Reincarnation is a Buddhist belief that links your behaviour in this life to how you will be reborn in the next. It’s not a concept that has an obviously commercial angle. But in China everything pretty much has a price tag. And according to the Shenzhen Evening News, the Yuantong Temple is offering to guarantee that your dearly-departed loved one will be reborn in America. Of course, to ensure rebirth with a US passport you’ll have to give Rmb500 to the temple, which is in Kunming.
Netizens have commented widely on the monks’ scheme. The more flippant point out that the temple is offering tremendous value for money. That’s because a standard visa to the US will cost applicants Rmb1,000. “The Buddhist monks are well aware of Chinese people’s psychology,” acknowledged the Shenzhen Evening News, acidly.
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