deadhippo
先輩
- 9 Apr 2005
- 360
- 30
- 38
One day I was on my way to work and this large Mercede Benz (I guess they are all large) stopped at the side of the road. A monk got out and walked over to the Takarakuji shop and bought some lottery/lotto tickets.
I was shocked. I was wondering why a man of the cloth would be buying lottery tickets and moreover why he was driving such a fancy car.
For a while I asked many questions about these monks.
One of my friends told me her high school friend became a monk and took over his fathers temple. He cried when he had to shave his hair and he dresses hip-hop style on the weekends. (Apparently being a monk is a Monday to Friday job for some people).
Another friend told me she went to the temple when she got a new car, new house etc. to have the priest say a prayer of protection. She chose the cheapest prayer which cost ツ??000. I thought to myself those priests must make a lot of money for their church but no. They make a lot of money for themselves and they don't pay tax on it either.
I'm not a religious person but I don't think religion should be used for finacial gain. I'm not so naive as to think this is the only place/religion it is happening in but it is so open.
Why do people think thay can get protection/forgiveness from their God/ancestors by giving money to a monk? A man who is clearly more interested in money than in God for if he were really a good person he would say his prayers for free.
I was reading a column in the Japan Times the other day when I was stirre into anger. The article was about a young monk who has set up a shrine to pray for the souls of aborted fetuses.
He said
I was shocked. I was wondering why a man of the cloth would be buying lottery tickets and moreover why he was driving such a fancy car.
For a while I asked many questions about these monks.
One of my friends told me her high school friend became a monk and took over his fathers temple. He cried when he had to shave his hair and he dresses hip-hop style on the weekends. (Apparently being a monk is a Monday to Friday job for some people).
Another friend told me she went to the temple when she got a new car, new house etc. to have the priest say a prayer of protection. She chose the cheapest prayer which cost ツ??000. I thought to myself those priests must make a lot of money for their church but no. They make a lot of money for themselves and they don't pay tax on it either.
I'm not a religious person but I don't think religion should be used for finacial gain. I'm not so naive as to think this is the only place/religion it is happening in but it is so open.
Why do people think thay can get protection/forgiveness from their God/ancestors by giving money to a monk? A man who is clearly more interested in money than in God for if he were really a good person he would say his prayers for free.
I was reading a column in the Japan Times the other day when I was stirre into anger. The article was about a young monk who has set up a shrine to pray for the souls of aborted fetuses.
He said
To tell you the truth, my initial purpose in starting this temple was to make money. I'm a high school dropout. I was in the car business. Then I started a school for helicopter pilots. What was I? A playboy.