Sexual harassment of nuns by abbot verified

Master Xuecheng, abbot of the Beijing-based Longquan Temple and former head of the Buddhist Association of China, sent obscene messages to female monks, China’s top religious affairs regulator confirmed on Thursday.

Xuecheng is suspected of violating Buddhist precepts by sending female monks harassing material, and he will receive punishment according to the constitution of the Buddhist Association of China, the State Administration for Religious Affairs said in a statement.

The verification came after a 95-page report accused Xuecheng of various violations, including sexual harassment of several nuns, illegally expanding the scale of the temple and embezzling donations from believers.

Investigations found that construction work on the temple was undertaken without a license, and the use of a large amount of temple funds violated financial management regulations. Related departments are investigating the problems, the statement said.

The reported sexual harassment is still being investigated by the Beijing police, it said.

Last month, Shi Xianjia of Longquan Temple and Shi Xianqi, a former monk at the temple and now an abbot at another temple, made allegations — including that Xuecheng had forced female monks into sex — that were splashed across Chinese social media.

The temple denied the allegations on Aug 1, saying that the two monks “forged materials, distorted facts and posted the untrue report” and asked the government to send a team to investigate. The religious authorities began investigating on Aug 2.

The Buddhist Association of China called for stronger Buddhist ethics and resistance to the commercialization of Buddhism, at a council meeting in Beijing on Aug 15. The meeting also accepted the resignation of Xuecheng as president of the association.

Master Xuecheng, 52, a graduate from the Buddhist Academy of China in Beijing, is also a national political adviser. He became abbot of Longquan Temple in 2005.

The temple in northwestern Beijing has expanded its name globally in recent years as a technology-oriented temple that attracts highly educated monks, including those from the country’s top universities.