Video game-loving China monk defends hobby, says gaming, religion serve similar life purposes
Buddhist brother says engaging with others in ‘violent’ and ‘bloody’ online game is like playing chess; only worries he may become addicted
A senior monk in China has attracted widespread social media attention for enthusiastically playing electronic games.
Venerable Huayan, from Mingjiao Temple in Hefei in central Anhui province, has been a Buddhist monk for 20 years.
He began to play e-games when he was a primary school pupil in the early 2000s, Counter-Strike (CS) is his favourite, according to the news portal Sina.com.
Huayan once achieved the Legendary Eagle Master position, a very high ranking in CS.
He said the most expensive items he bought were computer devices which cost him 40,000 yuan (US$6,000).
The temple he belongs to neither advocates nor forbids him from playing e-games. Huayan said his bottom line is not to become addicted.
Many people say playing CS, which is a violent and bloody game, will lead him to hell because it is not something a religious man should do.
