Temple commercialization criticized: official  

中国佛教协会副会长批“寺庙被承包”乱象

中国佛教协会副会长学诚法师5日在上海表示，之前被媒体曝光而引发社会持续关注的“被承包”寺庙，大多不由佛教界自主管理，且大多不具备宗教活动场所资格。

Shanghai (CNS) -- Xuecheng, Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China, has charged that the commercialization of Buddhist temples has seriously damaged the reputation of the temples and offended believers in Buddhism.

Commenting last Tuesday on temples going public or contracted for other business purposes, Master Xuecheng warned that the practice is stirring public doubt about the integrity of these holy shrines.

He attributed the worst effects of commercialization to a lack of supervision and law enforcement, the public's poor grasp of the Buddhist faith, as well as the national Buddhism system failing to provide sufficient management support.