The Buddhist version of 996 Reformation in Shaolin Temple...More than 30 monks have left
Aug 08, 2025
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In the process, some monks are reportedly leaving the temple.
According to the Hong Kong media South China Morning Post, the newly appointed governor of Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, China, has recently introduced and implemented the 'Buddhist version 996' reform.
It is named after the culture of '996', which works six days a week, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., which is common in the Chinese IT industry.
The reforms were carried out by the newly appointed governor of Spain after the resignation of former governor Su Yong-shin, who is under investigation for sex scandals and misappropriation of funds.
Shortly after taking office, he announced that he would implement five reforms, including ▲ suspension of commercial performances ▲ prohibition of expensive Buddhist services (construction of temples, Buddha statues, Buddhist meetings, etc.) ▲ demolition of shops in temples ▲ encouragement of agriculture for self-sufficiency ▲ abolition of the criticized profit-sharing method. The governor of Swiner pointed out that some monks were negligent in both performance and labor, and mentioned cases of ordering delivery food in a meditation room or listening to popular songs with earphones during chanting.
In addition, overseas performances, cultural product sales, and online shopping mall operations of the Shaolin Temple Martial Arts Group have all been suspended.
It also introduced a 'sub-elimination system' to evaluate the qualities of monks, which can be kicked out if they fail the evaluation for three consecutive months.
Under the new rules, monks begin their prayers at 4:30 a.m. and then continue their farming and martial arts training.
Cell phones should be left in the central storage area, and all entertainment activities are prohibited. Watching time, such as TV, was limited to 30 minutes a day, and the diet was mainly composed of vegetables, and tofu was allowed only once a week.
The major reforms sparked a backlash among monks and staff.
More than 30 people left the temple just a week after the new governor took office. However, it is not known whether they moved to another temple or completely ended their Buddhist life.
One young monk described the confiscation of his cell phone, which he was using to read the scriptures, as `I feel like I've lost an arm,' while another said \"I feel nauseous just by smelling vegetables."
There is a series of controversy over this in China's online community.
Netizens are now filtering out who the real practitioner is", It is good for those who followed the money to leave" and "Visitors will feel that their lives are not bad when they see the hard lives of Shaolin monks".
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
