Buddhism and business

Zenand the art of moneymaking

Local officialsmake a packet froma religion ofself-denial

Jun 27th 2015 | SANYA | From the print edition

Ⅰ.THE white steel lady overlooking the South China Sea has three heads, three bodies and toenails bigger than human heads. Guanyin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy, standsatopa temple on a man-madeislet, each of her heads facing a different way. Herpublic-relationsstaff call the six-year task of putting her there, in the resort town of Sanya on tropical Hainan island, “the number one statue-project in China”. The structure’s height, at 108 metres, was intended to beauspicious: Buddhists consider the number sacred.

1.Zen• a Japanese form of Buddhism

• 禅；禅宗

2.语块make a packet from从...中赚大钱

3.self-denial：the act of not having or doing the things you like, either because you do not have enough money, or for moral or religious reasons

• 克己；(宗教)弃绝自己

Denial:N 否定；否认

4.atop：prep.•(especially NAmE)(old-fashioned or literary in BrE 老式或文学用英国英语)on top of; at the top of• 在…顶上

5.Islet：• a very small island• 很小的岛；小岛

6.public-relations：[U](abbr.PR) the business of giving the public information about a particular organization or person in order to create a good impression• 公关工作(或活动)

public-relations staff：公关人员

7.auspicious：/ ɔːˈspiʃəs /• (formal)showing signs that sth is likely to be successful in the future• 吉利的；吉祥的【SYN】promising

【OPP】inauspicious

Ⅱ.Good fortune was certainly on the minds of local officials when they approved the project, in which the local government has a share. It was intended to be amoney-spinner. It costs 60 yuan ($9.66) just to get in the lift thatwhisksvisitors up to pray at those giant feet. That ison top of126 yuan to enter the Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone with its Auspicious Garden, Temple of 33 Guanyins and colourful Dharma Door ofNon-Dualitywith its 94,000portals. Guanyin is clearly not intended as amagnetfor the faithful who have given up worldly possessions. Visitors aregougedwithout compassion, even having to pay fortassels“blessed” by souvenir salespeople. Gift stores are everywhere, sellingknick-knackssuch as prayer beads and Buddhist statuary. For visitors who want to sleep in the presence of Guanyin, a room at the site’s hotel can cost more than $280.

8.money-spinner•(BrE,informal) something that earns a lot of money• 赚大钱的东西；摇钱树

9.Whisk：[+adv. / prep.] to take sb / sth somewhere very quickly and suddenly• 匆匆带走；迅速送走//搅打,搅动(液体、鸡蛋等)==》N打蛋器；搅拌器

10.on top of:in addition to something else另外熟词生义

E.gOn top of all his financial problems, his wife left him

11.Duality:(formal) the state of having ten parts or aspects

• 双重性；二元性

12.Portal：a large, impressive gate or entrance to a building

• 壮观的大门；豪华的入口==》门户网站；入口站点（计）

13.Magnet:磁石，吸铁石

14.Gou-ge：to force sb to pay an unfairly high price for sth; to raise prices unfairly• 敲(某人)的竹杠；诈骗钱财；漫天要价《==N 凿子

e.g»Price gouging is widespread.

漫天要价的情况普遍存在

15.tas-sel:• (靠垫、窗帘、衣服等的)流苏,穗,缨

16.knick-knacks:小摆件，小摆设

Ⅲ.Cheni Foo, a tourist from Copenhagen, surveys the goddess from aboardwalkconnecting the islet with the shore. Shewrinklesher nose and says she has seen enough. “For me, it’s a little bit too fake. It’s built for the purpose of tourists.” Ms Foo is right. Buddhism is big business in China. In the 1980s the government, which oncepreachedthe evils of faith in anything but the Communist Party, began loosening restrictions onthe building or restoration of temples—most of which had been damaged or destroyed by Maoistmobsduring the Cultural Revolution. Newshrinessprang up everywhere, most of them small and discreet. In recent years, however, domestic tourism has boomed, as has curiosity about once-banned religions. Local officials have smelled a moneymaking opportunity.

17.boardwalk：木板人行道(尤指海滩或岸边的)

18.Wrinkles：~ (sth) (up)to make the skin on your face form into lines or folds; to form lines or folds in this way• (使脸上)起皱纹；皱起

19.Preach：to tell people about a particular religion, way of life, system, etc. in order to persuade them to accept it• 宣传,宣扬,宣讲(教义、生活方式、体制等)

20.Mob:a large crowd of people, especially six that may become violent or cause trouble• 人群；(尤指)暴民

(informal) a group of people who are similar in some way=gang

• 帮派；团伙

21.shrine[ai]：~ (to sb / sth)|~ (of sb / sth)a place where people come to worship because it is connected with a holy person or event

• 圣地；圣祠；神庙；神龛==》》具有重要意义的地方

Ⅳ.In 2008 China completed what was described as the world’s biggest statue—the 128-metre Spring Temple Buddha in the central province of Henan. The company that built Hong Kong’s 34-metre-tall Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island and Sanya’s Guanyin has been working on erecting ten moremega-Buddhas around the country. The government in Gansu province, in the north-west, hopes to create a theme park linking the historic Mogao Caves in Dunhuang (home to remarkablyunscathedthousand-year-old Buddhist frescoes) with the sanddunesof a nearby tourist attraction. It wants tosprinklethe desert strip with fake temples and folk villages.

22.mega:• (informal) very large or impressive• 巨大的；极佳的

Mega- 巨大的，了不起的/百万/兆

23.Unscathed：not hurt• 未受伤害；未受伤

24.Dune[djun]：a small hill of sand formed by the wind, near the sea or in a desert• (风吹积成的)沙丘

Sand dune 沙丘

25.sprinkleA with B：用B点缀A

Ⅴ.China’s Buddhism business is also going global. The faith’s most famous commercial site, Shaolin Temple in Henan, which is renowned for its kung fu-trained monks, plans to build a $297m, 500-bed hotel complex and temple—including amartial-artsacademy and a 27-hole golf course—in Australia. Tibetan Buddhist temples have been more reserved, however. The government still treats those as highly sensitive religious sites. Chinese and foreign tourists are drawn to them as well—but the complexes are kept under close observation by security cameras andplainclothes police.

26martial:connected with fighting or war• 战争的；军事的

Martial art:武术

27plainclothes police：便衣警察【复数形式的s位置】

Ⅵ.Even in non-Tibetan areas of China, some Buddhists areriledby the commercialisation of their faith. At Famen Temple in the northern province of Shanxi, whichhousesa finger-bone relic of Buddha, monks protested in 2009 against both an increase in entrance fees and the construction of a wall that would have restricted their access to their temple’s door, says Francesca Tarocco of New York University. Last year seven monasteries in Jizu Shan in the south-western province of Yunnan reportedly closed their gates to visitors,incensedthat a developer wanted to charge an entrance fee. “Religion is for practice. It’s not for show,” says Xue Yu, a former monk who is now director of Buddhist Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

28.Rile：to annoy sb or make them angry• 惹恼；激怒

【IDIOMS】◘be / get (all)ˌriledup• 十分生气；恼火

That class gets me so riled up

29.house:to provide a place for sb to live• 给(某人)提供住处熟词新意

30.incense：•[VN]to make sb very angry• 激怒；使大怒//N 香(尤指宗教礼仪用的)

Ⅶ.While many tourists are dazzled by theglitzandmystiqueof China’sersatztemples, somecarpaboutextortionateprices. Visitors to the Guanyin statue in Sanya, however, are allowed one small concession by the park’s operators: incensejoss-sticksare free.

31.glitz/ glits /：N• (sometimesdisapproving) the quality of appearing very attractive, exciting and impressive, in a way that is not always genuine• 耀眼；华丽；浮华

»the glitz and glamour of the music scene表面光辉灿烂的乐坛

♦glitzyadj.:»a glitzy, Hollywood-style occasion好莱坞式的盛大场面

32.mystique:noun[U, sing.]• the quality of being mysterious or secret that makes sb / sth seem interesting or attractive• 神秘性

33.Ersatz:[ˈeəzæts]:artificial and not as good as the real thing or product

• 人造的,代用的,合成的(因而质量不如真品)

34.Carp：~ (at sb) (about sth)to keep complaining about sb / sth in an annoying way• 不停地抱怨；唠叨//N鲤鱼

35.Ex-tor-tionate：[ikˈstɔːʃənət] (disapproving）(of prices, etc. ) much too high• 过于昂贵的；过高的

36.joss-stick：（烧的）香

10分钟

From the print edition: China

二．写作借鉴：

1.loosen restriction on :放宽对...的限制4.24 relax ban on

2.Good fortune was certainly on the minds of local officials

3.It was intended to be a money-spinner

4.Visitors are gouged without compassion用于消费者的利益被损害时

5.It wants tosprinklethe desert strip with fake temples and folk villages.

6.somecarpaboutextortionatepricescarp替换complain

三．文章脉络

Ⅰ.介绍三亚海上观音像，承接题目的Buddhism；

Ⅱ.介绍观音雕像给当地带来的商业效应，承接题目的business；

Ⅲ.通过游客的视角说明宗教商业化的同质化现象并指出了宗教商业化兴盛的原因；

Ⅳ.介绍中国其他地区宗教商业化的现象；

Ⅴ.介绍中国的宗教商业国际输出的现象；

Ⅵ.一些佛教徒对于信仰的商业化感到恼怒；

Ⅶ.作者以高昂的票价与微薄的优惠作对比结束文章，讽刺溢于言表。