Seoul witnessed the battle of the Buddhists yesterday as rival factions in South Korea's largest order fought for control of their central temple with bulldozers and Molotov cocktails.
At least 10 shaven-headed monks were injured in the third clash this month at the Chogye Temple in central Seoul, where windows, placards and furniture were smashed and burned in yesterday's fighting.
The conflict has been spurred by a succession battle for control of the Chogye sect. Dissidents have occupied the temple in protest at plans by the incumbent leader, Mr Song Wol-ju, to stand for a third four-year term.
Under a sect rule passed in 1994, leaders are limited to two terms so that they cannot accrue enough power to abuse their position. Mr Song, however, has stood for the post of "Most Venerable Monk" for a third term on the grounds that his earlier period in office was disrupted by the military government.
In protest at the leader's decision to stand again, about 800 dissident monks, calling themselves the "Committee for Purification", occupied the five-storey central temple earlier this month. Yesterday, about 2,000 Song supporters launched a fresh assault on the building. Although they protected themselves with slabs of plywood, they were only able to reach the first floor before their assault was repelled by fire extinguishers, water hoses and a barrage of rocks, furniture and Molotov cocktails.
In three hours of hand-to-hand fighting, the grey-robed monks, who are best known for Zen meditation, punched and kicked one another. Police said that at least ten monks were brought to hospital after sustaining minor head and other injuries. Many believers were thrown to the ground during the melee by the monks, who train in the martial arts.
There were about 5,000 riot police on hand, but they did not intervene in the conflict, having been embarrassed politically in previous temple rows.
The Chogye sect, which is South Korea's largest Buddhist group with 8 million followers, has a history stretching back to the Korye period (913-1392) and continues to wield considerable political influence in modern day South Korea.