City’s largest Buddhist group says neither Ting Wai Monastery nor its leaders are members
SAMUEL CHAN SAMUEL.CHAN@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Friday, 16 October, 2015, 12:33pm
UPDATED : Friday, 16 October, 2015, 12:44pm
Ting Wai Monastery in Tai Po. Photo: David Wong
The Hong Kong Buddhist Association has attempted to distance itself from a monastery embroiled in a suspected marriage-for-residency and embezzlement scam.
In a statement issued today, the city’s largest Buddhist group said neither the Ting Wai Monastery nor its leaders implicated in the affair were its members, and the association’s president, Sik Chi Wai, had never been a director of the monastery or received any money from it, as claimed in some local media reports.
May Jean Reimer, one of the monastery’s directors, earlier this week claimed Sik Chi Ding, abbess of the Tai Po monastery, had transferred a portion of more than HK$5 million in donations to a bank account she controlled set up for the monastery’s renovation. She also claimed Sik Chi Ding had admitted twice marrying mainland monks to help them secure Hong Kong residency.
Expressing the association’s “deep concern” about the incident, the statement said the city’s Buddhist community was “extremely sad” to learn fellow Buddhists might have broken the law as well as the rules by which a Buddhist is bound.
“Chinese Buddhism does not allow monks or nuns to marry; anyone who breaks such rules would be subject to punishment by his or her monastery’s abbot,” the statement said.
The statement added it was difficult for the association to launch an investigation or regulate the finances of any individual or institutions within the Buddhist community.
It appealed to the public to be mindful of the background of charitable organisations and religious institutions when making donations.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1868327/hong-kong-buddhist-association-distances-itself
