I think the comments made by your columnist Kevin Sinclair about Po Lin Monastery were unfair ('Buddhists who are fluent in the language of money', South China Morning Post, October 26).
What is wrong with monks trying to protect their existing rights?
Monks living in this samsara (the endless cycle of death and rebirth), like everybody else, have to concern themselves with money.
They have to pay for food and bills and be able to help the poor. They are responsible for the Big Buddha.
If they were unable to get sufficient funds from the vegetarian restaurant which enables them to pay for maintenance costs, they would have to ask for an admission fee for the Buddha, which is a worst option than the present state of affairs.
Buddhists believe that the sight of the image of the Buddha plants a seed in the heart of all living beings. In future lives the seed will ripen and help free these beings from samsara.