7月26日，有“天下第一名刹”之美誉的少林寺突传消息：

方丈释永信被带走调查。

据少林寺官方网站7月27日消息，少林寺住持释永信涉嫌刑事犯罪，挪用侵占项目资金寺院资产；严重违反佛教戒律，长期与多名女性保持不正当关系并育有私生子。目前正在接受多部门联合调查。有关情况将及时向社会公布。

一时之间，全网震荡。连国外媒体都在密切关注中：



BBC：少林寺方丈面临刑事调查（criminal probe：刑事调查，probe 是“调查、探查”的正式用法）



CNN：少林寺方丈卷入“金钱与性”风波，正接受调查



卫报：少林寺住持被控挪用公款，正接受当局调查（embezzlement：挪用公款，贪污，通常指滥用职权非法占用资金）

Shi Yongxin, the abbot of the world-renowned Shaolin Temple, is being investigated by multiple agencies for embezzlement, "improper relationships with multiple women" and "fathering illegitimate children", the temple said on Sunday.

据少林寺周日发布的消息，少林寺方丈释永信因涉嫌挪用公款，长期与多名女性保持不正当关系并育有私生子。目前正在接受多部门联合调查。

He has been stripped of his ordination certificate amid the probe, China's Buddhist association said on Monday.The ordination certificate is proof of someone's acceptance into the monastic community.

中国佛教协会周一表示，调查期间，释永信的戒牒已被吊销。戒牒是指佛教僧人出家受戒后所领受的受戒证明书。

"Shi Yongxin's actions are extremely bad, seriously damaging the reputation of the Buddhist community and the image of monks," the Buddhist Association of China said in its statement.

中国佛教协会声明称：“释永信的所作所为性质十分恶劣，严重败坏了佛教界的声誉，损害了出家人的形象。”



01

释永信的少林“商业帝国”

Established more than 1,500 years ago in the forested mountains of central China, the Shaolin Temple is both a religious and cultural icon, renowned for its age-old tradition of Zen Buddhism and Shaolin kung fu – a distinct form of Chinese martial arts.

少林寺建于1500多年前，坐落在中国中部的群山之中，不仅是一座宗教圣地，更是中国文化的重要象征，以其深厚的禅宗传统和独特的“少林功夫”闻名于世。

Known as the first Chinese abbot to hold a Master of Business Administration degree, he was often seen globetrotting with an iPhone in hand, meeting world leaders and industry titans – from the late Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, late South African president Nelson Mandela, and Henry Kissinger to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

他释永信是中国首位拥有工商管理硕士（MBA）学位的方丈，常被拍到手持iPhone、周游世界，与各国政要和业界巨头会面——从已故英国女王伊丽莎白二世、南非前总统纳尔逊·曼德拉、美国前国务卿亨利·基辛格，到苹果公司CEO蒂姆·库克，皆曾与其同框。



His focus on promoting the Shaolin brand and turning it to multimillion-dollar business has attracted fierce criticism, especially from some followers who saw excessive commercialization as corrupting the spiritual integrity of the religious institution.

他大力推广“少林”品牌，并将其打造为一个数千万美元的商业帝国，这一做法引发了广泛争议。尤其在一些信众眼中，过度商业化已严重背离了宗教机构应有的精神内核。

He staged Shaolin kung fu performances around the world, licensed the temple’s name out to cartoons, movies and video games, and established a business empire that includes publishing, traditional Chinese medicine, tourist development and real estate.

他在全球各地举办少林功夫表演，将“少林”名称授权用于动画片、电影和电子游戏，并打造了一个涵盖出版、中医、旅游开发和房地产等领域的商业帝国。

02

多年来负面新闻缠身

But unflattering headlines have dogged the Buddhist monk for years – including his acceptance of a 1 million yuan ($140,000) car from the local government as a reward for promoting tourism in 2006.

多年来，这位佛教僧人一直被负面新闻缠身。其中一件广受关注的事件发生在2006年——他接受了当地政府赠送的一辆价值100万元人民币（约14万美元）的汽车，作为其推动当地旅游发展的“奖励”。

Responding to a public outcry at the time, Shi told state media: “Monks are also citizens. We have fulfilled our duties and made contributions to society, so it is only right that we receive rewards.”

面对当时的舆论风波，释永信在接受官媒采访时回应称：“僧人也是公民，我们尽了自己的义务，为社会作出了贡献，得到奖励也是应该的。”

Mr Shi also came under scrutiny in 2015 for allegedly having sexual relations with women and embezzling temple funds. He was investigated at the time for embezzlement and fathering several children, but was later cleared of the charges.

2015年，释永信因涉嫌与多名女性发生关系、挪用寺庙资金而受到舆论关注。当时他因涉嫌贪污以及私生子问题被立案调查，但最终未被定罪，相关指控也被撤销。

In an interview with BBC Chinese in 2015, Mr Shi was asked about the allegations of corruption and affairs with women."If there were a problem, it would have surfaced long ago," he said at the time.

在2015年接受BBC中文采访时，释永信被问及有关腐败和与女性的不当关系等指控，他回应说：“如果真有问题，早就曝光了。”



释永信丑闻发酵后，全网疯传《天龙八部》鸠摩智的台词：“少林寺，原来是一个暗藏春色、藏污纳垢之所。”真是绝妙的讽刺！