We Started the day out with class time where we learned some more religion specific things about Buddhism in preparation for the day ahead to Fo Guang Shan. We also went into deeper discussion and writing into the relationship between business and religion. We read a few related articles about the economic practices of Buddhist monks/organizations as well as possible Buddhist economics that could help address current economic problems and inequality. We also went over the scale, mix and make up of religious practices throughout Taiwan. This was pretty interesting because the mix and make up has been stable over the years.
After class time me and a couple of classmates decided to go get hotpot for lunch before we set off to Fo Guang Shan. This was the first time I had ever had hotpot and I think i will try to get it one more time before leaving Taiwan. Because of time restrictions we had to leave only about 35 minutes into our meal. Although we ate plenty owner of the restaurant thought it was funny that we ate so little.
I did not know that we would be going to the museum and not the actual monastery which was a little disappointing. However our volunteer tour guides as well as the nun that lead us through the museum where great and answered all of our questions without any hesitation. The museum was a large courtyard with 8 pagodas that lead to a huge Buddha statue where the museum was housed as pictured bellow.
All of the exhibitions where very interesting and insightful into not only Buddhism it self but also how various forms of it came to be in all different parts of the world. When it comes to the business side of this museum it was very clear the intentions. When you walk in the first thing you notice is a Starbucks and various other gift shops. The level of extravagance from the architecture to various pieces of priceless artifacts in the temples clearly showed wealth. The line seemed very blurred between religion and business like attractions. I am hesitant to compare it to a mega church like seen in the US because we did not actually see where the main portion of the actually monastery was. I find it interesting and confusing at the same time as when it come to the clear mass expenditure on a museum is it worth while to help people and society or would society be better off if the expenditure was elsewhere?