Fighting monks learn PR

last updated 8 January 2015

Song Shan, China

Buddhist monks at China’s Shaolin Temple, birthplace of kung fu, have discovered capitalism. The abbot, Shi Yongxin, is currently producing a $25 million movie about the temple’s legendary fighting monks of yore, and he’s planning a reality TV show for kung fu masters, the Los Angeles Times reported this week. At 40, Shi is one of the youngest abbots in the temple’s 1,500-year history, and he has sent his monks abroad to perform and to promote Shaolin kung fu. He dismisses critics who say such commercialism is sacrilegious. “Buddhist statues too are a form of advertising,” Shi said. “If we don’t advertise, nobody would know about us.”