釋永信被傳正在接受調查 Mystery deepens over China's scandal hit Shi Yongxin

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.

上週末，中國嵩山少林寺方丈釋永信未能出席在泰國舉行的一個佛教會議，這令外界猜測，在數週聳人聽聞的指控後，他正接受調查。釋永信把這個少林功夫的發源地變成了一個龐大的商業帝國。

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.

長着一張圓臉、披着黃色袈裟的釋永信，被一名前少林寺弟子指控育有多名私生子並挪用公款。

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.

中國媒體廣泛報道了這些指控，這是圍繞這位穿梭於世界各地的少林寺住持一系列爭議事件的最新一例，他大膽提出將這個具有歷史意義的寺廟商業化，用於旅遊、武術和文化用途，這讓他成爲中國最著名的佛教徒，而且把少林寺變成了中國最知名的品牌。

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

少林寺一位姓馬的負責外聯的僧侶否認釋永信正接受調查。記者未能立即聯繫到釋永信置評。

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.

中國的宗教活動由政府部門管理，在幾十年政治動盪中倖存下來的知名寺廟的創收潛力，經常與圍繞它們的潛在影響力猜測聯繫在一起。

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.

釋永信曾受到政府的恩寵，他是人大代表，擔任由政府支持的中國佛教協會(Buddhist Association of China)的副會長。

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.”

中國佛教協會在其網站上表示，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”。據中國媒體一份未得到證實的報道，國家宗教事務局(State Administration of Religious Affairs)上週要求地方宗教局對這些指控展開調查。該局的一名官員表示：“我們正對此進行調查。”

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.

釋永信未受到早先爭議的影響，包括2009年的少林寺上市計劃，該計劃在中國遭到普遍嘲笑。他隨後將該計劃歸咎於當地政府。

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.

今年早些時候，他曾訪問澳大利亞，遞交一張價值380萬美元的支票，爲一個價值3.8億美元的功夫主題公園、酒店、高爾夫球場和房地產開發項目購地。