Yan Jue has a mobile phone, a television set and a driving licence.

Nothing surprising about that, you might think - until you learn that he's a monk.

When it comes to upsetting stereotypes, it might also come as a surprise to many to discover just how hard working this leading Beijing-based Buddhist is.

The 48-year-old typically sleeps only four hours a night.

Based at the capital's Guangji Temple, he spends most of his time working.

Yan has the position of Jian Yuan, or general supervisor, at the temple. He is also a standing member of the board of directors of the China Buddhist Association, whose offices are located in the temple.

At the beginning of this month he returned from a 10-day trip to Hong Kong having escorted She Li - Buddhist relics.

Typically he retires for the night at 11pm or midnight and gets up at 4 am.

His working day might involve meeting up to eight different groups of visitors.

Yan acknowledges that it is, in fact, very difficult to be a good monk.

"We have no holidays. There is a rule for everything from walking and standing to sitting and sleeping and it applies from the moment you wake up to the time you go to bed.

"Every one of the 365 days of the year is spent like that."

Despite the physical challenges of the calling, it is the mental ones which prove most difficult, he says.

As a monk, for example, he worries about making mistakes, either intentionally or unintentionally.

"For example, I might step on some small creatures unknowingly when I walk and kill them," he explained. That is opposed to Buddhist doctrine.

The intentional misdemeanors might include having thoughts or ideas not allowed under Buddhist belief.

"A simple thought can be the seed for good or evil," he explained. "That's why a good monk should not even have a bad thought."

But although Buddhism disapproves of fatalism, it believes in the law of causation, Yan explains.

"The essence of everything is changing without stop," he said. "No individual in the world exists independently without preconditions and consisting elements."

Based on that belief, he explains that Buddha says that fate is constantly changing.

In contrast to some people's beliefs, Yan made clear that temples do not advocate fortune-telling. He believes that men are in charge of their own destinies.

"To burn incense and kneel in prayer before Buddha is to express one's feeling of respect for his great wisdom," he said. "The purpose of Buddhist study is to learn from Buddha's noble virtues and obtain happiness gradually according to Buddhist thoughts."

Located at Xisi, just next to the capital's busiest business area, Xidan, monks at Guangji Temple have a lot of contact with outside culture.

They go to nearby markets to purchase food and daily necessities. They also visit bookstores in the area.

The mobile phone, TV set in his room and Buick available for his use should not come as a major surprise to people, he says.

"Poverty and under-development is not Buddhism. Telephones and cars are tools to help people work. Buddhist religion is synchronous with the rest of society."

Yan was born in west China's Gansu Province and has never married.

He declined to talk about his life before he became a monk, just saying that he "worked."

"I always wanted to become a monk, but the time was not ripe," he said.

He became a monk in 1982, when he was 26. The first temple he went to was Xiangji Temple in Xi'an's Chang'an County.

After graduation from junior high school, he went to a Buddhist training class for two years and later went to a course for monks in Guangji Temple. That lasted five years.

He studied Buddhism, geography, history, politics, literature and ancient Chinese.

He was chosen as the temple's Jian Yuan in 1993.

"The person for the position is not chosen according to his educational background," he said. "The Fang Zhang, the head of the temple, chooses somebody he thinks has both proper virtues and the ability to plan and manage the temple's daily affairs."

His work includes planning, dealing with both internal and external affairs, financial management and general supervision.

Asked why he chose to become a monk, he replied: "The purpose of a monk is to pursue the way to break away from the pains of life and for the happiness of all creatures."

He believes a real monk should be studious, hard working and courageous. He should also love his country and religion and contribute to society.

"To study Buddhism is not to be passive about life and society," he stresses. "Instead, it produces a strong life force helping people to reach a high level of wisdom.

"Life is not unchangeable. The future is in your own hands."

(Beijing Weekend June 26, 2004)