Smartphone Buddha

Volunteers from Longquan Monastery in Beijing make animated films to explain Buddhist teachings in an amusing, digestible way that can be easily accessed on a smartphone and shared on social media. (Photo: Courtesy of Longquan Monastery)

Monks turn to social media to spread teachings

Rather than making an arduous pilgrimage to a remote temple, those in search of spiritual enlightenment these days can simply log on to their WeChat or Sina Weibo to get guidance from some of the most respected Buddhist masters in the country.

Since 2009, Venerated Master Xuecheng, the abbot of the 1,500-year-old Longquan Monastery located in Beijing's Fenghuangling Nature Park, has been sharing his teachings on China's social media platforms and Twitter.

"Weibo and WeChat today are the main tools for people to communicate and interact with one another, leading to a whole new era of what many call We-media," said Xuecheng, who is also vice chairman and secretary-general of the Buddhist Association of China. "It is both a challenge and an opportunity for us to promote Buddhism to better communicate with mainstream culture."

Xuecheng currently has more than 300,000 followers on his Chinese Weibo account. Each day, he takes time to answer queries sent to him by other users.

Typical questions are like the one asked by a Net user nicknamed Andy_Linlingfei on March 21.

"I will soon graduate from college, how should I make a decision at this crossroads when faced with so many choices?"

In reply, Xuecheng wrote: "Do not simply consider the immediate advantages and disadvantages of a choice, but relate each choice to your long-term life direction."

Andy_Linlingfei, who asked that his real name not be made public, told Metropolitan that he started following Xuecheng in 2011. "One thing that makes the master stand out from other monks and masters on Weibo is that he replies questions every morning," he said.

Xuecheng also regularly posts comic strips and short videos produced by monks and volunteers associated with the Longquan Monastery. Altogether, he has Weibo accounts in eight languages, including English, French and Spanish.

New media

One of the most popular pieces of content on Xuecheng's social media accounts is a series of cartoons and short animated films featuring a naive, slightly chubby young monk by the name of Xian'er.

In each clip, usually lasting between one and three minutes long, viewers are taken into the world of Xian'er's shenanigans and his master's stern, sometimes mischievous guidance.

The short, amusing clips dispense little nuggets of wisdom to help people deal with the slings and arrows of everyday life, and to come to a better understanding of how to live more happily and harmoniously.

The intention of the animated films featuring Xian'er is to explain Buddhist precepts in understandable and relatable ways, so people could apply them in their daily lives, said Xuecheng.

"The core of Buddhism is about practicing its teachings in one's life," said Xuecheng. "It is about cultivating oneself according to Buddhist teachings, rather than merely reading about it or admiring it intellectually."

Xuecheng said that sharing the teachings of Buddha on social media was a departure from the way knowledge was traditionally shared, which required people to make pilgrimages to temples like Putian Guanghua Monastery and Chong'en Monastery in Fujian Province.

But the use of technology to communicate with the world outside the monastery was consistent with the goal of spreading the teachings of Buddha so more people could practice it in their everyday lives, he said.

Xuecheng is just one of numerous masters and monks who are using new media platforms to promote Buddha's teachings. A rudimentary search on Weibo yields dozens of accounts run by practicing Buddhists.

The most popular is perhaps Master Yancan, a monk at the Cangzhou Shuiyue Temple in Hebei Province, who has more than 35 million followers on his Weibo account. His posts share simple life philosophies, such as preaching peace and not complaining about every small thing.