny.”

But Shaolin Temple was different from what the boy had imagined. After the cultural revolution (1966-76), the temple was damaged. There were only 20 monks at the temple, and with few devotees, they lived on a small area of farmland on which they barely had enough to survive.

In 1987, after the death of Xing Zheng, Shi Yongxin began running the temple. He began to look for ways to support the temple financially. In 1999, Shi Yongxin was ordained as the temple’s abbot, becoming the youngest abbot of the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple.

Before his Parinirvana, master Xing Zheng told Shi Yongxin: “Build more houses, store more crops, and rejuvenate Shaolin Temple.” This has become his motto.

“I am working to spread Buddhist culture, monastic traditions, and preserve the status of Shaolin Temple,” Shi Yongxin said. “I think we can be optimistic about the next 1,500 years.”