NY Times China’s Tech-Savvy, Burned-Out and Spiritually Adrift, Turn to Buddhism By _JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ_ (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/javier_c_hernandez/index.html) SEPT. 7, 2016 _Continue reading the main story_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/08/world/asia/china-longquan-monastery-buddhism-technology.html?_r=0#story-continues-1 ) Share This Page *
BEIJING — For centuries, Buddhists seeking enlightenment made the journey to _Longquan Monastery_ (http://eng.longquanzs.org/) , a lonesome temple on a hilltop in the hinterlands of northwest _Beijing_ (http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/asia/china/beijing/overview.html?inline=nyt-geo) . Under the ginkgo and cypress trees, they meditated, chanted and pored over ancient texts. Now a new generation has arrived. They wear hoodies, watch television shows like “The Big Bang Theory” and use chat apps to trade mantras. Many, with jobs at some of _China_ (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/china/index.html?inline=nyt-geo) ’s hottest and most demanding companies, feel burned-out and spiritually adrift, and are looking for change. “Life in the outside world is chaotic and stressful,” said Sun Shaoxuan, 39, the chief technology officer at an education start-up. “Here, I can be at peace.” As a spiritual revival sweeps China, Longquan has become a haven for a distinct brand of Buddhism, one that preaches connectivity instead of seclusion and that emphasizes practical advice over deep philosophy. The temple is run by what may be some of the most highly educated monks in the world: nuclear physicists, math prodigies and computer programmers who gave up lives steeped in precision to explore the ambiguities of the spiritual realm. To build a large following, the monks have put their digital prowess to work. They have pioneered a popular series of_cartoons_ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSOdd4Rd3zg) based on Buddhist ideas like suffering and reincarnation. (“Having a bad mood can ruin one’s good luck,” a recent cartoon said.) This past spring, they introduced a two-foot-tall _robot_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/world/asia/china-robot-monk-temple.html) named Xian’ er to field questions from visitors, the temple’s first foray into artificial intelligence. Traditionalists worry that Longquan’s flashy high-tech tools may have muddled the teachings of the Buddha, the dharma. They say its emphasis on practical topics like resolving family conflict and achieving success neglects more important philosophical questions._Continue reading the main story_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/08/world/asia/china-longquan-monastery-buddhism-t echnology.html?_r=0#story-continues-2) But the leader of the monastery, the _Venerable Xuecheng_ (http://weibo.com/xuechengzhuchi1?from=hissimilar_home&refer_flag=1005050003_&is_hot=1#_loginL ayer_1472748970936) , who dispenses bits of wisdom every day to millions of online followers, has defended his approach, saying that Buddhism can stay relevant only by embracing modern tools. In a computer-dominated world, he has said, it is no longer realistic to expect people to attend daily lectures.Photo “Buddhism is old and traditional, but it’s also modern,” he said in an interview in March with the state-run news agency Xinhua. “We should use modern methods to spread the wisdom of Buddhism.” On a recent Sunday morning, I stood outside Longquan’s gates, watching as hundreds of volunteers and tourists ascended to the temple. They bowed to one another and took turns sweeping cracked walkways. Some wandered through the organic vegetable garden, stopping to prop up unruly tomato plants. The modernity of the temple was inescapable. While it was first built in 957, many of its original structures were demolished by war and, more recently, by the Cultural Revolution, when Chinese Buddhists were persecuted. Only at the turn of the century was the temple salvaged and rebuilt by a Buddhist businesswoman, Cai Qun. It reopened in 2005, and it is now equipped with fingerprint scanners, webcams and iPads for studying sutras, or Buddhist texts. The state-run news _media_ (http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2014-02/28/content_17311827.htm) speaks of the temple in almost mythical terms. In success-driven China, many people marvel at the decision of the temple’s monks to leave behind lucrative careers in the tech sector to devote themselves to Buddhist study, rising at 3:55 a.m. each day for morning prayers.Photo Longquan has become a favorite showpiece for the ruling Communist Party, which officially promotes atheism but has led a push in recent years to revive ancient cultural traditions. In addition to leading Longquan, the Venerable Xuecheng is the president of the Buddhist Association of China, a party-controlled supervisory organ. The temple displays the writings of President Xi Jinping, and long-term residents must submit information about their patriotism and political views. In a kind of soft-power spiritual push, the Venerable Xuecheng has sought to turn the teachings of the monastery into a global export, translating his writings into more than a dozen languages. In July, he helped open a temple in Botswana for Chinese expatriates. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
