Fake Buddhist Nuns & Monks Con Young People’s Money

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From Netease:

Fake Buddhist nuns peddle their wares on the streets, specializing in conning young men and women’s money

In the streets, tea houses or parks of cities, two or three fake nuns or monks are often seen together. Each clutches a small red envelope, poorly made small trinket, or something they are trying to pass off as a Buddhist offering, and they make a dishonest living peddling these to young men and women. It seems that all of these people have come to Chengdu from other provinces. They spend about seventy or eighty yuan on a costume (clothes, hat, shoes), and do themselves up like poor nuns or pious monks. Taking advantage of the generosity of people’s hearts and their prayers for good luck, they easily reach their goal of conning people out of money. This kind of person, and professional beggars from other provinces, in truth usually make more money than labourers (judging by how they are portrayed in the media). Moreover after their “performance” is over, they drop their facade, and eat great food, drink alcohol, and laugh about how many honest sons and daughters offered them respect that day. At night they even go looking for xiaojie [prostitutes] to help them relax (reporter found this out by following them). This group of people have this civilized city’s “psoriasis”. A reminder to kind-hearted people, don’t be fooled.

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Comments from Netease:

兵蚁

They are in a lot of large cities, mainly because comrades are too generous, their business is is so good.

ygj200998

What kind of social attitude is this? Fake? Real? It makes people distrustful of each other.

烧肉叔

They’re everywhere, the Shaolin Temple should come and take care of them.

8413

Real, fake, fake, real, there are all kinds of people.

applemei2008

A friend of mine was tricked once, first they says they’re giving you a gift, once you accept it, they ask for money. Once you give them one yuan that’s also unacceptable, you have to give a minimum of five yuan. It makes you so angry!

ds12345

Whenever I’d see them I’d ask them to recite scripture, as soon as they heard they’d say nothing, turn around and run away!

lxzai123

Have you noticed that they’re all old? (This is because) 1 You’ll take pity on them. 2 You’ll believe them. 3 because they put things so well. 3. If you die you need face or you’ll be punished!

h521179

At Baoshan district on Shangda road, in a high level complex there lives a group of fake monks. Every day they drive to “work” (tricking people), their living conditions are pretty good.

江南水城

It’s not that there are too many dishonest people, it’s that there are too many suckers among us.

牧郎

Nowadays the level of salary of monks and nuns is better than average, particularly monks. Every single one is fat!

aaa9bb9c9

A suggestion: learn a bit about Buddhism, then you’ll be able to tell fake nuns from real ones.

vvv638

You could show them Buddhist scripture, and get them to explain it. Test their knowledge!  It’s easy to tell real from fake!

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30 Comments

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  1. So very shocking. Next we will learn that those Sanlitun beggar kids don’t get to keep the money drunken laowais give them!

  2. I remember visiting a tourist trap near Beijing. It was set up like an old small town. They had a temple there, and had fake monks who would bless people for a fee.

  3. Not surprised. I’ve seen one in Seoul like that. The monk simply entered a restaurant and stood there hoping for customers to donate. The Korean who guided me around told me that monks are supposed to stay at temple or whatever.

    LOL, asking them to recite scripture is good one.

  4. Where I live there are monks who know when there is a group of Amaricans staying at the Holiday Inn. They pay 60 rmb every morning for a buffet breakfast then hit every Yank when they were eating their’s.
    Ching ching!
    Americans are the most stupid tourists ever, the monks seem to know this.

  5. No…. I can’t believe this, we are talking about China, right..?

  6. i see they “Taking advantage of the generosity of people’s hearts” in china?

    they must make a fortune *cough* sheeesh

  7. haha.. just saw a funny blog mentions chinasmack!

    http://worstpeople.wordpress.com/

    • lol… he mentions the “authors” of ChinaSMACK… not sure if he means the translators or the actual original Chinese language authors…

      In any case, inferring so much of people’s opinions from what they write is a mistake if you ask me.

  8. why would nuns want to visit a biaozi?

  9. “At night they even go looking for xiaojie [prostitutes] to help them relax (reporter found this out by following them).”

    these are older ladies we are talking about,right? going at night looking for xiaojie?

  10. I’m surprised that Chinese people are surprised by this. Most people I’ve talked to about this just shrug their shoulders, with a population as big as China’s there has been some people doing dirty work. There just isn’t enough jobs.

    If the government spent less money coddling itself and more money on welfare they might see less of this kind of shit.. but at last, face is the ruler of all..

  11. Goddamn it!! One more fake story.Is there something in China that isn’t fake ????

  12. I really hate this kind of person. They are the parasites of our civilized city. Why don’t hand them over to policemen and put them in court? It would better if the reporters were policemen as well.

  13. Want to meet a fake nun (or monk)?

    Try the chinaSMACK personals!

  14. they should re enavt the law where scum like this can be sentenced to 5 years laogao.

    only thing the verminous slimy low chinese people can be made to act human

  15. fake monk.. real monk… about the same really…

    the real ones just run the temple fairs… ceo monks… teehee

  16. all my donations are done when i visit the temples only. rarely do i give out money in public. i don’t mind givin money to street entertainers & i don’t give money to those bums on the corner with a sign saying ‘help me i’m homeless’. way i see it, if u can read & write. go get a job.

  17. Like what premier Zhu said, “Everything in China are fake, only fake things are real in china.”

  18. a blessing or prayer from a fake monk is every bit as useful as one from a real monk. They use the same tactics as politicians and marketers. Instill a desire for something or a fear of losing something and you can make money from that person. I encountered this kind of monk in Shenzhen too.

  19. I very proudly told a monk once that beggars can’t come inside the bar that I was working at

  20. It’s very simple to tell true monk and nun from fake: they are only allowed to beg in early morning.

    In practice, I have only seen this done in Japan, where it is used more as a method to instill humility than to actually secure nourishment.

    The most humbling part is to actually EAT other people’s LEFTOVERS, for that’s what you get. Not money.

  21. Comment by yao siew Lian — March 9, 2010 @ 8:03 PM | Reply

    2.Ven. Phra Piya Thammo,
    Rumah Pangsa
    Blk A-7-9- Jln Padang Tembak,
    11400 Pulau Pinang,
    Malaysia

    Dear Devotees,

    Before I commence of my letter-writing toward. All of you, I would like to inform all of you that I am not satisfy with the lawyer, Dato YIP KUM FOOK due to his bad inspirit impressions because he sent an inspector to come to our Buddhist Temple to arrest me without any good reason, moreover, the lawyer, YIP KUM FOOK is not satisfy with Chief monk.

    When the Chief monk had me to go to his Temple already and he went away and left me alone to take care until Chief monk come back to the Temple first and he also told me not to leave the Temple if any committees or the chairman want to chase me out, you don’t leave the Temple at all understand? Then I said, alright? To the chief monk! On the second Day, YIP KUM FOOK came to our Temple and talk to me. He tired to make some inquiry from me and he asked me, where I come from? I told him that I came from Penang.

    Then, I told to the lawyer (YIP KUM FOOK) that the chief monk came to Penang and fetch me and invited me to accompany him to go to his temple in K.L. I am not aware that YIP KUM FOOK is not in a good terms with the chief monk, chief monk already in this way, YIP KUM FOOK try to create trouble with me unnecessary. That is why, the lawyer want to chase me out of the Temple. Then I asked the lawyer, why you want to chase me out of the temple? Moreover, the Temple is not belonging to you, UNDERSATAND? Then, I asked him, who are you? I don’t know you at all, you have no right to chase me or control me at all, UNDERSTAND? You are just like a layman only. Do you know the regulations that any the chairman or committee cannot control the monks and the Nuns at all, also UNDERSTAND?

    I scolded him like that. Then the lawyer (YIP KUM FOOK) is not satisfy with me and he told me that he will called the police to come to the Temple and arrest me. I told him to go ahead and called the police to come and arrest me. I won’t run away, I said to him like that. I have done nothing wrong toward you, why you want to arrest me? He said, he doesn’t like me to stay here. I asked him, why? Again. After this he got very angry with me, then he phoned up to the police and the police came to the Temple and told me to leave the Temple.

    I told to the inspector of the again, 1 am sorry, I won’t leave the Temple because the chief monk had instructed me not to leave the Temple without his consent, UNDERSTAND? Then the inspector told me to leave, again. I told him I cannot leave the Temple because the Chief Monk hasn’t come back yet. This time, the inspector got very angry with me and he took out his handcuff and try to threaten me, then I immediately show off my hands for him to lock me up but he scare, then again, the inspector told me leave the Temple again but I still don’t want to leave the Temple.

    Then I phoned up to the chief monk again and I told him that the inspector insisted want to arrest me, you better come back to settle the case for me. After this incident, Chief Monk came back to the Temple and take me to go to another temple and stay their. That’s all about this incidents! Last of all, I would like to inform all of you, that no committees or the chairman can control all the monks and Nuns at all also UNDERSTAND? “They are higher than the King,” also! So how can the laymen, the committees and the chairman to control them: – EVEN THE KING ALSO RESPECTED THE MONKS AND NUNS. Why the chairman doesn’t respect the monks and nuns? They will carry the sins later on, UNDERSTAND?

    Yours in Dhamma

    Ven. Phra Piya Thammo
    Penang, Malaysia
    Tel: 04-48272710

    00Rate This

    Comment by andy fong — March 1, 2010 @ 7:28 PM | Reply
    .-March 10th, 2010 at 8:54 am
    andy fong said:

    Comment by andy fong — March 1, 2010 @ 7:28 PM | Reply
    2.
    We always recieved news messages from Myanmar people, they are complainted about committees of temple and please see at below.
    Thanks
    Dear Sir and Madam,
    We are Myanmar group in Malaysia; we lived in Malaysia over decade and always went to one of temple in Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur and we were very sad and regreting with the committees of temple because they are using our monks in wrong conception of Buddhist teaching or Buddhist rules. We came to temple to help our monks and respected of our religion.
    That temple is president of name:Yip Kum Fook, that our monks said and he is invited our monks from Myanmar to in charge of that temple but without pay anything to our monks, added he and his not respecting of our monks and sometime he ordered of his people to collected item such as paper, mineral water etc. without inform any words to our monks. In our religious believed we can’t take anything of holy place, if we done we are sin.
    In pervious, our monk said the committees always asked money from him, when our monks gave RM20,000.00 in cash on 2001 to the committees, then committees keep silent, later committees make problem with our monk again and cancelled of our monk Visa permit to stayed in Malaysia, then our monks( Sadayaw Nandiya) go to Australia and our monk not come that temple at long time. “Yip Kom Fook gave our monk notebook computer for to cover of that amount of money our monk said”
    Many local people around temple said, now no more people come to this temple because committees is always make problem and we are heard from local people said: Yip Kum Fook ordered of his people to put fire of Hindu temple at Taman Daya, Kepong because he needed that place to make his business about many years ago. “Everybody known what he done for Hindu temple at Taman Daya, Kepong”
    Last time also he invited police to arrest the monks at holy place(temple) and locked the temple without afraid and shameful of people because he believed committee is big and has more authority, also his son always say to people: this temple is belonging of his father. “This temple donated from public, we are work hard for this temple”
    This temple the committees always changed the monks, now they change the new monk to in charge of temple, this new monk also complaint the bad things of committees because committees also wait for donation box only, they without help anything to our monks. And committees controlled of our monks not to talk more or complaint more, our monks lived there as slaver and afraid of committees members.
    In new building where remaining of Buddha statue marble; we have renovation of Buddha statue because that Buddha statue is put very low, we lift to highest the committees don’t like and unhappy. In our country, anyone be able to come temple to worship the Buddha but in Malaysia is different temple controlling by committees.
    We hope everyone preserve of Buddhist teachings, and please safety of our monks, not see only money as this of temple. When we asked some of our people ( Myanmar) and local people, the committees are very low of idea because is very narrow mind and without education of religions. And committees will not disturbing of our monks, monks are like our father to take care of Buddhism and temple is like our place of resolving of our problem.
    Recently, our monk(Sadayaw Ashin Indaka original from Madalay, Myanmar) has been staying in this temple also unhappy because the committees are not pay anythings to him, he is working in hardly to advise people and we also unhappy and very sad when heard the bad news from our monks. Sometime the committees people came and shouting in the temple without have any reason and done what they need to do, our monk said, the committees of this temple don’t have Buddhist teachings in their mind, may be next time Buddhist can destroy.
    From Myanmar Buddhist group in Malaysia but many word complaint by local Buddhist community in Malaysia. If anyone receive of this message(email), please forward or send to your friends to protection Buddhism in Malaysia.
    .-March 10th, 2010 at 8:55 am

  22. Under table of note book, that Datuk Yip Kum Fook offered of note book to Ven. U Nandiya(Myanmar Mon) to cover somethings of mistake, that because I heard that money amount RM20,000.00 from public donation to buy Marble Buddha statue

  23. Hope Datuk Yip Kum Fook go more on this lists
    Top 10 Authors:
    1. Buddha
    2. Marilyn Monroe
    3. Martin Luther King, Jr.
    4. Mother Teresa
    5. Maya Angelou
    6. Thomas Jefferson
    7. Dalai Lama
    8. Albert Einstein
    9. Barack Obama
    10. Abraham Lincoln

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