Today we started the day with class where we took a deeper look into the intersection between business and religion in Taiwan. I found one article particularly interesting about the ethics behind Buddhists investing in the stock market. Business and religion have conflicting values, and often don’t intersect, so the discussion of the ethics behind temples applying for IPOs and Buddhists investing in the stock market raise many questions of morality.
Buddhist and temples investing in stocks means they are affiliated entirely with that business, which includes even controversial practices, like harmful environmental practices, scandals, etc., which conflict with Buddhist beliefs. There are significant tradeoffs between following one’s moral compass or religious beliefs and being viewed as successful as society, which is typically determined by wealth. This begs the question: do temples need to have wealth to be worshiped, therefore should they invest in the stock market to have power, and be viewed as successful by society? An argument to support the viewpoint of is that wealth earned from investments is used for spiritual purposes and society’s greater goods.
A counterargument to this could be that Buddhism isn’t about attaining power and wealth. However, the temples we have visited are ultimately extremely wealthy and powerful, which I believe is a factor that drives their success and makes them an attraction for both religious followers and tourists. This furthers the question of how to balance encouraging Buddhist principles in today’s capitalistic and highly competitive society.
This discussion also reminded me of experiences in my own life. Unfortunately, our society tends to not reward those who are morally ethical. Our society has taught people to value profitability over anything else, and being morally ethical typically aligns with high profits. In my lifetime, I have only had one experience where being ethical has rewarded me financially. Earlier this year, I owned Tesla stock because I had influences around me that encouraged me to invest because of its high earning potential. After repeated news came out about Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk and his work in DOGE, I felt conflicted because my investment in Tesla stock was providing strong earnings, but I did not support the work that Musk was doing. Against many people’s recommendations, I sold my stock, at what initially appeared to be a bad time. I was even criticised by friends after I sold my stock, because they thought it was a poor financial decision. The week after I sold my stock, news was reported that multiple Tesla charging stations had been set on fire in protest for Elon Musk’s controversial work in the government. As a result, the stock plummeted, and continued to decrease in the following months. Although it didn’t seem like the best financial decision at first, following my morals in this circumstance turned out to benefit me financially.
Ultimately, the question remains if religious principles can offer solutions to some of the ethical crises in today’s for-profit world. The conflicting goals of capitalism and religion present challenges when considering integrating business and religion. During our discussion, Mikey mentioned that Taiwan is becoming a global powerhouse, and it may be attributed to the fact that religion is so heavily integrated in business and everyday life.
After our discussion, we headed to Fo Guang Shan, where we went on a tour of the museum by a monastic nun. Being in that environment really gave me insight to what being a monk is like, and gave me an idea of the extreme dedication it takes to devote one’s life to Buddhism. I also really enjoyed seeing the Shrine of Buddha and hearing about Buddha’s lifetime, because I think it gave me more perspective into seeing why Buddhists believe what they believe.
One thing I wish we were able to do was visit the monastery where the monks and nuns reside. I was really interested in seeing the lifestyle of the monks who live there, and felt as though the museum didn’t give us a clear idea of their daily life. Overall, I really enjoyed the day and am grateful for the experience to see the Big Buddha and visit Fo Guang Shan.
