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Here’s a riddle. Do the gods hear a cashless offering when it is inputted on a tablet-type terminal, or will only the tinkle of coins thrown into a traditional wooden offertory box suffice?
This is the conundrum facing Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines trying to keep up with the times by offering the convenience of modern technology so worshipers can make a donation even when they have run out of coins.
The merits of this practice have raised eyebrows in some quarters, with questions being raised about whether the gods will accept cashless payments for “saisen” offerings and whether it is impious to do so.
Some Buddhist institutions, as well as traditionalists, have expressed loud disapproval on grounds it may violate religious freedom.
CONTROVERSIAL EXPERIMENT
Last December, historic Byodoji temple in Anan, Tokushima Prefecture, set up a QR code system that accepts three payment applications, such as Amazon Pay, at its main hall.
The temple, said to have been founded more than 1,200 years ago by the famed priest Kukai (774-835), also known as Kobo Daishi, is registered as No. 22 on 88 pilgrimage sites on the island of Shikoku.
Surrounded by rice paddies, the temple welcomes visitors from around the world.
Worshipers have two choices when they make offerings. Drop coins in the wooden box, or enter the amount on a terminal by opening a payment application on a smartphone and scanning the QR code on the phone with the terminal.
“We did this to find out if the public will tolerate a cultural change, namely, the digitalization of money offerings to the deities,” said Shinryo Taniguchi, the 40-year-old chief priest of the temple.
Another reason lies in the central government’s goal to raise the ratio of cashless payments to up to 40 percent by 2027.
“I wanted to spark a debate,” Taniguchi said.
The experiment will expire at the end of 2020.
Taniguchi said his decision was also influenced by the presence of more foreign visitors. About 1,500 foreign nationals take part in the pilgrimage and visit the temple annually.
Foreign visitors often make offerings with coins in their own currency, which the temple cannot exchange for Japanese yen at banks.
To date, only a few visitors have used the cashless payment system. The temple said cashless payments from 50 or so visitors totaled 3,000 yen ($27).
“To be honest, it hasn’t won wide acceptance,” Taniguchi said.
He said some people have expressed strong opposition to the cashless payment system.
One visitor complained that the purpose of throwing coins in the offertory box is to alert Buddha to the fact an offering has been made through the sound the coins make when they land.
Another asserted that using a tablet to make offerings is akin to “playing around” and “rude to Buddha.”
Taniguchi said he realized that “worshipers make money offerings with heartfelt thoughts and attach much meaning to the practice.”
Nonetheless, cashless money offerings have spread to other temples and shrines.
Ougon Jinja shrine in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, and Myohoji temple in Fukuoka have also introduced a QR code-based payment system.
Yatsurugi Hachiman Jinja shrine in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, also accepts e-money that can be used locally as a payment for the offerings.
VIOLATING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM?
However, the Kyoto Buddhist Organization,which comprises about 1,000 temples and shrines in Kyoto Prefecture, is thoroughly against the cashless payment system.
In a statement in June titled “Reflecting on the original intention of money offerings,” the organization pointed to the possibility that freedom of religion could be violated if information on the amount of money offered and where it is kept are leaked.
The statement also noted that implementing cashless payment systems could prompt the government to start taxing contributions.
For religious corporations, income obtained through religious activities such as offerings from followers are exempt from taxation. On the other hand, profits from the sale of goods and parking lot fees are taxable.
If the cashless payment system takes root, temples and shrines would presumably be expected to pay fees to settlement business operators, the organization said. In that case, tax authorities may consider the offerings as a profit-making activity and start taxing them.
SPIRITUAL MATTER
Kunio Sakurai, a former professor at Tokyo Christian University who specialized in taxation issues involving religious institutions, noted that the practice of saisen “is a spiritual matter for religious followers and that they make offerings as a religious activity.”
“For this reason, it is unlikely that tax authorities will start imposing a tax on cashless offerings immediately,” he added.
But Takayuki Tokuno, an associate professor of Buddhist Studies at Komazawa University, offered a different perspective on the issue.
He said the faithful customarily offer saisen when they pray for a wish to come true, whereas in the past it was a sincere prayer of thanks to the gods for their blessings.
Tokuno noted that in ancient times, people used to offer rice and other items.
But with the development of a money-based economy, offerings to the gods took on a monetary aspect.
“In the same way that offerings used to be made with items rather than money, it is possible that offerings will gradually change from money to cashless donations,” he said.
(This article was written by Tsunetaka Sato, Takumi Okada and Keiko Sato.)
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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201910010004.html