China’s controversial Buddhist abbot of Shaolin Temple turns his back on title of ‘CEO monk’

China’s controversial Buddhist monk, who earned himself the nickname of “CEO monk” after being accused of running the Shaolin Temple like a business, no longer likes the title.

“Don’t call me a CEO,” pleaded Shi Yongxin, abbot of the temple, during the National People’s Congress parliamentary session in Beijing.

Shi, who is an NPC delegate and was speaking on the sidelines of the meetings, told Henan Business Daily that addressing a monk with secular titles such as “general manager” and “chief executive officer” was “very inappropriate”.

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Yet Shi seems to have changed his mind.

In an interview with the Phoenix TV in Hong Kong in 2007, Shi – abbot of the temple since 1999 –  said he accepted the “CEO” title because it was “convenient for explanation, convenient for promotion, convenient for communication” whenever he marketed Shaolin Temple, in as a brand of Chinese kung-fu around the world.

Shi is no stranger to controversy in the past, after accepting a one million yuan (about HK$1.2 million) luxury SUV from the local government for his contribution to tourism in 2006, and also saying he believed in aliens in 2013.

This month he and the temple, which has gained a reputation for aggressive commercialism, was again at the centre of fresh controversy over the temple’s plans to build a US$297 million 500-bed hotel complex, including a temple, live-in kung fu academy and a 27-hole golf course in Australia.