¡¡¡¡BEIJING, Sept. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Buddhism in China has ushered into a golden era, said a top Chinese Buddhist in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday.

¡¡¡¡"The development of Buddhism is closely related to the progress of society and the prosperity of the economy. The full implementation of the policy of freedom in religious belief and a sustainable stable social, political atmosphere have moved China's Buddhism into a golden period," said Master Yicheng, president of the Buddhist Association of China.

¡¡¡¡Yicheng, 77, who had been ordained as a Buddhist monk at the age of 22, lived through both upheavals and social turmoil in his early years, which enabled him to feel the wax and wane of China's Buddhism.

¡¡¡¡"Instability and social turmoil have left so many scars on me and I know how important and invaluable peace is to religion," he noted.

¡¡¡¡China now values religious rules more highly and allows religions their appropriate place in society since it launched reform and opening-up policies since late 1970s.

¡¡¡¡During a decade of turmoil in the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976), all strata of society, including the Buddhist sphere, were disastrously affected. Yicheng and many other Buddhists were denounced as "evils" and normal Buddhist services were prevented. In Yujushan Mountain, where Yicheng spent his decades of religiouslife, only he and three other Buddhist monks were retained.

¡¡¡¡"The cause of Buddhism is well-developed today, and people can clearly tell that both the Communist Party and the Chinese government now attach close importance to religious affairs," he said.

¡¡¡¡Former President Jiang Zemin acknowledged time and again religions and their followers as positive forces for the building of socialism in China. Analysts claimed that Jiang's words have, beyond any doubt, helped religions a lot in carrying out religious activities and protecting further implementation of religious freedom.

¡¡¡¡Today, the Chinese mainland boasts more than 10,000 Buddhist temples, 34 Buddhism academies and a contingent of over 200,000 Buddhist monks and nuns. More than 100 million people from over 20ethnicities in the country hold to religious beliefs to varying extent.

¡¡¡¡"During the past five decades, the Buddhist Association has been turned into a very complete patriotic civil body," said Yicheng. "Many of us have dedicated their lives to it, but we haveto say that China's reform and opening to the outside world was the main reason for its development."

¡¡¡¡Religious figures attribute bias and even prejudices toward China's religious situation to some previous misreadings of Marxism religious theory and the aftermath of the "cultural revolution."

¡¡¡¡Many countries believe China is undertaking a great national rejuvenation. Buddhism has long played a vital role in and is deeply fused into the Chinese culture and left innumerous heritages for the country.

¡¡¡¡People believe that the future of Buddhism generally hinges on the degree it conforms with and keeps up with the society.

¡¡¡¡Yang Zengwen, a prestigious professor of religion from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CAAS), said in an article that after half a century's efforts, Buddhism has basically transformed itself into a modern society oriented religion.

¡¡¡¡"Buddhists should love their religion and the country in ways fitting with the times. Nowadays, our basic principles are to observe the law, keep a good relationship between nationalities and the integration of the motherland and support socialism construction," said Yicheng.

¡¡¡¡The association introduced the "promoting human-based Buddhism" thought into its constitution years ago in a bid to encourage Buddhists to join the construction of a well-off China.

¡¡¡¡Buddhists should improve their ethics to a still higher level since China is transforming itself into a modern society, according to Yicheng.

¡¡¡¡"We already have a mature external environment, so the prosperity of Buddhism in a large degree depends on the efforts of Buddhists themselves," said Yicheng. "The association's main task in the decades to come is precisely to prioritize the enhancement of Buddhists' self-building." Enditem