Department of Communications and Political Affairs of the |
Editor| Governor of the Department of Communications and Communications
In this day and age, religious undertakings and society are developing together, and monks have gradually become a profession, no different from the other three hundred and sixty lines.
Even in the eyes of some people, these monks and nuns have no faith, and monastic practice is only work for them, a means of making a living.
In the cognition of these people, there are many tourists in the major Buddhist temples, the incense money is full of pots, and the monks in the temples are well paid.
Coupled with the fact that more and more people in society cheat under the guise of the identity of monks, these already prejudiced people naturally have a worse impression of the monks as a group.
In fact, this concept is not entirely correct, because rich monks like the above are not universal.
Many monks have always lived in poverty, such as in the vast areas of the western part of the mainland, where many monks with formal status are like this.
These monks are not as relaxed as they thought, and when they are young and healthy, they are fine, after all, cultivation should still suffer hardships, and the body can still carry it, but when they are old and weak, they are often seriously ill but there is no guarantee.
As the saying goes, "Monks should see through the red dust and look down on life and death." ”
Although this is true, after all, only a few high-ranking monks can do it, and if the cultivation is not enough, how can they achieve this realm?
Monks are also human beings, they are also afraid of pain, they are also afraid of death, and there are also needs for treatment and old-age care, and the situation of ordinary monks can represent this group.
Most monks are in a poor income situation
According to survey data from the Mainland Religious Association, in 2016, the average monthly income of mainland monks was less than 400 yuan, far lower than the public's imagination.
The so-called impression that "monks are generally large" is simply wrong, and only a few people have money.
It is not the case that some monks have a large income and think that this is the case for monks throughout the country.
The survey report concludes that contemporary religious affairs personnel are generally in a stage of hard struggle and need to improve their living standards.
This data is really surprising, modern social economy is developed, even if the monthly income of a few thousand yuan is often not enough to spend, let alone 400 yuan.
Even in the vast number of small and medium-sized cities and relatively backward townships and towns, there are many ordinary working people whose monthly income is less than 2,000 yuan.
But even in these places, the monthly income is much higher than that of the monks.
The monthly income of monks is far below the local average, not even half of it, which shows how poor the treatment of monks is.
In fact, not only are Buddhist monks underpaid, but clergy from other religions such as Taoism, Islam and Christianity are also poorly paid.
According to statistics, the average monthly income of clergy in other religions in China is less than six hundred yuan, which is only a little higher than that of Buddhist monks.
This is also because Christian churches are mostly in urban areas and poor township areas rarely have such institutions, so the income of Christian clergy has raised the overall income level of religious personnel.
Buddhist clergy, on the other hand, are the lowest-paid of all religious personnel, and in the vast southwestern poverty-stricken areas, many Tibetan Buddhist monks are the poorest, and they are the lowest of the monks.
Even in those famous monasteries, the treatment of monks is not ideal, such as the monks of the Shaolin Temple, the average monthly income is less than 1,000 yuan, lower than the local average.
According to the data provided by the Shaolin Temple, the main income of the Shaolin Temple is ticket revenue and incense money.
Since the Shaolin Temple is a state-run institution and not a privately run institution, the vast majority of its income is handed over to the state.
This is the reason why although the Shaolin Temple has a lot of income, the treatment of monks is relatively low.
Of the total revenue, 70% of the ticket revenue must be handed over to the local government, and the remaining 30% cannot be fully decentralized, of which 10% should be used for the maintenance and publicity of the temple, and the remaining 20% should be used for the daily life and salary of the monks.
In addition, the incense money of the Shaolin Temple also has extremely strict requirements for use. According to the Buddhist tradition, the money and wealth given by pilgrims is divided into four types: offerings, receiving objects, offerings to the Buddha, and giving to the Buddha, which cannot be converted into each other.
Therefore, even if there is any problem with the funds of the temple, it is not allowed to temporarily embezzle a part of the money, because the temple is different from ordinary companies and must be strictly bound by religious practices.
In general, most temples are not well-funded, which is the main reason for the low treatment of monks.
And since temples are not part of general corporations but religious institutions, and monks are clergy and not ordinary laborers, they are not under the supervision of labor laws.
As a result, many monasteries do not buy monks the social insurance that ordinary workers have.
According to statistics, nearly half of religious sites do not buy pension insurance for clergy, and even 26% of places do not even buy medical insurance.
This is very detrimental to monks' medical treatment and old-age care.
It is difficult for poor monks to see a doctor and provide for the elderly
In addition, the mainland generally has the idea of raising children and preventing the elderly, which is indeed in line with China's national conditions to a certain extent, because there are children, ordinary people will also have a guarantee in their old age.
But monks generally have no children, so their old age is largely unattended.
In some deep mountains, there are many little-known small temples, where there are no beautiful pavilions, no tourists, not even ordinary scenic spots, and there are few people all year round.
In such temples, the poor monks had to eat and sleep in the open, even eating wild fruits, and they were chronically malnourished and in very poor health.
An example is Master Zhaowen of Guangde County, Anhui Province, who converted to Buddhism since childhood, was very wise, and was a very learned and enlightened monk.
A person like him could have found a big temple with good conditions, although it was impossible to be rich and wealthy, but at least it could ensure that he would have no worries about food and clothing for a lifetime.
However, a high monk is a high monk, and the glory and wealth of the mortal world are like dung in their eyes, and they still have to pursue the life of an ascetic monk, and in the view of Master Zhaowen, only this is the real practice.
Master Zhaowen chose a simple temple in a small mountain village to settle down, and although his life was extremely simple, he tried his best to help others.
There was an unhealthy man in the village who was left unattended, so Master Zhaowen took him in.
Although he sometimes went out to cause trouble, Master Zhaowen still did not drive him out.
Master Zhaowen has also received several disciples over the years, and these people all share a common pursuit with him—they only hope to practice simple and not pursue enjoyment, and he is also very pleased to see that there are successors to his career.
However, the years were not spared, and as Master Zhaowen grew older, he began to suffer from various diseases. At first, he was still stiff, but then he couldn't stand it before he went to the hospital for examination.
After diagnosis, he suffered from severe kidney failure. Since there was no medical insurance and there was no savings in normal times, Master Zhaowen did not look down on the disease at all, and it was necessary to know that the cost of changing a kidney was astronomical for the poor.
The disciples were crying, they knew the master's end, but there was nothing they could do. Master Zhaowen didn't care at all, he had already looked down on life and death.
On November 25, 2017, Master Zhaowen passed away.
If Master Zhaowen had the money to heal, his life could be sustained, and at least dialysis would alleviate the symptoms. If he hadn't stood up to the doctor because of lack of money, his condition wouldn't have deteriorated to this point.
Throughout his life, Master Zhaowen studied the Dharma and accumulated virtue and good deeds, but his situation in his later years was so desolate, which was really regrettable.
A similar encounter was with Master Ba Ong from Sichuan Province, a Tibetan Buddhist monk.
The life of Tibetan Buddhist monks is more difficult than that of Chinese Buddhism, such as Master Ba Weng, who has only one monk's robe all year round.
According to him, as a monk, it is natural to have all four things empty, and the so-called gorgeous clothes seem meaningless to him. Monks should insist on practicing, as long as they are sincere, the Buddha will not abandon them, and everything is not to worry.
As a highly enlightened monk, he had no problem with this, but as bystanders we know that this is impossible.
In addition, there is another difference between Tibetan Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism, that is, Tibetan Buddhist temples do not care about the monks' eating and wearing, and some of them have to rely on their own ways.
Even the highest-ranking living Buddhas are no exception, and they have to prepare their own diet.
Some monks have a better Buddhist relationship and are more advanced in cultivation, so there are more believers. If they meet rich believers, they will pay for the construction of houses for the monks, provide food and drink, and so on.
Then the monks with few believers are miserable, and if there is no one to support them, they will have to solve the problem of food, clothing, shelter and transportation by themselves, and there is no difference between them and beggars.
In fact, Master Ba Weng was not the most miserable Yunyou monk, his cultivation was relatively high, and he also had a certain base of believers in the local area, but he refused most of the funding and was willing to live a poor life.
In the mountainous areas on the border between Sichuan and Tibet, the altitude is generally very high, and the weather is not very good, especially in winter, which is particularly cold.
Chronic irregular diet combined with malnutrition led to Master Baon's poor health.
At the end of 2018, he suddenly felt unbearable abdominal pain, so he had to go to the hospital for examination, and finally diagnosed with cirrhosis.
At that time, his condition was already very serious, there was no better treatment except for liver transplantation, although the doctor also made this suggestion, but as soon as he looked at Master Baon's clothing, he knew that he was really difficult to afford.
Unlike Master Zhaowen, Master Ba Ong paid for medical insurance, and although he was a monk and devoted his whole body and mind to his practice, he also knew the importance of medical insurance.
However, Medicare can only reimburse part of the cost, because organ transplantation is not an ordinary surgery, and it is necessary to find a suitable match, and Medicare cannot fully support this surgery, and the reimbursement amount is only 30%.
That is to say, to do this operation, Master Ba Weng himself still has to bear 70% of the amount, at least more than 300,000 yuan, which is almost impossible for him.
Master Ba Weng has been ill for more than three years, although he is fortunate that he has not yet died, but his condition is still deteriorating, there is no possibility of getting better without liver transplantation, and his end is also imaginable.
There is a long way to go to solve the problem of medical care and old-age care for poor monks
Temples have existed since ancient times, and they are a place where monks concentrate on their practice and life, and since they have become monks, the temple is their home, and they will spend their lives here.
In ancient times, monks who were old and in poor health were sent to the longevity hall opened by the monastery, which was a place dedicated to the elderly monks to recuperate.
Here, in addition to some young monks taking care of their daily lives, there will also be monks who know Chinese medicine to treat them, and some larger temples will specially invite Langzhong to see them.
It is known that in ancient times, the monks' life, age, illness and death were borne by the temple, but this was also determined by the economic situation of the temple.
Some temples with good economic conditions and exuberant incense are naturally no problem. But those remote and simple temples are much worse, which has been the same since ancient times.
After the founding of New China in 1949, the people's government implemented the principle of freedom of belief, recognized legal religious institutions, and established Buddhist associations to organize and supervise temples.
Later, the association issued a special regulation, which stated:
After becoming a monk, he terminated the relationship of economic rights and duties with his lay relatives.
At the same time, under the premise of common belief, a new relationship of rights and obligations is formed with the monastery in which it is located, and this new relationship is based on a common economy.
It can be seen from this provision that in New China, the monk's lifelong support and guarantee should also be borne by the temple, which is no different from ancient times.
In order to reduce expenditure and generate income, some monasteries in ancient times would reclaim their own land and cultivate grain and vegetables to achieve a certain degree of self-sufficiency.
However, in modern society, this situation is very rare, and the main income of the monastery is still the ticket and incense money mentioned earlier, in addition to which monks sometimes go to do things to increase their income.
However, despite this, when the monks were seriously ill, the temple was also very embarrassed. Some monks' illnesses cost a lot even if they have medical insurance, and the temples can't afford it. But if you don't go to treatment, you can only wait for death.
Ancient temples could only do limited treatment for such seriously ill monks, that is, to obey the fate of heaven, and there was no other way to help.
But modern society cannot do this, because although monks belong to temples, they are also citizens of the state, and the state should also pay attention to their medical and pension problems.
In recent years, the country has also held a series of discussions on related issues and put forward some constructive suggestions, which have provided an effective direction for resolving this problem.
First of all, local governments need to provide corresponding assistance, and one of the most important points is land policy.
In ancient times, the government provided land to temples free of charge, of course, this was not possible in New China.
Because according to the constitution, land is state-owned, but it can be flexible, such as providing some land use rights to temples, allowing them to develop some farming, planting and so on.
This is actually a good thing to kill two birds with one stone, which can not only solve the problem of temple income to a certain extent, but also improve the environment to a certain extent.
There is no contradiction between the temple and the partial corporatization reform, the original monks continuing to practice unaffected, and hiring some professionals to run mountain and forest farms, etc.
In addition to land policy, some support can also be given in economic policy.
For example, some temples with long historical traditions can be included in cultural heritage and given a certain degree of subsidy as a special fund for cultural publicity.
At the same time, vigorous publicity, so that these temples to enhance their popularity, become tourist attractions, thereby increasing the income of tickets, but also to a certain extent to alleviate the financial pressure.
However, it is worrying that at this stage, there is no clear rule on whether religious personnel should be included in the health insurance system.
After all, monks belong to a special group, which is different from ordinary people to a certain extent.
They often have dual identities, both as members of religions with special beliefs, medical care and pensions should be taken care of by the temple, and they are also Chinese citizens, and the state cannot ignore them.
At this point, it is unrealistic to expect temples to settle, after all, the vast majority of temples are not rich.
Mainland law also clearly stipulates that it is a legitimate right for citizens to enjoy health insurance, so the government should strive to solve this problem for monks.
In fact, it is easier for the monks who have taken root in the temple, because they are more fixed and convenient for statistics.
However, many religious personnel have a certain degree of mobility, their identity and household registration are not so easy to determine, coupled with the lack of information in some remote areas, these problems are not easy to solve.
At this stage, it is difficult for monks to see a doctor in one step, and the most effective way is to advance little by little, first of all, let all the monks who are eligible for recognition go to the local religious management agency for the record, and first confirm the identity.
The second is to give certain subsidies in medical and pension insurance according to their actual situation, and the local government will provide financial support according to the filing.
For highly mobile monks, a national institution can be set up to register them, and special circumstances can also be treated specially, such as insurance can be changed to a monthly payment, into an annual payment.
If you are more flexible in this way, you can also provide real convenience for monks.
In short, the most effective way to solve the problem of difficult medical treatment for monks through medical insurance should at least ensure that they have the same right to see a doctor as ordinary citizens.
At this point, Zhenjiang City in Jiangsu Province is at the forefront of the country.
As early as 2011, the Zhenjiang Municipal Labor and Social Security Department began to visit local monasteries, collect various information on the medical treatment of monks, and then formulate plans according to the actual situation.
After the initial plan was put in place, the local labor and social security department took the lead in communicating with the two largest temples in the local area, Jinshan Temple and Jiaoshan Temple, and after coordination, an agreement was reached.
This is actually a nationwide pilot, the specific details of which are divided into two types of medical insurance for monks, one is the government's medical insurance for monks, and the other is general medical insurance.
In terms of specific details, the two are slightly different, but the basic functions are all available, and the medical insurance card of social workers is no different.
Monks can choose according to their actual situation, and the state will also give certain subsidies.
Within a year of the implementation of the policy, more than 100 monks in Zhenjiang City began to pay medical insurance, and this policy was also well received by the monks.
In addition, in Gansu Province's Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the local government has also begun to implement new policies.
Unlike Zhenjiang City, the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture government has introduced a new rural cooperative medical insurance system, although it is not as strong as Zhenjiang City, but at least it can ensure that monks can get the same right to see a doctor as township residents, which is quite good.
Of course, solving the problem depends on the efforts of both sides, although the state and the government will provide some help, but the temple institutions should also cooperate as much as possible.
At present, many temples generally have insufficient understanding of the importance of medical insurance below the person in charge, and their thinking is relatively old, believing that they should follow the ancient tradition and completely do not understand the benefits of medical insurance.
This is certainly not possible, and the temple staff need to train the monks to a certain extent, so as to achieve the purpose of keeping pace with the times, which is conducive to the government to promote the work.
In fact, medical care and pension are almost equivalent, according to statistics, most people spend the most in their lives, and basically in the old age.
This money is essential.
That being the case, if medical problems can be solved for monks, then the problem of old-age care will basically be solved, because the cost of daily food and clothing of monks is very limited, and the real big head is in the medical field.
In short, if we want to completely solve the medical problems of temple clergy, we must work together with the government and the temple to promote this work together.
Among them, the support of the government is the foundation.
At the same time, the temple should also be more active, not just waiting for the government's relief, but should also exert its own subjective initiative.
Under the premise of not affecting the normal religious activities of the temple and not violating the laws and regulations of the mainland, we should develop the temple economy as much as possible.
As for the development of aquaculture and planting mentioned above, it is an effective method, and it is even possible to hire professional financial personnel to manage and invest.
In this way, it is believed that the treatment of monks will be improved, the problem of monks' medical difficulties and pension difficulties will be completely solved, and monks without worries can better repay the society.