The Shaolin Temple, famous as the birthplace of Chinese Kong Fu is now battling rice producers selling "fake rice" using its name, claiming it helps with Zen meditation practices.

The Shaolin Temple has denied allegations of promoting a special variety of rice that is said to help with the practice of Zen meditation, at an exorbitant price.

The so called Zen meditation rice is sold at Xi'an Shaolin City Zendo for 80 rmb per bowl; a bowl of rice porridge is sold for 30 rmb.

The temple says the rice was promoted by a private company and the Shaolin temple had no connection to the company or its distribution campaign.

On August 4, officials from the temple's management committee responded to growing public complaints against the extremely overpriced rice that was branded as "exclusively for the use of Zen meditation practitioners," the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Consumers claimed that such marketing gimmicks the violated the principles of Buddhism.

Officials from the Shaolin temple have been engaged in a heated exchange of words since the beginning of July, responding to repeated allegations leveled against them by the Shaanxi Buddhist Association.

The temple maintains that the company Shaanxi Biyecuicao Agriculture Corporation Ltd., was totally responsible for the promotion and distribution of the costly rice. In addition, Shaolin Temple warned the corporation to stop using its name in all ad campaigns and delete all fabricated information.

The Shaolin City Zendo in Zhengzhou, Henan province in central China, claimed that it was unaware of such a practice in Xi'an.