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Money and religion have always been at odds, and when several famous Buddhist temples in China recently sought to go public, the line separating religion and riches was blurred again. The Putuo Mountain, one of China’s four major Buddhist mountains, drew particular attention when its officials announced their intention to go public. The news triggered widespread debates over whether religious institutions should be listed.
As a holy place of Buddhism, the news of the Putuo Mountain’s going public is astonishing. Some people have asked whether any place is immune to the corrupting influence of money. Because the religious sites are public resources, it’s assumed that economic benefits should not be the only criterion for determining how well the mountains are operated. The impact on visitors and the religious community from listing sacred places on the stock market should be taken into consideration.
In response to the controversy, some said it is okay for religious monuments to go public, since it is not the holy mountain itself that is commercialized, but rather the relevant tourism companies. At the same time, others are worried that when these prestigious temples get involved in commercial activities, their holy atmosphere and culture will be polluted and commercialized.
Make it public
Chen Jie (Beijing Business Today): As long as there is a balance between cultural protection and profit making, it’s all right for these holy places to get listed. In the context of the market economy, these scenic spots are actually already operating under companies. The Putuo Mountain is now under the Putuo Mountain Tourism Development Co. Ltd. Since 1997, the Emei Mountain has belonged to the Emei Mountain Tourism Co. Ltd., which is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and benefits from the capital market. Like any company, they need to spend and also make money. As tourist destinations, these famous cultural and religious spots require expenses for publicity and environmental improvement. Apart from small government subsidies, they must raise funds through market operations. As operating costs rise, the need for moneymaking ventures naturally comes up. Therefore, capable tourism companies operating scenic spots should be allowed to go public in order to bring in funds to continue operations. Most importantly, these companies must spend the money on the maintenance and improvement of the mountain scenery and historical culture. Business managers should realize that the treasure of the mountains depends on the good image that has taken shape over hundreds or thousands of years. If the image is ruined and the precious scenery is abused, few would like to invest in them and tourism would decline. In short, attention should be paid to strike a balance between culture and profits. Beware of using famous natural and cultural resources as a tool to collect money.
Liu Simin (The Beijing News): Although religious resources themselves should not go public, their surrounding tourism resources should be allowed to do so. In China and across the world, holy sites tend to be major tourism destinations, so the surrounding commercial atmosphere is not easily curbed regardless of whether they are on the stock market. I think we should allow religious resources to serve tourism resources indirectly.
The public’s worries, of course, are not baseless. Given the negative impact of commercialization on some scenic spots, it’s necessary to make careful preparations before the mountains go public. With careful planning and consideration, the religious resources may be even better protected in the future.
Wang Qingyong (www.cnhubei.com): Going public will not necessarily affect the purity of Buddhism. If going public can help to popularize the religion, it will have a very positive impact on this tradition’s further development in modern society.
Some people are worried that these holy Buddhist places will be used as a way to make huge sums of money. These worries are not unfounded, but the problems are not limited to famous tourism destinations that are listed in the stock market. Today, almost all tourist places of historical interest are raising the prices of admission tickets again and again—and religious sites are no exception.
In modern society, every sector is competing to survive. Although Buddhism teaches people to restrain their desires, the promotion of Buddhism through these sites’ going public will help allow Buddhist ideas to spread.
It’s possible that after some Buddhist sites enter the stock market, relevant tourism companies may focus on making money and neglect their social responsibilities to the holy places. Therefore, the leaders of the companies should be required to limit excessive commercial activities that damage the purity of Buddhism.
Religious and tourism authorities should make joint efforts to supervise the commercial operation of prestigious Buddhist mountains to ensure their involvement in the stock market will help to protect and develop the religion and the culture.
Protecting Purity
Ye Tan (National Business Daily): This generation will set a new record in Chinese history when the country’s four most prestigious Buddhist mountains get listed in the stock market.
Once the holy mountains go public, opportunities for both local governments and certain individuals to make money will arise. Religious sites, like secular scenic spots, are seen as lucrative moneymaking machines in some people’s eyes. Religion has come to be treated as just another tourism resource, with its holiness giving way to commercial profits.
In June, China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs clearly expressed its opposition to religious places’ involvement in tourism agencies and going public. However, once the local governments define a wide area as a local tourism asset, is it still possible for the religious places within those sites to stay pure? Meanwhile, without their element of religious significance, is it possible for travel agencies to attract tourists?
According to regulations, ticket incomes should not be used as part of the resources to go public, so as to prevent listed companies from raising admission ticket prices. However, in China, ticket incomes are the most important moneymaking outlet for every tourist destination, particularly in scenic spots where traditional culture and religious resources are used as highlights to attract tourists.
In other countries, when traditional cultural resources like museums and churches are listed as public welfare programs, they are only allowed to ask for symbolic payment for entrance. For example, the recommended ticket price of Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is $25, and the less advantaged group of people can pay less if they choose to. In Paris, the museum pass is set at 39 euros($47) for two days and 54 euros ($66) for four days. The basic ticket for the Louvre is only 11 euros ($13). Most religious and cultural institutions depend on social welfare funds for survival and operation, encouraging charity and public welfare.
In China, it’s still impossible to support all cultural and religious places through charity donations, although some religious institutions manage to do it. In the latter case, it’s necessary to separate religious, historical and cultural resources from tourism programs and make sure that tourism companies’ assets do not cover religious places.
Yan Yang (www.people.com.cn): There is no precedent anywhere in the world of religious institutions’ getting listed on the stock market. Some travel agencies claim that what they send to the stock market is not the religious institutions, but their surrounding tourism resources. Without these religious sources, however, will the places still be able to attract tourists? And how can you then ensure the religious purity of these holy sites?
Involving Buddhist mountains in the stock market is really an upgraded version of regular scenic spots’ going public. When it gets listed on the stock market, a scenic spot naturally becomes a company. In China, admission tickets are the major means used by tourist sites to make profits. Almost every three years, the ticket price is raised. High prices tend to deter potential tourists and keep ordinary people away from these valuable places of interest and also hinder further development of China’s tourism industry. Once the profit motive is added to a tourist destination’s operating mode, rising ticket prices is inevitable.
Not only should religious places be prevented from going public, but also the same should apply to ordinary scenic spots. Otherwise, China’s tourism will suffer in the process of meddling with the market.
Ma Zhenguo (www.163.com): Buddhism is widely recognized for being aloof to the pursuit of money, and so should be Buddhist mountains. Some people think it’s good for the mountains to go public, because it will add revenue to the site’s operations. More money could allow them to polish their old temples and buy enough tributes to put in front of figures of Buddha. But if these sites all focus on making money and forget about the cultural and religious connotation of Buddhism, then the market involvement may be harmful. Historical precedence suggests that today’s Buddhist temples are no longer holy places for studying Buddhist sutras and meditation, as many have instead become huge commercial organizations hidden under cassocks.
When so many prestigious Buddhismrelated mountains are rushing to be listed on the stock market, the religion’s purity is distorted, and the public’s belief in Buddhism is also compromised. For centuries, Buddhist mountains have been regarded as holy places, so imagine the disappointment people will feel when they are bombarded with an aggressive commercial atmosphere and distorted Buddhist culture.
Today’s Chinese society is lacking in belief, and the involvement of prestigious Buddhist mountains in the stock market will inevitably throw the public into a deeper sense of spiritual loss. Therefore, relevant departments should balance culture and profits when considering this issue. It’s not easy to make money, but it’s even more difficult to rebuild cultural and religious beliefs once they have been damaged.
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