A major Buddhist temple closed its doors to the public for a month Monday after its leader's endorsement of the opposition presidential candidate sparked protests.
TV footage showed scores of police guarding the Chung Tai Temple in central Nantou County, and a sign outside the temple's iron gate announced the temporary closing.
Scores of supporters of President Chen Shui-bian gathered at Chung Tai on Sunday, protesting temple Master Wei Chueh's endorsement last week of presidential challenger Lien Chan. Wei Chueh is one of Taiwan's top Zen masters and has hundreds of thousands of followers.
A temple spokesman, Master Chien Yun, told ETTV cable news that several protesters tried to intimidate one of the monk's followers when his car left the temple Sunday.
The Zen master's endorsement has sparked a heated debate about whether religion should be mixed with politics. A popular Buddhist nun, Master Shih Chao Huei, criticized the Zen master for getting involved in the election.
But monks at Chung Tai have defended the Zen master, saying he expressed his opinions as a part of his freedom of speech.
Buddhism is Taiwan's most popular religion, with more than 9,860 clergy and 5.48 million followers, the government says.