'Rent-a-monk' business thrives

"“That ignores the spirit of donations,” Iwagumi said, noting that monks are not supposed to expect financial rewards for performing their duties."

Now that's the joke of the century.

Buddhist priests drive around in fancy cars, are good catches for girls to marry, and have huge tax-free income - often from car parks etc. (In Japan, anyway)

But when they sell (I mean people donate 100,0000 yen for a kaimyo for their beloved its easy to see why they do so well.

The biggest scam going.

Do we mean 'monk', or do we mean 'priest'?

As for the donation system, there may be 'norms' similar to those for cash gifts at weddings etc, but when times are tough, the families are very free to scale down their donations, and certainly do that. The temple provides the same services regardless, and its income is very unpredictable. No doubt there are some priests and temples which are a bit too interested in the financial side of things, but in general that is not the case. Temple revenue is not taxed but salaries are taxed in the normal way. The concept of all Buddhist priests in Japan being rich and money-focused is mostly a myth, albeit one that many Japanese people also tend to believe.

@theeastisred

The concept of all Buddhist priests in Japan being rich and money-focused is mostly a myth, albeit one that many Japanese people also tend to believe.

I agree, it's not all of them, but the ones that are are really conspicuous about it, going on TV and bragging about how expensive their robes are, showing off their side-business bars, etc. They do a huge disservice to the other priests, as much if not more so than these rent-a-monks.

Buddhist priests drive around in fancy cars, are good catches for girls to marry, and have huge tax-free income - often from car parks etc. (In Japan, anyway)

Some of them. I used to know a monk, and he had to work part-time as a system engineer to be able to support himself and his family. When I expressed surprise, he told me that most monks do, it's only the owners of the temple that make lots of money off it.

My friend had to organize his mother's funeral. He was shocked to discover that the "suggested" donation was 1 million yen! Unbelievable!

Funnily enough he lost his faith after that...

Next thing you know they'll be getting foreigners to dress up as pastors and perform weddings....

most monks do, it's only the owners of the temple that make lots of money off it.

Again, we are talking about priests here, not monks (who live secluded lives away from most contact with society). The head priests of temples are not 'owners'. They may or may not make lots of money.

Again, we are talking about priests here, not monks (who live secluded lives away from most contact with society). The head priests of temples are not 'owners'. They may or may not make lots of money.

Ok, I got the terminology wrong. Doesn't change what I'm saying.

As for owners, temples are owned. Maybe not all of them (I don't know), but some of them definitely are.

They are owned by the Buddhist organisations that run them. They are not owned by individuals. Perhaps you are referring to the fact that the priesthood at a particular temple is often passed down from father to son through the generations. That is not the same thing as ownership, though.

My friend's family owns a temple.

Not literally.

https://books.google.co.jp/books?id=krxXMkPWP1QC&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq=japanese+temple+ownership&source=bl&ots=xkoNfsQWno&sig=qbGs4QXJCFaN-Wzgv3mhhaAaxJw&hl=ja&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjqi5C2vPPRAhWKWrwKHSg_Cy0Q6AEIPzAH#v=onepage&q=japanese%20temple%20ownership&f=false

Ok, I just read that. I actually went back and read from the start of the chapter.

It does support your premise that head-priesthood is passed down. However, if you read it objectively, it does not say anywhere that there are no privately owned temples, nor that such a thing can happen.

I contacted my friend to clarify with him. I asked him if his family owned the temple, or if they were just the head priests. He said they owned it. Now, he himself may be misunderstanding the situation, it's not his immediate family, it's his relatives.

So as of now, I don't see a definitive answer in either direction. I know a guy that says his family owns the temple, and you showed a book that discusses passing down the head-priesthood through familial lines. I can't conclusively draw an answer from that myself.

Now, that all said, this is all a detraction from my original point, was that not all priests are rich and driving BMWs with huge salaries, as gaijinpapa claimed in his original reply.

not all priests are rich and driving BMWs with huge salaries, as gaijinpapa claimed in his original reply.

That I do agree with. It's a lazy stereotype frequently perpetrated by many including many Japanese. As for the temple ownership thing, maybe your friend belongs to a sect where individual ownership is possible. It is not possible in the major sects like Sotoshu, in my understanding.