At the start of each year, believers flock to a central Taiwan temple to receive “lucky money”, coins distributed for free and meant to attract wealth in the coming year. To the temple directors’ dismay, however, such is the demand for their lucky money that some have turned to selling it online.
While selling these coins may bring in a profit, the temple board’s head says this behavior amounts to ripping off the god of wealth, and that it misses the entire point of giving lucky money out.
On January 1, a line stretching for four kilometers formed outside Zi Nan Temple in Chushan, Nantou County. This venerable old temple is known, among other things, for giving out free little coins of its own design. This is considered “seed money”, money blessed by the god of wealth that will attract further money to the bearer over the following year.
Unfortunately, some have decided not to wait for the cash to come in. They’ve taken to selling the coins online, or in one case, even conducting a live-streamed auction.
The temple’s head says this behavior is essentially the same as tricking the god of wealth. Acting in bad faith like this, he says, negates the whole purpose of giving out the coins in the first place—to share the blessings of the wealth god with believers.
Entrepreneurial or a crass violation of divine trust? What do you think?