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Nation
Nation
UPDATED: May 5, 2014 NO. 19, MAY 8, 2014
Bringing Buddha into Modernity
Longquan Monastery is making use of technology to spread Buddhism
By Yuan Yuan
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LEARNING THROUGH PLAY: Kids read animatied books made by the Longquan Animation Group at the library in Longquan Monastery on April 12 (YUAN YUAN)

Wu Quan (pseudonym) made up her mind to follow a Buddhist path after she watched the animated film Renunciation—released by Longquan Monastery, sometimes known as Dragon Spring Monastery, in Beijing.

The three-minute presentation depicts a monastery attempting to recruit monks, but all the candidates refuse after hearing they have to become vegetarians and take a vow of celibacy. One monk is depressed by the outcome and asks his master why these people reacted in this way.

The abbot of the monastery replies, "To become a monk, it demands people with a mind to be liberated from the mundane world and a mind to come back into the mundane world for taking others across."

At the end of the short film, the abbot points at screen and proclaims, "If you think you are such a hero, then come!"

Wu admitted that her idea to take her renunciation was inspired by this scene. Wu used to be a policewoman and has visited prisoners from time to time.

"After trying to help prisoners with psychological methods, I think Buddhism can help them from the root," Wu said. "I think what Buddhism needs most now is not money or skills, but talented people or 'heroes.' I hope I can be one of them."

Technicolor monastery

Since its introduction, the animation has almost become a must-watch item whenever Master Xuecheng, the abbot of Longquan Monastery, gives tours.

Many people laugh when the abbot points at the audience in front of the screen and asks the visitors to become heroes.

"The short film changed my opinion on renunciation, as we used to regard being a monk as the last choice in life," said Daojing, a Buddhist who visited the monastery on April 12.

"It took us more than one month to make the animation," said Xu Qiong, one of the first animators working for Longquan Monastery. Since she graduated from university in 2012, Xu has been staying in the monastery.

As a follower of Buddhism, Xu went to the monastery to become a volunteer first and finally decided to stay on long-term while her classmates were busy job hunting. "Staying here makes me feel calm and peaceful and it purifies the mind," Xu said. "I think this is more important than simply finding a job."

According to Xu, the monastery's animation production team had only four members, and none of whom is a professional animator.

"We didn't have professional experience nor skills and we didn't have the space to shoot the videos either at that time," said Master Xianshu, who was in charge of Longquan Monastery's animation production team. "We finally found a cave in the monastery to film and we made it work."

Renunciation is the first animation to be made by the monastery. The characters in the movie were made using clay, a skill taught by a folk artist staying at the monastery while they were shooting.

This animation, liked by many, put its production team on track. More college students with professional backgrounds volunteered to join in. "Now our team includes some from the country's top fine arts schools such as Tsinghua University and the Zhejiang Academy of Art," Xianshu said.

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