“少林CEO”釋永信被傳正在接受調(diào)查

“少林CEO”釋永信被傳正在接受調(diào)查

釋永信是現(xiàn)任少林寺方丈、中國佛教協(xié)會副會長、河南省佛教協(xié)會會長。據(jù)報道，釋永信因私生子和挪用公款問題被人指控，但少林寺方面否認其正接受調(diào)查。中國佛教協(xié)會在其網(wǎng)站上表示，針對釋永信的指控“關乎少林寺乃至中國佛教的形象和聲譽”。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

lurid 聳人聽聞的

allegation 指控

disciple 門徒

embezzle 貪污

oust 罷黜

Mystery deepens over China's scandal-hit ‘CEO monk' Shi Yongxin（433words）

By Lucy Hornby in Beijing

The Chinese abbot who turned the temple where kung fu was invented into a sprawling commercial empire failed to turn up at a Buddhist meeting in Thailand this weekend,fuelling speculation that he is under investigation after weeks of lurid allegations.

Shi Yongxin,the round-faced,yellow-robed “CEO monk” who heads the Shaolin Temple,has been accused by a former disciple of fathering several children out of wedlock and embezzling money.

The allegations,widely reported in Chinese media,are the latest in a string of controversies surrounding the globe-trotting abbot,whose aggressive commercialisation of the historic temple for tourism,martial arts and cultural purposes has made him China's most famous Buddhist and turned the Shaolin temple into China's most recognisable brand.

A communications officer at the temple,surnamed Ma,denied that Abbot Shi was under investigation. Abbot Shi could not immediately be reached for comment.

The temple,tucked into a forested mountainside in central Henan province,houses warrior monks whose high kicks and seemingly magical powers have featured in numerous action films. The temple fell on hard times after being stripped of its lands and monks under Communist rule,but staged a comeback under Abbot Shi.

A crackdown on corruption and consolidation of political power under President Xi Jinping has already claimed other religious figures,including celebrity guru Wang Lin,who stands accused of murder. Mr Wang is the qigong master-turned oil mogul who testified in the trial of ousted energy and security tsar Zhou Yongkang.

Religious activity in China is managed by government bureaucracies,and the revenue-generating potential of popular temples that survived several decades of Communist upheaval is often combined with suspicion over their potential influence.Abbot Shi enjoyed the blessing of the authorities and was a member of the National People's Congress and vice-chairman of the state-backed Buddhist Association of China.

The allegations against Abbot Shi have “affected the image and reputation of Chinese Buddhism”,the Buddhist Association said on its website. The State Administration of Religious Affairs last week asked its local bureau to investigate the allegations,according to an unconfirmed report in Chinese media. An official at the bureau said: “We are looking into it.”

Abbot Shi has survived earlier controversies,including the 2009 plan to list the temple on the stock market that was widely derided in China. He later blamed the local government for the plan.Earlier this year,he travelled to Australia to present a $3.8m cheque to purchase land for a $380m kung fu theme park,hotel,golf course and property development.