The QR code for the Longquan Animation Group has been pasted on the wall of the monastery for visitors to scan

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 the screen and proclaims, “If you think you are such a hero, then come!”

Wu admitted that her idea to take her renunciation of the mundane world 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 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, none of whom was 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.

Ding Ji, a sophomore student from Tsinghua University in Beijing, frequently joins the group. “I take classes on Buddhism in the monastery every weekend and help with the future animations, too,” Ding said. “The tranquil atmosphere in the monastery always gives me fresh inspiration.”

The animation production team also organizes activities for animation enthusiasts on weekends.

Yang Yazheng, a seven-year-old girl from Haidian Elementary School, is a frequent visitor and comes with her parents. She loves to learn about making clay figurines. “I love animations. I think they are very funny,” Yang said.

Master Xianshu revealed that the team makes animations of different lengths - one minute, 18 minutes and 40 minutes. The one-minute presentations, which are based on the quotes of Master Xuecheng, are the most popular.

The team set up a public account on WeChat - a multimedia app combining instant messaging, content sharing and payment services with more than 350 million monthly active users to post the animations they make every day. A QR code for the account is on display at the entrance of the monastery for visitors to scan so they can access all of the animations. Currently, the account has more than 3,000 followers.

“When I made my decision to stay at the monastery as a long-term volunteer, my classmates thought I was crazy,” Xu said. “But after they visited me a few times, many have also become volunteers and come to work with us in their spare time.”

Kids read animated books made by the Longquan Animation Group at the library in Longquan Monastery on April 12

Modern monks

People later found more than one of the monastery’s monks graduated from the country’s top higher learning institutions, including Peking and Tsinghua universities.

Here, the stereotype of the poor, elderly monk no longer exists. Many of the monks and Buddhists there are young and some have come from as far away as Europe and the United States.

The abbot Xuecheng opened a microblog account and posts in eight languages with the help of the Translation Center at the monastery. The monastery’s Dharma assemblies have been made available in different languages as well.

The IT team at the monastery uses the software they develop on their own to organize activities in the monastery. The Department of Publicity makes documentaries and videos about Buddhism, some of which have even been broadcasted by major TV stations in China.

All this has attracted popularity as well as criticism.

“I feel weird every time I see monks using smart phones,” one visitor said to Master Xuecheng.

“I think you would feel even stranger if we still wrote in oracles,” Xuecheng replied. “I believe if they still lived now, ancient monks would open microblog accounts too.”

“Monks here in the monastery still chant and learn Buddhist knowledge, but we set up a platform that is open to everybody from society,” said Master Xianshu. “We can connect Buddhism with modern society and help people learn its values.” CA