(AllHipHop News) A group of Monks in Japan are using Hip-Hop music to attract new followers to the Buddhist religion.
The Buddhist monks refer to their style of teaching as Buddhism 2010 in an article on CNN.
The new style of monks have dropped traditional Buddhist chants and have incorporated rap and Hip-Hop as a way to introduce new people to the faith.
“Getting the young people back to religion is key to Buddhism’s survival,” Kansho “Mr. Happiness” Tagai told CNN. “In Japan, it’s a religion in crisis.”
The monks are also putting a spin on traditional Buddhist temples to attract young people, by serving alcohol while they teach.
They reason that their followers talk at ease in a bar like setting, as opposed to the traditional temple, because they are disconnected with modern times.
According to Tagai, Monks’ new recruiting technique are paying off.
“Twice as many people, especially the young, are now visiting the temple,” Tagai said. “Other monks are even calling me up for advice.”