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The reputation of the former Head Monk of the famous Shaolin Temple – Shi Yongxin – literally collapsed overnight! The trouble he has caused has not been limited only to himself! After Shi Yongxin got into trouble, his brother – Liu Yingbiao – quite literally disappeared from public view – with the media reporting that he has gone “missing”.
This is because the Vatican (an “Independent” State) is the only country in Europe to still maintain diplomatic relations with “Taiwan” – and view Taiwan as the “Republic of China” (ROC). The Vatican does NOT recognise the “People’s Republic of China” – as the Roman Catholic Church has a long history of supporting fascism and opposing “Socialism”. The Catholic Church supported Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, provided priests to bless the Nazi and fascist troops invading the USSR, helped thousands of Nazi War Criminals escape Europe after the war, and is fully supportive of Neo-Nazi Ukraine today. The chatter on Chinese-language website in the PRC is of the opinion that Shi Yongxin was up to no good – and this feeds into his “defection” stories, etc. Indeed, it is believed that this might well be a Vatican-inspired intrigue designed to strengthen US foreign policy, bolster the image of Taiwan, and damage the PRC.
Years ago, when I first accessed the internet, I used to argue with young Americans (and some UK and EU people) that the gongfu they were learning for vast amounts of money in China and the West – was not real and product of youth-orientated (Western-derived) gymnastics. They were so brain-washed they thought the lay-men who taught them in robes were real Shaolin monks! Furthermore, they said that our gongfu was “old fashioned” and “out of date”! Many of the ethnic Chinese “teachers” were greedy and money-orientated – seeing spirituality as “weak”. I stopped arguing as I did not want to be seen as attacking the CPC – which I would never do. In return, I was asked to appear on Chinese TV and explain my connection to China – but I politely refused. The last thing I wanted was further exposure and hundreds of people asking for instruction. It is important to live humbly and simply – and not for show. It is best to disappear and not be seen. If in doubt, keep out of sight.
In Japan, a Buddhist monk or nun can get married, produce children, eat meat, and drink alcohol. In other words, these people are lay-people in robes – but are practicing dishonesty. A group of Chinese Ch’an monks had been following the Vinaya Discipline when they travelled to Japan to spread the Ch’an Dharma – but returned with Japanese wives and children – and wearing lay-clothing – eating meat and drinking alcohol. In front of Xu Yun – these “monks” petitioned the post-1949 government of China to permanently abolish the Ch’an requirement for monks and nuns to be celibate and vegetarian. Xu Yun is said to have loudly slapped the table – stating that the Chinese government should do the exact opposite – that is, integrate the Vinaya Discipline into the fabric of China’s secular law. If a man or woman wants to be an ordained Buddhist monk or nun, then it should be a legal requirement – punishable by secular law – if they fail to uphold the rules and regulations of the lifestyle they have chosen to follow. Being a Buddhist monastic is a “job” that requires a strict form of lifestyle.
This is despite the anti-Soviet nonsense he spouts on page 114 – a line of Vatican propaganda that sullies a man who tolerates a qualified “atheism” in his monastery! Of course, this type of anti-Stalin invention can be dismissed by studying the Collective Works of Stalin (Stalin trained in the Seminary before becoming a Revolutionary) and the historical (academic) work of EH Carr, Alexander Werth and Grover Furr, etc. EH Carr does mention that following the Bolshevik Revolution, monks and priest were not allowed to vote in elections until after 1922 (the founding of the USSR) – but prior to 1917 – no one (ecclesiastical or lay) was allowed to vote for any reason outside the closed circle surrounding the Czar – and the oppressive feudal system he administered. Just as Catholic monks live under the “Dictatorship” of God, the Pope and their Abbot – monks and priests in the USSR possessed absolutely no rights prior to 1917! Andre Louf, as a professed Catholic monk, was NOT permitted by the Catholic Church to vote in any election. When the reality of his position is fully understood – then the magnitude of his ignorance becomes fully revealed. Even monastic masters are inclined to “lie” – perhaps that is what their God requires.
There are curious similarities between certain aspects of Buddhist and Christian teaching, this fact is beyond a doubt, but as to whether this constitutes a direct developmental ‘influence’ between the earlier Buddhism upon the latter Christianity is open to debate. Certainly
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 