Some things are sacred. But that often seems open to question in the face of the global onslaught of commercialism, such is its appetite for almost anything that is marketable, or lends cachet to marketing. Show business and sporting icons have long profited from a lucrative sideline in endorsing products with their images and names.
It no longer arouses much comment when even venerable social institutions give in to the temptation to exploit their good names and reputations for profit.
The Buddhist monks of the Shaolin monastery in Henan province have raised more than a few eyebrows, however, with an audacious plan to host an international film festival next year. As we report today, the aim is to capitalise on the fame the monastery has earned through association with many kung fu movies, notably Stephen Chow Sing-chi's box-office hit Shaolin Soccer.
Shaolin Abbot Shi Yongxin is quoted as saying a film festival could make the ancient temple a truly international venue for culture exchange. Put this way it sounds a positive initiative.
The Shaolin monastery, however, is one of the holiest Buddhist temples in mainland China. Founded in 495 AD, it is the cradle of Chinese Zen Buddhism and the Shaolin martial arts.
In modern times, thanks to the god of commercialism, its reputation as a teaching centre of Buddhism has been overtaken by its fame as a martial arts school.