hasunoha

A monk who rides a super luxury car such as a Ferrari

There is a nationally famous temple in my hometown, and I learned that the monk there has owned super luxury cars such as Ferraris and McLaren for many years. Recently, it seems that they own a McLaren whose second-hand price sometimes exceeds 100 million yen. When I asked my parents, they said they have been famous locally for a long time.

Speaking of monks among me, is it natural for them to live a simple life? I was very surprised because I thought so. I think driving around in a super luxury car is a mass of worry, but is there no problem with Buddhist teachings or monks that monks own a super luxury car?

6 Zen Responses

Please know,

I read it.
As you said, boys who drive luxury cars and sports cars are a mass of worry, a mass of desire, and a fool.
It's like going out of your way to advertise yourself as a fool.
Please be aware that there are such foolish people among boys.
I think boys who do such foolish acts stand out, but there are few. Basically, boys don't live well-off lives, and they live devotedly by respecting the Buddha, believing in Buddhism.
Please know that not all idiots are full of such greed.

I sincerely pray to the Buddha and your ancestors that you will be blessed with a relationship with the Buddha and that you will be able to live a truly rich and happy life together with all of you.

Don't worry, people always die, and at that time, you'll have to leave all of your Ferraris and McLaren behind. What's more, according to Buddha's teachings, neither Ferrari nor McLaren have any meaning.

Extra care

“Speaking of monks, it is natural for them to live a simple life”
“Is it true that monks own super luxury cars without problems with Buddhist teachings or monks?”

If you don't like something, don't write behind your back in a place like this, and go to that temple yourself to complain. Or maybe you don't have that kind of courage after all?

By the way, from where to where is simple, and from where to where is luxury? If the monk in question abandons his Ferrari or McLaren and switches to a rusty bicycle that makes a squeaky sound of brakes, would you be satisfied? If you throw away the latest smartphone and reinstall a dial-type black phone, will the problems in your life be solved? If you only go to a nearby river to do laundry, dig a hole at a time in the bathroom, and rely on candlelight to read sutras at night, will your life's challenges be achieved?

hasunoha.tenrakuin@gmail.com

I'm sorry.

I also admired Oda Mumichi
This is Kuchi who entered the temple...
But as I listened to the Dharma
That desire also withered away.
To be honest, I don't envy that kind of life.

just
Because of some Kinman temples
What seems to be the case with every temple
It's very annoying.

though
Being such a wealthy temple parishioner
There are also parishioners I'm proud of.
Because the parishioners don't say anything
I guess that boy can ride a Ferrari too.

A life commensurate with income

From the perspective of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism, I don't think it's a bad thing to live a life commensurate with income.
The statue of Kannon Bosatsu and the like has pretty luxurious accessories.
I think it's a mistake to take unreasonable luxury by stealing or getting into debt, but that monk probably has income to buy luxury cars.
In modern society, consumption commensurate with income also contributes to the local economy, so it also helps people.
Of course, that's impossible for monks in the Buddha's time.
In terms of Buddhism, drinking 120 yen sparkling wine is a violation of the precepts rather than riding in a luxury car, but many Japanese monks also drink alcohol normally.

Karma

Saint-Maximin-sama

I'm a redneck who first learned that there is a luxury car called McLaren. I appreciate a pillow that makes me sleep better, even with the same macra..

There are always rich people and poor people, talented people, and disadvantaged people in the world...

There's nothing you can do about it either with a lot of effort... I wonder why...

However, in Buddhism, I believe that all things and things always have a causal relationship (cause and condition).

But if you think about it with common sense, there are times when you think it's impossible, absolutely strange...

Maybe it is one such thing.

However, this does not mean that it is impossible or absolutely strange; it is because there are actually things that cannot be achieved in this life alone, such as the behavior and environment of this life alone.

Not only in previous lives, but also in past lives, causal relationships are involved in reincarnation that is repeated over and over again, which is daunting.

Speaking of which, there were many opinions that criticized people who are monks and entertainers twice, such as why is that possible, and even at that time, there were many opinions that criticized marriage, such as whether marriage is permitted or whether luxury is good at a wealthy temple, etc., but if they are judged only by their current behavior, environment, etc., this will inevitably happen.

It's the same for each of us.

Causal relationships from past lives, and in particular, the effects of karma (karma), are something that befalls both good and bad things, unmistakably, as causal retaliation and self-worth.

This is one such example.

Conversely, it's unavoidable to think that such a bad person, no matter who thinks about it, can become extremely rich or marry someone so beautiful that they are envious or jealous.

Rather than about other people, it is important to understand well that the work is true, and in Buddhism, it is important to walk the path to enlightenment by taking steps to smoothly adjust that work.

Of course, it is undeniable that originally, as a monk who should walk the path to pure enlightenment, there is naturally a sense of incongruity... Let's pretend to be myself again by pretending to be something else.

Kawaguchi Hidetoshi Gassho

That's a fair point..

There is a sentence in Shoisho called “You don't know the two things about good and evil in general.”
I don't know what's good and what's bad.. It means.
If the chief priest doesn't buy a luxury foreign car, there may simply be a balance of 100 million yen left in the bank account. Banks may have used part of their deposits to make loans widely. Also, due to the sale of luxury foreign cars, sales of automobile sales companies increased, and the lives of various people involved in the business and their families may have been saved. The National Tax Agency may recognize that luxury foreign cars have nothing to do with temple legal affairs, regard it as income for individuals, and press individual chief priests to file revised returns for progressive taxation and late tax payments. Everything is based on the logic of cause and effect. I think the important thing is to see things correctly through those events.