Converting to Buddhism in China is just a click away

(ECNS) --In the Internet era, anyone who wants to convert to Buddhism in China only needs to apply on the website of Shaolin Temple and just wait for the abbot's confirmation, media outlets said.

The temple in Central China's Henan province has been in the spotlight after Li Yang, the celebrity founder of a shouting-based method of learning English, was admitted to the temple on July 26 as a lay Buddhist.

Zou Xiang, who is in charge of the temple's website, said they launched the online service in 2013 for those who wanted to be layman Buddhists. The online application takes only about two weeks, and more than 400 people at home and abroad have converted to Buddhism, he added.

The temple's website was launched in 1996, even earlier than Alibaba, a pioneer of the country's online commerce. And the website's English version was launched in 2010.

The temple has been keeping up with the times. Its Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo accounts have 68,000 and 86,000 followers, respectively, while its WeChat account has 3,400 followers, 1,000 of whom are overseas Buddhism fans.

Shi Yanjia, a monk at the temple, said they enjoy leisure time with computers at night after a day of exercising.

The monastery head of the temple, Shi Yongxin, said monks can also read books online from the Capital Library and the National Library, as their library is connected to the two.