A Study On The Economic Structure And Mode Of Contemporary Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries

Monastery economy is an important and special research field in economics.However,most of the researches on monastery economy are from the perspective of western economics.Western economics emphasizes economic maximization and maximization of interests,while Buddhist ethics and Buddhist economics tell us how to balance the relationship between human and nature resource,to get peace and eternity.This study based on Buddhist economics,trying to explain the economy structure of Samye monastery.Samye monastery is the first monastery in Tibet,and it has significant position at Tibetan Buddhism.Thus,to research on the contemporary economy of Samye monastery,we could see how the monastery use the advantage to raise itself.This article has combed the historical background of the establishment and development of Samye monastery.This article is using Buddhist economic theory,takes the economic income and expenditure of contemporary Samye monastery as a clue.Through the consultation of the data and the interview with the monks,the various types of income and expenditure involved in the economy of the monastery are obtained.Through the analysis,it is concluded that the Samye monastery is the comprehensive economic model.For another side,Monastery economy is not only a support of social charity but also a bridge between state and the ethnic regions.Thus,we can say the monastery and its economy played a certain role for the stable development of the society.Finally,the author compares the economic model of Samye monastery with the economic model of Shaolin Temple and Kumbum Monastery,to get their characteristics of the economic models,and make some suggestions on the economic development of Samye monastery in the future.This study has five parts.The first part mainly expounds the purpose and significance of this study,as well as the relevant theoretical background and policy background.The second part outlines the basic situation of Samye monastery,including the geographical environment,natural environment,products and folk culture of the town.The third part is the main part of this article,according to the 5 years income and outcome figures,we can figure out how and how many businesses are taken by Samye monastery,that we can go for the further analysis and study of the economy on next part.The fourth part mainly studies the characteristics of the economic operation mode of Samye monastery by studying the income and expenditure.To combined Buddhist culture and the historical Samye monastery,the Samye town has great potential for development.The fifth part,through the analysis of the two typical Buddhist monasteries: Shaolin Temple and Kumbum Monastery,draws a conclusion that the different patterns of the monasteries depend on the different geographical conditions.From anther's point of view,the economy is the foundation of the development and inheritance of Buddhism,but how to consider the relationship between the Buddhist inheritance and the economic development requires us more wisdom.