First ring of Lingfengchan Temple in Ningbo sold for 0,000 yuan

The Buddhist Association of China has criticized the online auctioning of privileged access to temples via Alibabas Taobao online shopping website during Spring Festival.

In a statement released on Monday, the association said the auctioning of access to a number of temples in Zhejiang and Shaanxi provinces could damage the reputation of the religion and mislead the general public.

Online auctions to sell limited access to religious events, including the burning of incense and bell pealing, were launched on Taobao.com by a number of temples earlier this month.

"We are not against the auctions themselves. But the value of religious activities such as incense-burning and bell pealing cannot be measured by money," the statement said.

The incident is the latest controversy surrounding e-commerce giant Alibaba and its subsidiary consumer-to-consumer platform Taobao.com. Taobao was blasted by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce last month for failing to supervise the large number of fake and shoddy products.

The Buddhist association said the religion would accept charity events that use auctioning to gather donations, but the auctioning of privileged access to temples could damage the religions social image of being "tranquil and solemn".

For the countrys large number of Buddhist believers, it is a tradition to attend incense-burning and bell-pealing events at temples during the Spring Festival period, which begins on Feb 19 this year, to pray for blessings.

Opportunities to present the first incense to the Buddha or to ring the first bells at temples for the traditional Chinese New Year are highly prized.

An event to ring the first bell of the traditional Chinese New Year at the Lingfengchan Temple in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, was won by a bidder who offered 10,000 yuan ($1,600) at paipai.taobao.com, Taobaos auction service website.

In another auction on the website, an invitation to offer the first incense to the Buddha at the Huilong Ancient Temple in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, was won by a bidder who offered 21,501 yuan.

The association said that the activities did not originate from the religion itself.

"Burning incense is a way for followers to gain merit. But the amount of merit the follower can gain through the activity is not decided through the timing of the burning but through the piety of the follower," it said.

The same goes for the bell-ringing events, the association said, as "the followers visiting the temples and hearing the ringing of the bells is enough to gain the merits".

"As a religious activity, the bell-ringing must be conducted by monks in the temples. Lay Buddhists or followers should not strike a religious item in a casual manner," the association said.

LINK:	http://en.nbwh.gov.cn/art/2015/2/25/art_1325_65817.html...
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