AGAINST

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 on 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.

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 culture.

Yan Yang

www.people.com.cn

There is no precedent anywhere in the world of religious institutions' getting listed on the stock market. Some people 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 these 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 of profits at tourist sites. Once the profit motive is added to a tourist destination's operating mode, rising ticket prices are 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 Buddhist mountains should be as well.

Some people think it's good for the mountains to go public, because it will add revenue to the site's operations. But if these sites all focus on making money and forget about the cultural and religious values of Buddhism, then the market involvement may be harmful. Historical precedents suggest that today's Buddhist temples are no longer holy places for studying Buddhist sutras and meditation, as many have instead become huge commercial organizations.

When so many prestigious Buddhism-related 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.

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 on 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 become treated as just another tourism resource, with its spiritual quality 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? I doubt it.