Abbot: v. Shi Yongxin

The current Abbot Shi Yong Xin was inaugurated in August 1999. He was born as Liu Yingcheng in 1965 to a devout Buddhist family in Yingshang, Anhui Province, and came to Shaolin in 1981. He is only the 30th abbot in the Temple’s 1500+ year history; although it is fair to mention that the abbot before him Shi Xingzheng died in 1987, and the one before that Shi Haikuan more than 300 years ago.
Source: http://www.chinashaolintemple.com/data/2005/0821/article_63.htm

When he finally became accepted as a Buddhist monk, his ceremony coincided with the visit of Abbot Haifa from Baima Temple. Hearing about the young but extremely dedicated efforts of Shi Yongxin, Abbot Haifa became the introducer leading him into the realm of Buddhism, and Abbot Xingzheng tonsured him (shaved his head as part of the initiation ceremony). It is very rare that abbots of more than one famous temple to attend the conversion ceremony for a new monk.

After an intense period of study, Yongxin went on a pilgrimage to study at other Buddhist monasteries. He went to temples on the holy mountains of Yunjushan in Jiangxi Province and Jiuhuashan in Anhui, as well as Beijing's Guangji Temple.
Source: http://www.squatmagazine.com/article.php?articleId=11&issueId=1&pageId=3

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