On July 28, one day after the official announcement of the fall of Abbot Shi Yongxin of Shaolin Temple, the Buddhist Association of China issued an announcement stating that it would revoke Shi Yongxin’s (secular name: Liu Yingcheng) ordination certificate based on the report from Henan.
In other words, the Buddhist community has decided to expel Shi Yongxin from the monkhood, not only removing his abbot status but also completely stripping him of his status as a monk, no longer recognizing him as a monk.
When a person officially becomes a monk and shaves their head, they have already abandoned their secular identity. Now, because of violating laws and committing crimes, violating the precepts, their monk status is stripped again. So, what is he now?
Obviously, according to the views of the Buddhist Association of China and religious circles, this is to throw out Shi Yongxin, this “Buddhist scourge”, and dump him on our secular world.
The question is, have you religious circles asked for our secular world’s consent to do this? Isn’t this one-sided approach a bit unfair?
We secular people are not a garbage recycling station. Why should we push a monk suspected of violating laws and committing crimes to our secular world? You religious circles don’t want the bad monk Shi Yongxin, and we secular people don’t want the corrupt official Liu Yingcheng either…
Liu Yingcheng became a novice monk at the age of 16. Later, through various dirty means, he rose to become Abbot Shi Yongxin, a position he has held for over 40 years, occupying three-quarters of his life.
He recited Buddhist scriptures, studied Buddhist teachings, and served as the leader of a Buddhist temple. Whether he learned well or badly, whether he obeyed the law or committed crimes, it all happened within your religious circles and has nothing to do with us secular people, right?
We secular people raised a good young man to the age of 16, and after he became a monk in your religious circles, you didn’t properly educate and cultivate him, didn’t seriously supervise his power, leading to his corruption and degeneration to this point, ruining the reputation of the ancient temple and hurting the feelings of millions of believers. Shouldn’t you religious circles reflect on this, shouldn’t you religious circles take responsibility?
Even if you religious circles don’t reflect and don’t take responsibility, that’s fine. You religious circles are willing to rot, and I, a secular person, can’t control it. But you expel Shi Yongxin, who was corrupted by the religious circles, from the monkhood and push him to us secular people. This is too much!
When Shi Yongxin was the abbot of Shaolin Temple, he was your religious circle’s golden signboard. When Shi Yongxin became a morally corrupt prisoner, that was also your religious circle’s scar. Don’t even think about cutting it clean with one stroke.
I, on behalf of myself, a secular person with 36 years of secular life, strongly oppose Shi Yongxin’s return to secular life!
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