Outrageous monks in Shenzhen

The Dhammapada says:

"Many who wear the yellow robe,
who are unrestrained in evil things,
these evil ones by their evil deeds,
in hell do they arise.
Better to eat a ball of iron,
glowing as flame of fire;
than to eat the people’s alms,
immoral and unrestrained."

Last week there was a report in one of the HK paparazzi magazines on a bunch of errant monks' misbehaving in neighbouring Shenzhen. Apparently this group of monks come from the Mainland, from Jiangsu province to "work" in HK. They were staying at Xi Fang monastery while they were there. A pious lay devotee, Mr Yang, CEO of Xun Ri Corporation had invited monks from the monastery to perform Sutra chanting sessions at his HQ office on a regular basis to bless his business. However, the monastery had very few resident monks. This group of mainland monks, being "professional chanters", volunteered themselves for the task with the approval of the Abbot, who did not suspect anything at first. Above we see the group reporting to Mr Yang's office for "work" in the morning. Mr Yang pays each monk a handsome fee of 1,000 HKD for their services daily. The leader of the pack, Ven Changsheng, who brought the group to HK from Suzhou district to earn money. In the day, he and his pack are in neat yellow Sangha robes, looking solemn and dignified. But once the night sets, these guys change into their savvy civilian outfits before crossing over to Shenzhen for some "rest and recreation". The wayward activities of these monks were first noticed by Mr Yang's employees when they went over to Shenzhen for food during the weekends.
The pack shopping for luxury watches at Shatin Mall after work.

The employees spotted these monks wearing civilian attire gorging on meat and alcohol with their female companions in one of the restaurants. One of them tipped off the HK paparazzi and immediately reporters were sent to tail the monks. Above we see Ven Facheng (2nd from left) with his young "girlfriend" having a hearty feast. They were accompanied by 2 other monks.

Another monk, Ven Miaolian, was photographed bargaining with a lady pimp for the sex services of her girls. The reporter also found out that they were regulars there and the pimps had no idea they were "real monks".

On the way up to the love motel, Ven Miaolian also eagerly checks out another attractive lass in the lobby, scanning her from head to toe. Unfortunately, the practice of Kayanussati is hardly on the mind of this monk.

Inside the whorehouse, Ven Miaolian lit a cigarette while the lady pimp parades her girls before him for selection. This monk is said to prefer the fleshy types, and at times threesomes. Woe betide him.. Now, just before you dismiss these guys as fake monks, think again. They are real monks with ordination booklets and proper training in chanting. When the reporter went back to HK and reveal this scandal to the Abbot, Ven Kuanyun, he was outraged. He said it was unfortunate that there are black sheep in the monastery, but it was also inevitable because many monks from different places come and go in this place. Ven Kuanyun promised to kick these monks out, but whether they would be expelled from the Order or not would depend on the Mainland Sangha. It was always difficult to control who gets ordained and where as China is such a vast country. As one insider pointed out, among the countless monasteries in China, many are those who ordain for a living rather than cultivating the Dharma. If they work as an ordinary worker, at most they could earn 1,000 plus RMB per month. But as professional chanting monks, they could earn up to 10 - 20,000 RMB per month! This is due to the increasing demand for religious services among the urban Chinese populace, not just in HK, but also on the Mainland. Herein lies the crux of the problem - the commercialization of Buddhism. Many more fools like Ven Changsheng and gang will grow, attracted by the rich rewards that being a chanting monk offer. They can then spend that money enjoying food, alcohol, smoke and women. But these fools have no idea that the price to pay for those fleeting sensual pleasures is immensely severe indeed. Engaging in those vices as members of the Sangha is a terrible karma that they cannot begin to imagine. Unspeakable torment awaits them in the hells after the dissolution of their human bodies. They are going to stay in there for a very very long time. I believe the practice of paying money to monks to chant Sutras should be abolished altogether. Monks who provide such services should be provided with only food, nothing more. This will turn off those who ordain just to make a living. Surely if the Mainland Chinese Sangha does not take some steps to enforce the Vinaya and cut down commercialization, the hells are going to become very crowded places soon.