All of this opulence, all of this splendour and gold, all of this wealth is not for the homeless outside in the park sleeping in their cardboard boxes while the temperature drops to below 0. It is not for the benefit of the devout that they may find awareness and enlightenment. It is not for the monks that they may study the teachings.
It is not for the benefit of the living at all. It is for the “souls” of the dead. This is a Japanese Buddhist temple, a place for the dead. You see, Japanese temples serve only one purpose, the reciting of prayers and performing of funeral rites for the dead that they may cross over into the heavenly realms and not come back to haunt their family.
