is money good for offerings?

Hello.

Basically, the recipient should not talk about the content or amount of the offering. In the first place, offerings are fundamentally offerings to the principal image, so they are not directly “earned” by monks. In that sense, I don't think the temple's statement is good.

I don't know the circumstances behind it, but can I change the temple I belong to?

If there are circumstances that cannot be changed, I think it would be a good idea to directly try to suggest that the number of prayers is reduced (every other month, limited to Obon, equinox, and memorial services).

However, it is unsettling to criticize it so one-sidedly.
That “temple” is where you say critically that “other jobs are also being done” and “life is not difficult at all.” This is because, starting with the area where you live, there are many temples where you cannot support your family by simply offering a temple offering.

You're saying “I have other work to do,” and you'll be able to afford it.
However, if you look at it from the standpoint of a temple, it probably means that you have to do “other work” because you can't live in a temple alone. I often hear people around me saying that working part-time is more difficult than it seems.

This is because there are almost no days off throughout the week.
This is because I work on weekdays and work at the temple on Saturdays and Sundays.
Isn't it possible to look at “going on trips a few times a year” as at least taking a break?

I'm just suggesting that it's better to be flexible in how you look at things.
I have no intention of defending either side.

I hear that there are regions where the amount of “offerings” is uniform due to arrangements between members of the temple they belong to.

Anyway, there are many factors that can be considered.
When I looked at it from these various angles, if I came to the conclusion that the “temple” was strange, I thought I should deal with it as described earlier.

What is a temple
Because I often get sweets as offerings
No matter what, I tend to be left over.

From next time
Keep the amount of the offering as it is
Why don't you try without sweets?

and if they complain again
Against that temple
Maybe I need to think about it for a moment...

I don't know about that monk, but the real intention is that money is more helpful. When it comes to sweets, they are often served, so I think there are times when you can't eat them.
Monks also live on a salary system. Once the donation you receive is entered into the temple's account, you will receive a fixed amount of salary from there.

In my case, I am a deputy chief priest and my salary is zero. I'm at work. I have a family, so I sometimes go on trips.

They are by no means wealthy.
I don't know the temple in the story, but to be honest, it's true that the amount of offerings is decreasing, the number of memorial services is decreasing, and the number of parishioners is decreasing in today's world. Rather than individual monks, I think income from the management part of the temple would honestly be helpful. It costs quite a bit of money just to maintain the building, such as insurance.

I think there are a lot of unexpectedly painful temples.
I think most of the monks who work go out to work for the temple. My income is low and I can't pay my salary, so I'm leaving to fill that gap. It's not a hobby.

Maybe I didn't have enough words or a bad way to say it, but please also know that many monks are pretty poor ^_^
Of course, there are disparities, so I can't say it unequivocally.

I'm sorry.
Honestly speaking, I'm happier with money than sweets.

I'm worried about my blood sugar level, so I'm offering sweets to children's cafeterias and the like.
If this amount of money becomes an offering or candy when handing out, it can be used for repair expenses...
There is also a part where I think.

Incidentally, I also work part-time and live on income other than the temple, but the repair costs are many times my annual income. There is no remuneration for the chief priest.
I'm doing my best to repair the temple.

Rather than restoring Ishigaki, I wish I could send it to my son's remittance... There is a conflict.

However, I thought it would be outrageous to change the temple I belong to.
I think the parishioners system is more about the relationship between a team called a temple and a family rather than an individual.
Furthermore, I believe that parishioners and believers are in a position of shareholders rather than consumers.

Temples are also corporations. I thought it would be okay to consider how to use confectionary costs, disclose financial conditions, and present improvement plans before easily responding to the wage increase for donations, but if it seems difficult, it might be healthier not to ask for it.

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Thank you very much for your response.
I see.
If you're depending on living expenses after retirement, you can imagine it somehow.
If it were the Showa era, they might go through with anger rather than explanation, but in Reiwa, that attitude is disheartening.
If it's difficult to raise them, I think you should gently refuse an increase in the price of alms.
It may be better for the temple to save and invest in the next chief priest rather than being consumed by the obsessive generation.

As for the repair of my own house, I was asked for donations a few years ago when I was in my father's generation.
My current parishioners were thankful enough for that alone, so now it's my turn to make management efforts.

If I'm on the money side, before I talk about money easily, I would like to first present the way a temple should be that can provide peace of mind for just paying money, rather than just repairing a box, and conveying the value.
(This is a natural task in crowdfunding)

If they find a reason to invest in temple activities, the parishioners will also increase their capital, and I think new investors will also appear.
We are still in the process of creating a vision for the temple to match that, so we are in the process of making visible repairs with donations.