Monks rehearse a dance entitled Sutra, choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, part of the annual Singapore Arts Festival, May 20, 2009. [Photo/IC]

The abbot replied that the money was jointly accumulated by Shaolin practitioners, and what the Shaolin Temple cares about is not money but the promotion of Buddhism all over the world.

He said that the Shaolin Temple has established more than 40 cultural centers abroad, where more than 100 Shaolin monks have worked to promote the temple's culture and teach Shaolin kung fu.

"All of the Shaolin cultural centers overseas were built at the invitation of local government, social organizations, and Shaolin practitioners," he said, adding that the temple will build more cultural centers abroad "if there are proper places".