Is Buddhism meant to make a profit?

I read it. I was a little surprised to hear about your story.
Depending on the temple, I think there are annual fees, maintenance fees, and maintenance fees to maintain the temple. But to be honest, this is the first time I've heard that my son's tuition is included. The way of thinking may differ depending on the temple, but I still feel a sense of incongruity. I don't think the maintenance of a normal religious corporation has anything to do with my son's tuition fees.
Also, when it comes to offerings, the fact that they are expensive and cheap is common in the world, but originally, there is no expensive or cheap offering.
I think the reason I was told that it was small was because the temple thought that there was some approximate donation amount in order to maintain the temple, and it was small when viewed from there.
However, since I was told that, I don't think I have to pay a lot.
I don't know if they're saying it to maintain the temple or if it's simply greed.

Giving is a feeling. Since the intention is to make a memorial service with all my heart, it is natural that it changes from person to person.

Please be sure to communicate well with the temple from now on and make firm decisions.

It's fine. That's because your ancestors didn't keep a close eye on you.

Even at the temple where I work, I receive a protection membership fee from the parishioners every year. However, as the name suggests, it is mainly used for temple maintenance and repair. Also, we audit our accounts every year with representatives of our family members.

I think that temple is also properly auditing the use with representatives of the parishioners, but what do you think? If an audit is being carried out, it means that the people have approved it, and if there is no audit, it may be a bit of a problem.
Nonetheless, the rules differ depending on the meeting, so please ask the representative of the parishioners for details.

Also, in the annual memorial service, alms are given for each memorial service, but it is not normal to say few things. Because every family has its own circumstances. It's a bit disappointing for the same monk.

Also, if you quit being a parishioner, you should tell them that you will stop. However, if there is a tomb on the site of that temple, I think you will have to make it vacant and return it, or pay only the donation as a graveyard usage fee every year.

　There are no believers in my temple. Since it is a temple protected by the village as believers, there is no membership fee. In a sense, if you don't do something such as visiting the moon, the Eitai Sutra, or praying, you can't get alms, so I'm sometimes envious of temples that have devotees.
As for membership fees for believers, the chief priest and the chief priest discuss (general meetings several times a year) to decide the allocation of membership fees. The salary of the chief priest is included in the membership fee, and I think tuition fees for the chief priest's son are also paid in that salary. If everything is used for the temple, how will the family of the chief priest of the temple be supported? Not all memorial services and funeral offerings fall into the hands of the chief priest. Most of them are collected once at the temple in the same way as membership fees, and allocations are decided from there in the same way as membership fees. In this day and age, membership fees and donations are regarded as income and paid as taxes (income tax). I have to pay the head temple expenses. Life is probably not that easy. If luxury goods are too expensive, you can file a complaint, but even so, we recommend that you consult with the general manager. It seems that they were told how many offerings are given at memorial services, but I think this is a disrespectful chief priest. I think this is also because guidelines for donations were decided to some extent at the general assembly. The fact that there are people who don't know about it is a communication mistake. Let's talk to the president about the temple first. If you really want to change the temple, I recommend doing the head office.
Instead of mischievously criticizing temples, we should understand the situation better. This will be true for any person from now on. Please cultivate an eye for the truth without being misled by rumors.

Are those tuition fees high school or college?
The son of the temple may be registered as a monk as a disciple of the chief priest. In other words, it's a little boy who belongs to a temple.
If that little boy is the cost of studying necessary to become an Osho, I don't think it would be strange in terms of rationality to take it out of the temple (religious corporation) account.
I don't think it's strange to raise funds from parishioners for that purpose.
For tax purposes, if money for tuition is spent from the temple (corporation) to the chief priest or individual son, I think it will be treated as salary income.
Salaries to the chief priest have been increased as my son's tuition fees are being charged, so the annual fee has also increased by that amount.
Parishioners are not temple customers.
I am a member who runs a temple. It's like being a member of a club activity or club activity.
Therefore, it is normal for a temple to collect the necessary expenses by splitting the bill.
Imagine a grass baseball club member taking money and hiring a professional coach.
The parishioners are baseball club players, and the chief priest is a hired coach.
A parishioner is not a customer.
The main people who run the temple are parishioners.
Rather, the chief priest (coach) is the guest.
However, it's strange for monks to complain about the memorial service for the New Year's Memorial Service later.
If there is a local market price, it might be a good idea to tell them in a kind manner?

Gimmick-sama

This is Kawaguchi Hidetoshi. This is my humble answer to the question.

Buddhism aims at profit (riyaku) by eliminating people's hesitation and suffering, and of course it is not aimed at financial gain (rei).

Originally, the original way of being a monk is not to own anything that is the object of worldly obsession, and not to have anything more than the minimum necessary for ascetic practice.

The reason why such monks were able to maintain Buddhism from the reign of Shakyamuni until Nalanda Monastery was largely due to the protection of the nation and the presence of trustworthy clients.

Of course, even if there is no big client, it is possible to cover the minimum amount of living through alms, etc.

However, in the midst of changes in the times and society, it is truly unfortunate that in terms of the way monks and temples are supposed to be here in Japan, since the temple system was established according to the national (shogunate) policy in the Edo period, there are places where that custom remains in a conventional manner even today, and originally, things that are supposed to be optional for donations and maintenance fees (membership fees) have become semi-compulsory.

Under such circumstances, it is possible to ask questions, but I would be happy if you could make use of precious Buddhism as Buddhism in your life.

Also, if you still feel that there is a problem with the qualifications of monks and temples, apart from Buddhism, I also know that it is important for the preservation and survival of Buddhism, as a single family, to work on what you can do and receive corrections so that the question can be solved as much as possible.

If you don't mind, I would be grateful if you could do what you can to make corrections.

Kawaguchi Hidetoshi Gassho

Gimmick-sama
Hello. I took a look.

Even if you say “temple” in one word, there are various internal facts, so saying “this is normal” is quite difficult, but I would like to think about it in the form of “only the various temples I know.” I presume that the breakdown of goji fees has been announced was probably decided during a meeting between the head (representative) of the parishioners and the chief priest. This is also speculative, but I think it is the cost of training to inherit the temple in the future. As far as I know, I've never heard of a temple with such a detailed breakdown, so I wonder if the president's opinion is even more included. If you know the president of the temple, I think it would be a good idea to ask. If you know the circumstances, etc., there may also be parts where you can be convinced. If the opposite is still the case, I think it would be good to tell the president that intention.

In many cases, the amount of the offering is usually decided by the parishioners. It's wide, though. Even so, I've never heard anyone say “few.” If there's no reason, I wonder if it's a bit before they're a monk or not.

If you want to get out, I think it's okay to get out, but I think it's easier to quit even if you talk to the general manager. Gassho