The fast lane to enlightenment

BEIJING - A Chinese Buddhist monk has been awarded a luxury sports car for his services to the local tourism industry, stirring up heated debate on the internet.

Shi Yongxin, the abbot of Shaolin Temple in central Dengfeng, received the $198,602 car at a tourism promotion conference. "I will try my best to promote martial arts to the world in an attempt to boost local tourism."

Thousands of Chinese posted their opinions on forums or surveys conducted by China's major web portals. Xinhua said about three-quarters of respondents considered giving a luxury car to a monk inappropriate.

"Shaolin monks are renowned for their austerity, transcriptions of religious classics and martial arts, but now luxury goods have entered their lives, proving that the religious world has been violated by worldly concepts," one wrote.

- REUTERS