Shaolin Temple move not wrong

Shaolin Temple in Henan province is in the news again - this time for seeking to employ two media talents to boost its image. The Buddhist temple's effort to attract public attention is understandable. But it should promote the culture that Shaolin is traditionally known for, says an article in Beijing News. Excerpts:

The two people Shaolin Temple has sought to employ are a media director of Shaolin Intangible Asset Management Co and the chief editor in charge of its new media accounts. Unconventional as the recruitment seems, the candidates seeking the jobs range from the project director of a leading real estate company to highly celebrated journalists, and their number is more than 300.

This has led many people to express concern, because they fear that instead of promoting the temple's cultural legacy, the marketing talents are seeking the job only for the lure of money.

Moreover, the debate on preserving traditional culture is a major issue between people inside and outside the temple. Temple officials want to use the Internet to spread the fame and influence of the temple, and people outside the temple hope that the temple's traditional culture remains unchanged.

Admittedly, some people may see the temple's move as an anachronism, especially because people who worship money may get the coveted jobs. But by seeking to expand its influence through the traditional and new media, the temple is not violating traditional culture. On the contrary, such efforts could be effective in making traditional Buddhism and Chinese culture better known to the outside world.

Therefore, the temple is not wrong in seeking media exposure as long as it does not go against the norms of traditional culture.