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General Buddhism => General Buddhism => Topic started by: Ensapa on July 07, 2012, 02:47:50 PM
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This is exactly why our protector is very much needed in China: to challenge and overturn the commercialization of Buddhism in China. It is also because of this that the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism is much needed in China to rejuvenate Buddhism in that country. The Tibetan teachers still have their lineage and teachings intact, and they can easily help Chinese Buddhism recover from all the damages it sustained over the years.
Chinese shrine seeks stock-market path to financial nirvana
Zhejiang's Mount Putuo is latest sacred site to contemplate listing, prompting alarm over commercialisation of Chinese culture
Tania Branigan in Beijing
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 July 2012 17.52 BST
Mount Wutai, one of China's sacred Buddhist mountains, is also considering a stock-market flotation. Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty
A battle between Buddha and Mammon is shaping up in China after the managers of a renowned shrine announced plans for a multimillion-pound stock-market flotation.
Mount Putuo in Zhejiang is the latest of several religious sites whose administrators have gone down this route, prompting gloomy musings about moral decline and alarm at the ever greater commercialisation of Chinese culture.
Officials in charge of Mount Wutai in Shanxi and Mount Jiuhua in Anhui have similar plans, Chinese media reported.
"We are set to raise around 750m yuan [£75m] to bolster the site's development," Zhang Shaolei, of the Putuo Mountain Scenic Management Committee, told the state-run paper China Daily.
Supporters of the plans say only the bodies managing the areas – not the actual sites – would be sold off. "It is only the tourism business, not the temple. If a company wants to expand and be stronger, it must … get out of Zhoushan city, and in the future, it should get out of China, and go to international market," the Putuo tourism administration company said in a statement.
But others say the two cannot be separated and that the local governments pushing the schemes are more keen on maximising income than protecting precious shrines.
Concerns were underlined last month when an official at China's state administration for religious affairs warned against listing sacred sites on stock exchanges.
Liu Wei said such moves harmed the legal rights and image of the religious community and hurt the feelings of believers. He added that economic development should not cross moral lines.
An editorial in China Daily warned: "It requires an impossible leap of faith to believe that a company will seek to be listed just so it can raise money to better protect a religious site."
The newspaper noted that the Emei Shan Tourism Company – which listed domestically in 1997 – saw its profits rise to 145m yuan last year thanks to admission and cable car fees at the shrine.
A commentary in the Global Times newspaper said: "It is morally unacceptable that one day when pilgrims travel all the way to these holy places, they are actually kneeling down before various listed corporations."
Chen Ming, a researcher in the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' religions department, said that after three decades of economic improvement the priority should be "to replant the barren [areas], in the spiritual world. We need to protect the spirit of the religion rather than let this last pure world be eroded by a flood".
Others said there was no need to overreact. "I don't think it will influence sincere Buddhists. It is also good to promote Buddhism," wrote one microblog user.
There have been repeated rumours that Shaolin Temple, the Chinese monastery renowned for its martial arts prowess and commercial nous, is seeking flotation. Officials there have denied the claims. It has also been reported that Shaanxi officials have suspended plans to list Famen Temple on the Hong Kong stock exchange pending expansion.
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Is China the only country in the world to commercialise holy places? Actually i do think that other countries do it too. Look at the Vatican city – it is such a tourist trap. China is perhaps the only country to officially and blatantly commercialise their pilgrimage places but I think that every country round the world unofficially capitalizes on their own holy places, usually for tourist dollars.
If making money out of holy places makes China more interested in preserving and promoting Buddhist areas, I’m all for it. Real spirituality can come later, but at the very least, dharma seeds are being liberally sprinkled on those who visit these places as tourist destinations.
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I would look at it as a win win situation. Commercializing Buddhist sites will draw income to the area and will help sustain the maintenance of the Buddhist sites. While many tourist flocked to the temples, the temples and Buddha images blessed the tourist. I agree with Ensapa that the lineages and teachings of Buddhism should remain intact to ensure the teachings remain pure. By Being commercialized with the teachings pure and intact, I believe that Buddhism can flourish and reach more people, in the end it benefits all.
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In my opinion, why not? We need the necessary resources to maintain the Buddhist sites for now and future. If there's no sustenance to even to maintain such holy sites, obviously it will become ruins. With the incoming resources, the management would able to beautify it to be conducive and to attract more tourists. More so to benefit many of these tourists and practitioners too. Being commercialise does not need to infringe on the lineages and teachings of Buddhism but it is important for its maintenance for years to come.
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Listing sacred sites on the stock exchange will bring about positive as well as negative results depending on the objective of the exercise. Hence the cause for alarm over this is justified.
All commercial organizations exist mainly for the maximization of their profit. If there is no proper control, market forces may cause the closure and affect the existence of these sacred sites. A commercial organization emphasizes profit making than preserving the traditions and practices. Hence the lineage and teachings may not be kept purely and intact.
On the other hand, if the commercialization is done with proper control, it encourages maintenance and growth of these sacred sites and the spread of Buddhism around the World. The fate of these sacred sites is in the hands of those managing their operation.
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Initially my first reaction to this post is to condemn the decadent mentality of the Chinese psyche, that it all about making money and profits, at the expense of human decency. The tainting of milk powder in infant formula; using cheaper non approved food additives and preservatives in foodstuff - all in the name of commercialism, leading to moral decline for eg, unwillingness to help a fatally injured child on the road or worst, making sure the person you accidentally hit is dead by rolling over the victim again, both due to fear of monetary repercussions...etc, and the list goes on - all comes to mind.
But as I read on, commercialising Buddhism may not be such a bad idea after all, however warped it may sound. Just like Chinese officials forcing monks in various temples to practice DS, commercialising Buddhism may ironically lead to a greater good.
As some here so far has pointed out, commercialism ensures that funds continue to flow in, in order for the maintenance of these religious sites for the purpose of promoting Buddhism, and indirectly or directly (depending on how you look at it), imprinting dharma seeds in the minds of the tourists visiting these places.
However, dondrup's point must also be taken into consideration. All in all, how 'successful' commercialism has on Buddhism depends solely on the motives behind it, and whether the positives out weigh the negative motives.
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What happens behind close doors with the money, we will never know. Many nowadays are just making profit from Dharma items and temples. Although they say that they are non profit, we can never tell and just believe that it is for the upkeep of the temple. If they do sell off the land that they are not using to make profit out of it then I believe that it is wrong. Just like the story below. Lay men collecting fees and pretending that they are monks.
Buddhist temple thrives by extorting offerings
Ou Peng, from Guangxi Province, was visiting the Yanquan Temple in Kunming City of Yunnan Province in October 2011. Like most temple-goers, Ou had hoped to make a small offering and pray for his family's health.
After arriving the temple with his wife and two family relatives with a tourist group, Ou unfortunately found far more than what he had bargained for. Instead of tranquil sessions with temple monks and blessings of a bright future, they were met with threats of bad fortune if they refused to dish out thousands in donation.
"They know I wanted safety for my family, so their attitude was very stern, which make me afraid," Ou said. The monks had demanded that he paid 20,000 yuan (US$3,167) for incenses or his family would be met with disasters. "This was completely like extortion by the mafia."
Although Ou was able to get his money back after he complained to the Kunming Tourism Bureau, not everyone was so lucky. Buddhist temples in recent years have become an enormously profitable business with tourists willing to pay anything to buy and burn incenses for luck. Contractors paid huge fees to the local government for approval to operate temples. They then built shops inside and around them to sell incenses and other trinkets.
After learning of Ou's bitter encounter, a reporter from China Newsweek disguised himself as a tourist and went through similar experiences at the Yanquan Temple. Monks first recommended 600 yuan (US$95) incenses. When the reporter said that he could not afford it, he was offered 200 yuan (US$32) incenses. After the reporter refused again, a monk pointed at the Buddhist effigies and snapped: "Are you going to pay it or not? How dare you lie in front of Buddha? Get out of here."
A source informed the reporter that only one of the monks in the temple was real. Others were hired hands who supposedly were skilled in judging people's wealth by their clothes and appearances. Instead of the salary, they were given a cut of the donations. Most were married and had cars and house in Kunming.
In July 2001, the Jinxing Village administrative committee signed a contract with Kunming South International Travel Agency to develop the tourism business for the temple. It received over 200,000 tourists that year and turned over 2 million yuan (US$316,756) in profit.
The annual tourism revenue of Yunnan Province reached 22.63 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion) in 2009, and the number of tourists reached 31.15 million. Following the rapid development of tourism in the province, the contract fee of the temple also increased dramatically. An insider told China Newsweek reporter that a businessman from Hunan Province spent 7.2 million yuan (US$1.1 million) per year in order to run the temple.
However, the money tree has begun bearing troubled fruit. A staff from the Kunming City Travel Agency Association said that the agency was getting daily complaint calls about the offering demands. Although they asked travel agencies to remove the Yanquan Temple from their itineraries, none followed after the temple increased agencies' share from 30 percent to 50 percent.
The central government has made several attempts at stopping religious institutes from becoming business entities. The State Administration for Religious Affairs released regulations in 1993 forbidding temples to sell stocks and establishing business partnerships with foreign companies. And in June 2009, the National Tourism Administration published regulations to forbid religious tourism spots from forcing or inducing visitors to pay money to burn the incenses.
However, these business-temples have been a heaven-sent for rural villages. Some schools use the proceeds to exempt tuition and fees from students and provide them free breakfast and clothing. Other villagers also receive various kinds of welfare. These were the potential benefits that led to Yiliang County's October 2010 meeting to invite contractors to run Yanyuan Temple.
Ma Kaineng, deputy director of Yunnan Provincial Bureau of Religious Affairs said that due to historical reasons, many temples belong to different government departments. Yanquan Temple belongs to the religious bureau as well as the tourist bureau and is managed by Jinxing Village. Tourists who complain about the temple are therefore often given the bureaucratic runaround and find it too difficult to solve their problems.
The small penalty also contributes to the growing problem. Zhang Shaoyun, director of Yiliang County's tourism bureau said that contractors are only fined in the thousands of yuan for their offenses – a puny amount compared to their profits.
Ye Tao, researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the solution to this problem requires the cooperation of local government, cultural relics department, religious department and tourism department.
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Commercialized or not, it doesn't matter... The most important thing is the d
Spead of real dharma in china. The people in this country had suffered from the cultural revolution when almost all Buddha statues and temples were destroyed.
I rejoice for the commercial activities which brings dharma, even if it is just a little bit.
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Buddhism is definitely a part of China's deep history and culture. Most of the time when we think of Buddhism and which country this religion pervades, it would be China. Therefore, China commercializing their temples and monasteries are done to protect and preserve the buildings and history so that more people in the future can enjoy this facility.
However, I do not agree in charging extremely high prices to enter the temple or even offering incense. Just enough to maintain the temple and also to provide modern facilities for tourists and pilgrims. We must understand that these historic temples has survived through time and it is very important to preserve these temples.
When the Chinese government provides assistance in preserving, renovating and restore the temples, not only they are promoting Buddhism to their own people, it is also to promote Buddhism to the world. These temples attract people from all over the world and it is only fair that the Government gets some returns from what they have put in.
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It all depends on the primary purpose and the real motivation behind the public flotation of the temple. If the objective is to raise funds so that dharma can be spread further then it is good. The stark reality is that temples and dharma centres need funds to maintain itself and to grow. And the modern culture is inherently less supportive of the Sangha than in the past and so religious bodies need to be innovative in the way they raise funds.
If a business model could be created and sustained to the effect that more and more temples can be built and the Buddha’s teachings flourish , then I am fully in support of this move.
However, like all businesses, the primary goal of a public listed company is to chase profits not spiritual growth and in addition, a listed company comes with a whole host of statutory conditions that require management to meet. These costs money and ultimately I wonder how much of the money raised will actually filter down to the spread of dharma. It would be extremely wrong to use religion as a means of raising funds where only a meager percentage of funds raised are used for dharmic purposes.
Much depends on the motivation and I wonder how long it will be before the dharmic objective runs into the monetary objective.
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Is China the only country in the world to commercialise holy places? Actually i do think that other countries do it too. Look at the Vatican city – it is such a tourist trap. China is perhaps the only country to officially and blatantly commercialise their pilgrimage places but I think that every country round the world unofficially capitalizes on their own holy places, usually for tourist dollars.
If making money out of holy places makes China more interested in preserving and promoting Buddhist areas, I’m all for it. Real spirituality can come later, but at the very least, dharma seeds are being liberally sprinkled on those who visit these places as tourist destinations.
For the spread of any religion, we need to build monumental symbols to instill faith and institutions of learning to propagate the religion. Naturally, for all these projects to manifest huge sums of money are required.
How many of us will follow Milarepa's example of taking a seemingly simple man as a teacher ? At this kaliyuga age, people are impressed by big temples and teachers are to sit on high thrones to command respect and inspiration.
As long as the money generated from places of worship is put back to the propagation of the faith, I don't see anything undesirable with commercialization of religion. Money, politics and religion have always been mixed inseparably . This is the reality and one's perceived "right" or "wrong" of this symbiosis is due to our own narrow mindedness. Most importantly , there must be a body set up which is subject to members' election and supervision with complete accountability and transparency of fund usage.
In fact , if we have this infrastructure properly set up, commercialization is the way to spread any religion in this day and age as it will ensure sustainability of the spiritual institution and independence and control from any one single major sponsor.
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I am of two minds when it comes to this. Commercialization has its pros and cons as has been highlighted by some postings here. Obviously, with commercialization comes exposure. This in itself can be seen as either positive or negative.
Positive being the fact that the site in question becomes better known and thus with the fame comes the revenue. However, the tricky part comes in maintaining the already fragile conditions of these sites. The heavier traffic may cause faster degeneration from wear and tear. This would be the negative aspect of such exposure especially when one is talking about a tourist attraction. The balance however can be found. One has to implement quotas for day, for example or having better infrastructure whereby the ore fragile areas are kept more exclusive, etc... huge undertaking and not just a matter of getting the "traffic" in so to speak.
The obvious aspect of commercialism from a spiritual context taking into consideration the increase in exposure to such sights of course is a great plus. More people exposed equals more seeds planted! Simple equation really. And with the proper and accurate information disseminated at such holy sites would in turn be wonderful opportunities to spread the knowledge and hence the more tangible dharmic aspects of spirituality e.g. explanations of iconography of statues, geographical information linking back to historical facts, Dharmic items (books etc) sold at souvenir shops.
Hence, as with all things, there are always pros and cons. But if managed and planned well the negative aspects can be controlled if not curtailed!
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I am sorry but I think commercialism is expected and perhaps much needed in some cases. However, there must be right balance between conservation of historical sites, temples, buildings and structures along with good marketing that will highlight the spiritual significance of these places.
If done well, people will still get to experience the sanctity of the location and still maintain a large crowd. This is very much needed in this day and age. Anyway, most of the historical monasteries are now largely just living museums and the monks who are allowed to reside within the monastery is more for show then to maintain a living Sangha.
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I am of the same opinion as sonamdhargey, that commercialising Buddhist sites will draw income to the area and will help sustain the maintenance of the Buddhist sites. For example, Emei Shan Tourism Co received approximately 2.6 million visitors to Emei Mountain last year. Net profits rose 31.6 percent year-on-year to reach 145 million yuan, a majority of which came from admission and cable car fees.
I believe we have got to move with the times, and not be fixated with the idea that Buddhist monks are to live in the forest and live a materialistically ‘poor’ lifestyle. The government has helped ro set up over 40 companies overseas as it hopes to spread Buddhist-inspired martial arts around the globe, state press reported.
Shaolin’s abbot, Shi Yongxin was the first Chinese monk to earn a master's degree in business administration. Since taking over the temple a decade ago, has developed commercial ventures such as kung fu shows, film production and online merchandise sales. Shaolin Temple has also set up over 40 companies overseas as it hopes to spread Buddhist-inspired martial arts around the globe.
For more info: China's Shaolin Temple builds business empire, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iJNALbSErdJ61tJP6YuIDi4iK72w?docId=CNG.bdeb90bf6dc184d4f45595f0fb34db37.4e1a (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iJNALbSErdJ61tJP6YuIDi4iK72w?docId=CNG.bdeb90bf6dc184d4f45595f0fb34db37.4e1a)
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I think that commercialization of religion is a fact of life no matter which religion and which era we are living in. Perhaps China is being more blatant than other countries. I was quite sad to read about the ‘extortion’ of Ou Peng as shared by Bambi above. At least I was heartened to read that the central government has tried to stop religious establishments from becoming business entities. I hope that that directive came about in order to stop this kind of exploitation. The solution is more transparency and a clear and firm direction from the Chinese authorities to ensure that people can practice their religion in peace, without fear or favour.
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Mao Zedong's Red Army seized control of China in 1949, and the People's Republic of China was born. In 1950, China invaded Tibet and declared it to be part of China. How has Buddhism fared in Communist China and Tibet?
Although Tibet and China are under the same government, I am going to highlight China and Tibet separately, because the situations in China and Tibet are not identical.
Buddhism in China Under Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong was famously hostile to religion, and Buddhism and Communism disagree on many philosophical points. However, Buddhism had been under some degree of state control through most of its history in China, and Buddhist institutions in China submitted to Communist authority.
In the early years of Mao Zedong's dictatorship, some monasteries and temples were converted to secular use. Others became state-operated organizations, and the priests and monks became employees of the state. These state-operated temples and monasteries tended to be in large cities and other places likely to receive foreign visitors. They were intended for show, in other words.
In 1953 all of Chinese Buddhism was organized into the Buddhist Association of China. The purpose of this organization was and is to place all Buddhists under the leadership of the Communist Party so that Buddhism will support the party's agenda. It should be noted that when China brutally suppressed Tibetan Buddhism in 1959, the Buddhist Association of China fully approved the actions of the government of China.
During the "Cultural Revolution" that began in 1966, Mao's Red Guards did incalculable damage to Buddhist temples and art as well as to the Chinese sangha. After Mao Zedong's death in 1976 the government of China relaxed somewhat its oppression of religion, and Buddhism made a slow comeback. However, Buddhist institutions are still controlled by the government, and the Buddhist Association of China still exists to keep Buddhism in line.
Olympic Good Behavior?
For the past couple of years, the government of China has made many conciliatory gestures to Buddhism in China. In April 2006 China even hosted the World Buddhist Forum, in which Buddhist scholars and monks from many countries discussed world harmony. (His Holiness the Dalai Lama did not, however, attend.)
On the other hand, also in 2006 the Buddhist Association of China expelled a master of Huacheng Temple in Yichun city, Jianxi province, after he performed ceremonies for the benefit of the victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989.
Tibet
Please read "Behind the Turmoil in Tibet" for the basic historical background of the current crisis in Tibetan Buddhism shared here: http://walkingpen.wordpress.com/2011/10/15/behind-the-turmoil-in-tibet-2/ (http://walkingpen.wordpress.com/2011/10/15/behind-the-turmoil-in-tibet-2/)
Here I want to look at Buddhism in Tibet since the March 2008 riots.
As in China, the monasteries in Tibet are controlled by the government, and the monks are, in effect, government employees. China appears to favor monasteries that are lucrative tourist attractions. Monasteries frequently are visited by government agents to ensure proper behavior. Monks complain that they cannot so much as conduct a ceremony without government approval.
After the March 2008 riots, Tibet was so well locked down that little verifiable news escaped. Not until June 2008, when a few foreign journalists were allowed carefully guided tours of Lhasa, did outsiders learn that large numbers of monks are missing from Lhasa. Of 1,500 or so monks from the three major monasteries of Lhasa, about 1,000 are being detained. About 500 more probably are accused of crimes and imprisoned. There is no official information about what happened to them.
Journalist Kathleen McLaughlin wrote on July 28, 2008:
"Drepung, the largest Tibetan monastery and once home to as many as 10,000 monks, is now a reeducation camp for monks involved in the March 14 uprising. China’s state media says an 'education work group' is being conducted inside the monastery 'to restore religious order.' Up to 1,000 monks are reportedly locked inside, human-rights groups say, being retrained in line with Chinese Communist Party directives. The monastery is one of Lhasa’s taboo topics these days. Questions to locals about Drepung are typically met with a shake of the head and a wave of the hand."
Zero Tolerance
On July 30, 2008, the International Campaign for Tibet accused China of "Sweeping new measures introduced in Kardze to purge monasteries of monks and restrict religious practice." The measures include:
Monks who express dissent or refuse to 'conform' can be expelled and their residence demolished.
Tulkus (reincarnate lamas) could be 'stripped of the right to hold the incarnation lineage' if they communicate with foreigners or engage in protests against the Chinese authorities - a measure that is consistent with an earlier ruling that all reincarnate lamas must have the approval of the Chinese government.
Buddhist practice will be suspended in monasteries where a specific percentage of monks have engaged in protest or dissent.
Senior religious teachers could face public 'rectification' or imprisonment if they are shown to have even 'tolerated' peaceful protest activity.
Pervasive Oppression
It's true that China has invested a great deal of money into Tibet to modernize it, and that the Tibetan people overall enjoy a higher standard of living because of it. But that does not excuse the pervasive oppression of Tibetan Buddhism.
Tibetans risk imprisonment merely for possessing a photograph of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The government of China even insists on choosing the reincarnated tulkus. This is tantamount to the government of Italy muscling it's way into the Vatican and insisting on choosing the next Pope. It's outrageous.
A great many reports say that younger Tibetans, including monks, are much less likely to try to compromise with China as His Holiness the Dalai Lama have tried to do. The crisis in Tibet may not always be on the front pages of newspapers, but it is not going away, and it is likely to get worse.
Examples of Commercialism
(http://static.relax.com.sg/site/servlet/linkableblob/relax/289814/topImage.jpg)
[Picture: Tourists gathering at the entrance of the Shaolin Temple.]
Shaolin Temple in central China has inspired awe and mysticism through the centuries but has lately attracted controversy in China over charges of rampant commercialism.
(http://static.relax.com.sg/site/servlet/linkableblob/relax/289824/topImage.jpg)
[Photo: A tourist trying to copy the moves of a Shaolin kung fu master during a performance.]
Shaolin last year drew 1.6 million people who paid 100 yuan (S$20) to pass through its Disneyland-style turnstiles in Henan province, watch a half-hour kungfu show and take photos with performers for another 20 yuan.
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The Buddhist Association of China announced in early June that it was launching a “harmonious monasteries” campaign in Tibet. Here’s what the People’s Daily Online reported:
Tibetan Buddhism has always upheld harmony and peace, sought to create a graceful world and extended sympathy to all lives, said Jamyang Losang Jigme Tubdain Qoigyi Nyima, a living Buddha who is also vice president of the association.
As both Tibetan Buddhists and Chinese citizens, monks and nuns should benefit the country and the people, adhere to religious doctrines, promote Buddhism and serve followers, he said.
In the statement, the association’s Tibetan Buddhism division urged monks and nuns to behave as good citizens, protect the national unity, ethnic harmony and social stability, as well as avoid secessionist activities . . . The association also called on them to abide by the law.
It’s not hard to read between the lines here. It’s just a attempt to persuade Tibetans to behave and not protest while China destroys their culture and engages in what Robert Thurman, Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, described some years ago as “ethnic cleansing by population transfer.”
According to Wikipedia, “The [Buddhist Association of China] shares jurisdiction over Buddhists in China with the State Administration for Religious Affairs, which regulates all recognized religions.” While technically the BCA is not state-run, its ties to the government are obvious. In addition to the guy with the long name mentioned above, the “11th Panchen Lama” is also a V.P. of the BCA. His name is Gyaincain Norbu and he is China’s pick for the position of the highest lama in Tibet after the Dalai Lama. The person recognized by Tibetan Buddhists as the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was detained by Chinese authorities shortly after his selection was announced in 1995 (he was six years old) and he hasn’t been seen since. Many Tibet/China watchers believe he is dead.
Here is a little flip side to the state-sponsored Buddhism scene in China: Liu Wei, an official with the State Administration of Religious Affairs, recently told Buddhist and Taoist temples that they have no right to go public and list shares on stock exchanges. According to Reuters, “The listing of companies linked to world famous Chinese heritage sites is not new in the country’s three-decade-old capital markets, but attempts to list at least one religious site have apparently crossed a line.”
This is not aimed at just Buddhism and Taoism, but also the other religions (Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism) recognized by the Chinese government. Apparently a few of the more historical and popular religious sites are suspected of becoming overly commercial. This is one of the few times I agree with the Chinese government. Buddhism and commercialism should not mix.
A few years the commercialism charge was leveled at Shaolin Temple, probably the most famous Buddhist temple in the world. Over a million people visit Shaolin Temple in Henan province each year. The temple rakes in money from entrance fees, online sales of Shaolin memorabilia (fans, t-shirts, etc.), and its traveling performing troupes. A sub-industry has spouted up in the land around Shaolin where there are now more than 80 private kung fu schools that train more than 60,000 people to be like the monastery’s famous warrior-monks.
Shaolin Temple was founded in 495 CE. According to legend, the founder of Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism, Bodhidharma meditated for nine years in a nearby cave and then taught the monks at Shaolin meditation and an exercise called the Eighteen Arhat Hands. The monastery has long been associated with Chinese martial arts.
In the West. Shaolin Temple may be most famous for being the place where Kwai Chang Caine (AKA “Grasshopper”) was a monk as a young boy in the Kung Fu television series starring David Carradine, along with two great Asian character actors Keye Luke (blind Master Po) and Philip Ahn (Master Kan).
I can just picture a modern day Master Kan telling young Grasshopper, “Quickly as you can, sell the shares listed . . . When you can sell all the shares before the closure of the IPO, it will be time for you to leave.”
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Religion was practically banned during The Cultural Revolution was established in 1949. During this period religion which was seen as emblematic of feudalism and foreign colonialism. Houses of worship, including temples, mosques, and churches, were converted into non-religious buildings for secular use. Imaging how many of sacred items, historic scriptures and worship places were destroyed or even being sold to so called collectors around the world. Such a pity. It was the darkest age or massive degenerate in China during that period.
But things have changed with the economic booming in China, it is very obvious with 5,000 years of history the government will be promoting this as an main factor for tourists to come and explore the rich culture of the country. I would say China is a heaven for people who love history and have many famous temple exists since 1,000 years ago. With tourists flooding into China, these famous places will have thousands of tourists visiting every single day so it somehow became a very attractive places for business. Is given.
I am glad that every single day there are thousands of tourist have been planted a seed during a visit to one of these famous Buddhist temple. We have to adapt and change every single day and Buddhism have to manifest in such a way to attract modern people with commercialization.
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I can't really judge whether it's a good proposition for the Chinese temples to float in the stock exchange. What's most important is that the Chinese preserve Buddhism and spread the dharma. Whether they have qualified dharma teachers or not, I'm not sure. But the millions of people who visit the temples and receive Enlightened imprints is a good start.
There are so many reasons why the Chinese temples are considering to float in the stock exchange to raise funds. What they do with the money and whether more people join the dharma will determine whether this is a virtuous act.
Many mahasiddhas do things that are non conventional, for example, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Rinpoche had orgies with his students and drank alcohol as well. This is blasphemous for a dharma teacher. However, if we look at the women he slept with and the people whom he drank with, most of them are now sangha members or working full time in Naropa Institute spreading Buddhism.
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Is China the only country in the world to commercialise holy places? Actually i do think that other countries do it too. Look at the Vatican city – it is such a tourist trap. China is perhaps the only country to officially and blatantly commercialise their pilgrimage places but I think that every country round the world unofficially capitalizes on their own holy places, usually for tourist dollars.
If making money out of holy places makes China more interested in preserving and promoting Buddhist areas, I’m all for it. Real spirituality can come later, but at the very least, dharma seeds are being liberally sprinkled on those who visit these places as tourist destinations.
WB,
I could not have said it better. I have heard that it is so difficult to raise the funds needed to expand religious places. People today just like to take and ask for blessings. They do not care if the place is maintained or growing so that many more can benefit like they have. This is time of degeneration.
I think that it is brilliant that these religious places seek funding from commercial means. And I like that China is so open about it. Yes, we can question their motivation. Then question that of the Pope? By being open about raising the funds openly also means open accountability. This goes hand in hand. So, accounts will be kept clean of foul play. Should there be foul play which there has been before in other religions as well, then I would say do not test the power of karma... short term gain, long term pain.