Let the furry children live
Zhixiang is comforting the stray dog he has just rescued.
Bao'en Temple, an ancient temple located on the outskirts of Shanghai, has repeatedly been on the hot search because of a group of "hairy children".
Bao'en Temple is a 500-year-old temple located in Qingcun Town, Fengxian District, Shanghai, about 50 kilometers from the city center. The incense here is not prosperous, and there are not many tourists, but it is the world of "hairy children" - over the years, the temple abbot monk Zhixiang has continued to adopt stray animals, and now the number has reached an astonishing more than 10,000.
As a result, there was repeated news of urgency in the rivers and lakes: Bao'en Temple was facing a shortage of food because of stray animals, and asked for help from the outside world.
compassion
Monk Zhixiang is 55 years old and has been the abbot of Bao'en Temple for 18 years. On September 24, 2024, when the reporter of "Chinese Philanthropist" met him at Bao'en Temple, Zhixiang was dressed in red overalls and wore a swimming cap on his head - he said that he just took a hat and put it on. Judging from the appearance and attire, Zhixiang is quite different from the monk in everyone's impression.
Zhixiang's rescue of stray animals began in 1994, when he was a monk at the Jade Buddha Temple. One day, while passing by the Inner Ring Viaduct in Shanghai, he witnessed a kitten that was tragically run over by a vehicle. The cat dragged its crushed hind legs and moved them to the side little by little, leaving a long trail of blood behind it...... Afterwards, Zhixiang kept thinking about the picture of the kitten struggling to survive, and the compassion of the monks made it difficult for him to let go.
From then on, he would pay special attention to the kittens and puppies around him. When he saw the stray cats in the neighborhood starving, he would buy cat food to feed them. The more he fed, the more Zhixiang began to think that simple feeding could not solve the fundamental problem, and the disorderly breeding of stray cats must be blocked. So he contacted the veterinarian and spayed the furry children.
In 2006, Zhixiang came to Bao'en Temple from the Jade Buddha Temple as a host, and his furry children also began to settle here. However, at that time, the number of stray animals was not large, and most of the rescue operation was done by Zhixiang himself. In later years, it became a trend to raise cats and dogs in the city, and the number of kittens and puppies increased explosively. It is also in this process that a large number of cats and dogs are abandoned and live on the streets. They have a strong reproductive ability, and "cat disease" and "dog disease" also follow, becoming a hidden danger to public safety and public health.
Around 2017, many localities began to regularly capture stray animals, and stipulated that if the collection shelter exceeded the restricted number of days, they would be "humanely destroyed". After Zhixiang learned about this situation, he tried his best to contact the relevant departments, "Those stray cats and dogs, can they not be killed, we can take over by Bao'en Temple." ”
"For managers, it is their responsibility to manage stray animals and unlicensed animals, and society also needs to have a functional department to do this." Zhixiang told The Chinese Philanthropist, "They also have compassion, if these stray animals have a legal receiving agency, why wouldn't they?" ”
Since the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2018, Zhixiang has reached an agreement with more than 30 arresting units. Since then, every Friday, a group of stray dogs will be sent to Bao'en Temple.
The source of stray animals in Bao'en Temple does not stop there. Ownerless or abandoned stray animals picked up by Zhixiang on the side of the road, abandoned small animals in other places, and animals on illegal cats and dogs intercepted by the police...... It's all sent here. On September 6, 2023, the Shanghai police detected a case of dog theft, and just as the suspect was about to transport the stolen dog to Anhui, he was stopped by the traffic police, and the 120 dogs in the car were sent to Bao'en Temple.
The hairy child who was just rescued in the "kindergarten".
At present, there are about 13,000 stray dogs and 400 stray cats among the animals rescued by Zhixiang. They were placed in 3 places, namely the Bao'en Temple Nursing Garden, the Pudong Dog Farm and the "Kindergarten". The nursery is mainly used to shelter stray cats. As for the dogs that are sheltered, Bao'en Temple is a transit point, and some healthy adult dogs rescued by the temple will be sent to the Pudong dog farm.
The Pudong dog farm was converted from a sheepfold. In 2019, because of the "burst" of stray animals in Bao'en Temple, Zhixiang rented a sheepfold of more than 2,800 square meters in Pudong and transformed it into a dog farm. In the years that followed, it was expanded and now covers an area of more than 11,000 square meters.
The other shelter, the "kindergarten", is a closed clubhouse. The owner of the clubhouse provided the premises to Zhixiang for free use to shelter the rescued small animal cubs.
As the presiding officer of the temple, Zhixiang is not in the temple most of the time, he is either rescuing animals, or on the way to rescue, driving a broken truck every day, "saving lives" all over the city.
He also does not meditate and chant sutras every day to gain merit, as traditional monks do. Rushing to the front line of rescue every day, feeding cats and dogs, and talking to them is his way of practice.
"Children of their own"
On September 23, 2024, the "kindergarten" of Shanghai Poster En Temple welcomed more than 100 hairy children, who were the "second generation" arrested by relevant departments, and Zhixiang and volunteers took them over.
The reporter of "Chinese Philanthropist" followed Monk Zhixiang to inject more than 100 puppies. On the way to the "kindergarten", Zhixiang suddenly braked sharply and parked the car on the side of the road. Not far behind the car, on the side of the road, there was a puppy curled up in the rain.
"When I drive on the road, I always leave two minutes on the left and right to see if there are any small animals on the side of the road that need to be rescued." Zhixiang said.
When I came to the "kindergarten", I only heard the barking of puppies one after another, and more than a dozen cages of different sizes were neatly arranged in two rows, and there were several small milk dogs waiting to be fed in each cage, snuggling up to each other. Zhixiang told reporters that there are more than 200 puppies placed here, all of which are children born to stray dogs, "many of these puppies are not healthy, most of them are sick, and whether they can survive depends on their creation." ”
Zhixiang and the volunteers carefully counted the number of puppies and began to get busy. They took the puppies out one by one, injected the vaccine under the skin, fed another internal deworming pill, and then applied the external deworming drug to the puppy's back. Depending on the sex and size of the puppy, they are placed in different cages, and some sick puppies will be taken to Hoonji Temple for treatment.
After settling these puppies, 3 hours have passed. Zhixiang, who was in charge of injecting the puppy, was so tired that he had no strength to speak, and sat down on the chair.
Zhixiang is vaccinating the furry child.
"This is Master's daily work, almost every day, and he doesn't worry about handing over these things to the volunteers, so he does it himself." Mr. Chen, a volunteer, told reporters. Mr. Chen himself has adopted three stray dogs and started volunteering at Bao'en Temple last year.
Mr. Chen said that at the beginning, he was also skeptical about the rescue of small animals in Bao'en Temple, "because there are too many people selling miserably through small animals on the Internet to cheat traffic, and it is difficult to distinguish between true and false." Later, Mr. Chen decided to come to Bao'en Temple to find out about the situation, and then decided to volunteer here. In his opinion, tens of thousands of stray animals have indeed been "reborn" here.
Most of the stray dogs sent here will spend their lives at the base. In Zhixiang's view, although the conditions of Bao'en Temple and the base are not as good as some people's homes, they can at least survive here.
Adoption is also accepted here, but Zhixiang is very cautious about this, and stipulates stricter conditions for adopters, in addition to having love and a sense of responsibility, it also depends on the adopter's age, family conditions, and even conversation.
When the reporter was interviewing at Bao'en Temple, he happened to meet a middle-aged man who wanted to adopt a dog for his mother. After repeated communication, Zhixiang politely rejected the adoption request on the grounds that the other party's mother was over 70 years old. "We generally don't consider the elderly, if the elderly walk in front of the dog, then the dog will face the possibility of a second wandering."
"You can't let a dog wander twice in a lifetime." Zhixiang repeatedly emphasized.
Of the animals rescued at the temple, only about 1,000 were adopted. Zhixiang said that some people who are willing to adopt will ask to adopt designated breeds such as "Demu", "Golden Retriever" and "Teddy" as soon as they open their mouths. In his opinion, such adopters are not out of compassion and love, but want to pick up the bargain, and are often more likely to abandon them again.
So, what are the specific conditions for adoption? Regarding this issue, Zhixiang said that it is not convenient to announce. "Because once it is announced, it may cause the adopter to submit to us for review to be fake, and they will fill it out according to our requirements. We are not giving a cat or dog to someone else to raise, but giving a child to someone else, and we must be responsible for it. ”
It's rescue, not containment
Zhixiang repeatedly emphasized that what he did was "rescue", not "containment".
Therefore, some people send cats and dogs to Bao'en Temple, saying that they are "stray animals", and Zhixiang resolutely refuses to accept them.
"How do I know you're sending it to me out of love? Unless you've volunteered with me, donated food, or donated money. If you have love, why don't you adopt it yourself and send it to me to cause me trouble? Zhixiang said, "I already have more than 10,000 here, what can't you save 1?" We can only adopt unless you can cover a portion of the cost. ”
At the entrance of the "kindergarten", the reporter saw several puppies wandering. Zhixiang firmly told the volunteers: "We resolutely refuse to save their dogs, nor can we feed them, and we can't even reach out when they die!" ”
Zhixiang told reporters that this is a dog raised by a nearby family, and he plans to abandon it, but he can't rest assured, so he will put it here every day and observe it secretly. "Throwing it at us like this is irresponsible and moral kidnapping!" In Zhixiang's opinion, if they are taken in, as soon as the opening is opened, the cats and dogs in Bao'en Temple will multiply again, and they will not be able to end in the end.
Previously, someone once brought abandoned small animals to Bao'en Temple, preparing to forcibly leave them, so Zhixiang had many conflicts with people, and even had a "bloodshed".
On October 1, 2023, a person came to Bao'en Temple and said that a cat had been drilled into the hood of his car and asked Zhixiang to help him take it out. Zhixiang told the other party that he could help him take it out, but he wanted to take the cat away, and the other party agreed. Subsequently, Zhixiang took a small milk cat out of the hood of the car and prepared a small cage and a little cat food for it to take away. As a result, this person repented, saying that his family conditions did not allow cats, and this time he came to the temple to find a good home for the cat.
Zhixiang told the other party that Bao'en Temple "only saves but does not receive". During the communication between the two parties, a verbal conflict occurred, and the visitor threw the cat into the nearby garden and was about to drive away, but was stopped by Zhixiang. As a result, the other party forcibly drove away, and Zhixiang was dragged several meters away by the car, and his face was covered in blood after falling to the ground.
Mr. Qin, who happened to come to Bao'en Temple to witness the scene, told "Chinese Philanthropist" that Zhixiang did not call the police at the first time, but first asked the volunteers to find the kitten, and then asked Mr. Qin and the volunteers to send him to the hospital. The doctor diagnosed Zhixiang with a torn meniscus.
Eventually, the temple adopted the kitten and named it Eleven. And this injury left Zhixiang's knee with sequelae, and it will hurt when it rains.
"That was the first time I met Master Zhixiang. I was shocked that he was so badly injured and thinking about the kitten. Mr. Qin told The Chinese Philanthropist that after witnessing this, he and his wife decided to become volunteers at Bao'en Temple.
Regarding the conflict with the adopter, Zhixiang is no longer surprised. "It's not uncommon that a lot of people don't want to be responsible for their choices and want others to pay for them. If it's always like this, the world will be in chaos. Zhixiang said, with a calm face.
Financial pressure
With the increasing number of stray animals adopted by Bao'en Temple, it has brought a series of practical problems, the most difficult of which is manpower and financial pressure.
"13,000 dogs consume nearly 100 tons of dog food a month. In addition, there are tens of thousands of square meters of dog farm rent, about 30 workers' wages, as well as animal epidemic prevention, treatment, various tools and other miscellaneous expenses, spending more than 20 million yuan a year. Zhixiang told "Chinese Philanthropist" that if he purchased it in a normal way, he would not be able to afford it, so he often asked familiar manufacturers for expiring, low-cost dog food. Once, the market sold more than 60 yuan a pound of foreign original imported grain, 4 tons of which were about to expire, and the merchant sold them to Zhixiang at a price of 3 yuan a catty.
"First of all, we must ensure the supply of dog food, and we must not let these furry children go hungry. And the wages of the workers, who also have to support their families. Zhixiang said.
Zhixiang raises about millions of donations through various channels every year, and there are many caring people who donate cat and dog food, but the gap is still very large.
"Pudong dog farm occupies other people's space, with a monthly rent of 160,000 yuan, and now we still owe more than 5 million to others, and we have no choice." Zhixiang said that he was sued in court because of the arrears of rent for the venue, and the other party demanded the return of the dog farm-related houses and surrounding vacant land, and the payment of rent, property fees and other expenses.
Hounji Temple is a 500-year-old temple.
In addition to financial pressure, manpower is also an issue. Although there are thousands of volunteers, many of them do not come a few times a year, and only a dozen or so volunteers who can come two or three times a week.
"The 13,000 dogs in the dog farm are well cared for by workers, and the hundreds of cats and puppies in the 'kindergarten' in the monastery also need a lot of manpower. With our current situation, it is unrealistic to hire people again, and we need caring people to join our team for a long time, make strong contributions, and have money to contribute to jointly protect these hairy children. Zhixiang said.
Despite all kinds of difficulties, Zhixiang still wants to do a solid job of rescuing stray animals. In order to save costs, he taught himself a lot of medical knowledge about small animals, and also learned to vaccinate, deworm and treat some simple diseases.
In the longer term, and in order to alleviate the immediate pressure on funds and venues, Zhixiang plans to relocate more than 10,000 furry children across provinces to Baimaoling Farm, Guangde City, Xuancheng, Anhui Province, where the rent is cheap, and build the "Anhui Base of Bao'en Nursing Park" here. The base covers an area of more than 100,000 square meters and is also designed with a swimming pool for dogs. In July this year, the base has started to be renovated, and it is planned to complete the relocation by the end of this year.
Don't ask, don't refuse
Recently, a number of "emergency calls for help" messages have appeared on the Internet, saying that the Pudu sentient beings in the Poster Grace Temple are struggling, and calling on everyone to lend a helping hand to help them in difficulty.
Zhixiang told "Chinese Philanthropist" that these information were posted by enthusiastic netizens themselves, "Our current principle is not to ask for donations and not to refuse donations."
"When I came out of the Jade Buddha Temple, I had some savings with me. After I arrived at Bao'en Temple in 2006, there were not many cats and dogs at that time, and I was helping them by myself, and it didn't cost much. Zhixiang said that since he rescued the first stray cat in 1994, he has not accepted donations from anyone until January 10, 2017.
But in 2017, he ran out of all his savings and began to use the money from the incense at Bao'en Temple to save animals. Due to the inconvenient transportation of Bao'en Temple, tourists are scarce, and the incense money is limited, and the incense money in the temple is used to rescue stray animals, which is also prone to problems. As a last resort, he began to accept donations from the community.
In July this year, Zhixiang as the initiator, Shanghai Fengxian District Qingcun Town Baoen Stray Animal Protection Service Co., Ltd. and Liaocheng Shangshan Social Work Service Center respectively as the executive agency and public fundraising agency, to carry out online fundraising activities, fundraising target of 5.127 million yuan, more than 400 yuan in the budget for cat and dog food procurement, others will be used for cat and dog medical treatment, vaccines, rabies, deworming and other expenditures. As of September 27, 2024, more than 300 yuan has been raised.
Some people pointed out that in the multiple WeChat groups of the nursing garden, a group collection of 100 yuan per person will be launched every month, whether these fees are recorded in the account and whether the use is publicized? In this regard, Zhixiang told "Chinese Philanthropist" that there are 4 WeChat groups in the nursing garden, and one group has more than 400 people, and the donations of group members are voluntary, and relevant donations will also be credited to the account.
In the face of some doubts from the outside world, Zhixiang emphasized that every donation is used to rescue stray animals, "This is obvious to everyone, after all, so many animals objectively exist, and they eat and drink every day." ”
Mr. Chen, a volunteer, complained about Zhixiang's questioning: "Those who slander him can come to Bao'en Temple to volunteer for a few days if they have time, and see with their own eyes how Master Zhixiang rescues and treats small animals, and they will naturally understand in their hearts." ”
"Those who rescued stray animals, 10 rescued 8 cheats, and two were not found." Zhixiang teased.
However, after ridiculing, he still seriously appealed to raise animals scientifically, save animals scientifically, and effectively improve the welfare of stray animals, instead of defrauding traffic by selling miserably.
Author: Wen Rujun
Photo: Wen Rujun
Photo editor: Zhang Xu
Duty Editor: Qiu Yu