Frazzled urbanites robe up, chill out as Buddhist monks

Looking for an unusual spot for an extended vacation or sabbatical? Would you consider spending a few months as a monk at a secluded mountain monastery?

Not many people in China choose to live as monks, which connotes a lifelong abstinence from eating meat and enjoying other carnal pleasures, but a Buddhist temple's program to recruit short-term monks has generated enormous interest among the country's urban residents.

The Ci'en Temple in east China's Zhejiang Province invites both religious and secular men and women to live as monks for anywhere from three months to two years. The program is free, but requires that participants follow the ascetic, vegetarian monk lifestyle.

"The program aims to provide a halcyon period of time for participants, who can enrich and sort out their minds in the process of learning about Buddhism," according to a post on the temple's website.

The program sparked heated discussions after a local newspaper posted the notice on Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. It ranked among the website's most discussed topics on Thursday, and the surge in traffic to the temple's website caused it to crash.

"I've always hoped to take a respite from all the pressures and troubles in my daily life, and a tranquil Buddhist temple sounds like a good idea," a microblogger remarked on Sina Weibo.

Master Zhidu, the abbot of Ci'en, said he was surprised by the attention, because "it is common practice for Buddhist temples to invite members of the public to experience monkhood."

"It was initially a small-scale notice for our followers, and the strong reactions are really beyond our expectations," Master Zhidu told Xinhua in an interview.

With seven to eight permanent monks, the temple on the scenic Tiantai Mountain started offering the short-term monk program in 2006. Since then, it has received over a dozen people annually, usually stressed-out urban residents or unemployed people seeking temporary lodging, according to the abbot.

However, this year, over 200 people have applied to the program, including students and entrepreneurs, and most have opted for the three-month term, said a volunteer at the temple in charge of applications.

After being ordained, the short-term monks will embark on a daily routine of chanting sutras, working and performing traditional aerobic exercises, and they will live in the cavernous chambers of the temple.

"There are indeed some temples that offer hotel-style rooms, but we insist on the plain life as well as rigid rules for monks, like bans on alcohol, meat and fish dishes," Master Zhidu said.

The novice monks are allowed to bring mobile phones and laptops with them, so they can stay in touch with the outside world. The temple offers WiFi service, but only at limited times.

Seeking peace of mind

Master Zhidu said the popularity of the short-term monk program is a reflection of how many urbanites are anxious to escape the stresses and material trappings of city life.

"Many people regard the short-term monkhood as a cultivated way to reduce pressures," the abbot said. "The simple and frugal life of monks that is very different from the materialistic modern life can also prompt soul-searching."

Geng Jing, a sociology professor at Shanghai University, said many urban Chinese are in dire need of tranquil states of mind, as fast-paced modern life affords them no time for philosophical thought.

"Buddhism was born in a slow-paced agricultural society, and its focus on life and death and other philosophical issues has appealed to many modern people," Geng said.

But the overnight popularity of the program has also raised doubt about its purported mind-purifying effects, while others have expressed concern that the influx of insincere vacationers will disturb the peace of the Buddhist shrines and even lead to a commercialization of the religious practice.

"Without cutting off their worldly links, I doubt the secular participants would concentrate on Buddhist learning, and the use of computers may have further compromising effects," said Master Huiguang of Nanshan Temple in Wutai Mountain, Shanxi Province.

However, Han Jianggen, vice secretary general of the Buddhist Association of Wutai Mountain, believes the program will benefit all participants, whether they are sincere Buddhist devotees or those simply hoping for a break from reality.

"Strict rules help nurture good habits, while simple lives allow us to cool down our minds to better reflex on ourselves," Han said.