Feature: Chinese monk tweets enlightenment

At Longquan Monastery, a 1,000-year-old courtyard building at the foot of the mountains in Beijing's western suburbs, Venerable Master Xuecheng meets with friends and talks about Buddhism.

Wearing his traditional robe and cloth shoes, Xuecheng looks like the other monks in the monastery. However, the newly elected president of the Buddhist Association of China has a modern approach to developing and spreading Buddhism.

Xuecheng said at his election conference in April that Buddhist religious doctrine should positively and actively respond to modern technology and society.

In 2006, he became the first Buddhist monk to have a blog on the Chinese mainland. It has received more than 10 million visits.

In 2008, he used the Longquan Monastery website to promote Buddhist teachings.

And in 2011, Xuecheng launched microblogs in Chinese, English, French, German, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Thai and Tibetan across multiple social media platforms, including Sina Weibo, Tencent and Twitter. The Weibo account has more than 300,000 followers.

"All the translation is done for free by about 300 domestic and foreign volunteers," he says.

He expects his microblogs to act as bridges between different countries, nationalities and cultures.

Xuecheng's online followers often seek both practical and spiritual guidance. "That covers careers, loneliness, and family harmony," he says.

"As they gain material wealth, Chinese people have a greater desire for inner enlightenment. Buddhist wisdom can help guide them through life, cope with all kinds of relationships, and improve their quality of life."

According to him, new media makes this process easier and faster.

"The Internet is filled with negative and false information that pollutes our spiritual space," he says. "Buddhism has an obligation to spread positive and healthy information through new media to purify our minds."

Three forums focusing on new media applications for Buddhism will be held at the fourth World Buddhist Forum in October in east China's Jiangsu Province, according to Xuecheng.

Born in 1966, Xuecheng was raised by his Buddhist mother who always took him to religious events. Inspired by Xuanzang (602-664), a noted Buddhist monk of the Tang dynasty who traveled to India and stayed there for years studying Buddhism, Xuecheng became a monk at 16.

He earned a post-graduate degree from the Buddhist Academy of China in 1991 and went on to become dean of the Buddhist Academy of Fujian.

Now he is abbot of three influential temples: Famen in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Guanghua in southeast China's Fujian Province, and Longquan Monastery.

"Buddhism has never been out of date," he says. "What I have been doing is to ease misunderstanding and prejudice toward Buddhism."

At Longquan Monastery, the monks excel not only in Buddhist doctrine, but also boast advanced tech skills and education levels. Roughly 60 percent to 70 percent of the tens of thousands of monks, laypeople and volunteers serving at Longquan have education above the undergraduate level.

His illustrated book, titled "All Troubles are Self-Inflicted," took the "Golden Monkey King" Award at the 11th China International Cartoon and Animation Festival last month in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. All pictures in the book were drawn by his disciples.

Spreading Buddhism through new media requires talented monks and volunteers with higher education, he says.

"Buddhism should not seclude itself from the outside world, but the temple has to sustain the embodiment of Buddha, dharma and sangha," he says.

"Furthermore, it has to be a base for developing charity and a center for spreading Chinese culture."

As a senior monk, he frequently meets and works with Chinese government officials.

"They care about how Buddhism shoulders social responsibility," he says. "Mutual communication helps us find common views and work together to advance social harmony."

In addition to handling daily affairs, Xuecheng also spends time studying Buddhist teachings and learning about current events. His disciple Xianzeng says the master's open and inclusive attitude enables him to study the positive aspects of all living things.

Buddhism entered China during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) and evolved along with Chinese civilization.

Buddhism has been an important part of and transmitter of traditional Chinese culture, according to the master.

"The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation requires the revitalization of its culture," Xuecheng says. "I believe Chinese Buddhism will contribute its wisdom and strength in pushing forward social harmony." Endit