Sleeping in a temple is a gate to a profitable business.
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Column | Cultural tourism business story
Field | Hospitality industry
01
Fingers swiping between the screens, Ni Yi, a 36-year-old Shanghainese, was suddenly attracted by the green and quiet ancient temples.
This little red book note that moved Ni Yi, called "Emeishan 7 Days and 6 Nights Light Fasting Meditation", was held on May Day this year and cost 3,800 yuan.
Under the eye-catching topic, detoxification, meditation, oxygen, and natural healing are organically arranged together, waiting for the inquiry of "people with fortune".
The notes have received thousands of favorites and likes, but some people have asked their souls, "Don't give me food, don't have a mobile phone to play, and charge me money?" ”
But more young people are attracted by the green mountains of ancient temples and the fluttering robes of monks, and they are asking about registration methods and schedules.
The inherent "opening method" of long holidays has been changed, and lifestyles that compensate for mental internal friction have begun to rise, and MBA Tsinghua meditation classes and weekend meditation experiences have long been all over social media, alluding to the recent popularity of temple tourism.
According to Ctrip's data, since the beginning of this year, the number of ticket orders for temple-related scenic spots has increased by 310% year-on-year; Since February, nearly 50% of the people who book tickets to temple scenic spots are post-90s and post-00s.
When the Lama Temple in Beijing had a string of incense ash bracelets that were hard to find, and the bell that Suzhou Hanshan Temple needed to pay for was ringing tirelessly and repeatedly, temple tourism, once labeled as an "old man", entered the sight of young people.
In fact, doing business in a temple is not new, and a combination of meditation + temple is not uncommon.
Hangzhou Lingyin Temple, Huangshan Zilu Temple, Beijing Chaoyang Temple, Chongqing Wuling Temple, and many temples across the country offer meditation experience activities for the general public.
As early as 2001, the pagoda courtyard in Lushan, Jiangxi Province became the first to become an "Internet celebrity" among young people, and meditation camps began to be held here. Two years ago, a travel blogger posted his meditation experience on Xiaohongshu, which set fire here, and people continue to spontaneously check in, record and share it.
Actually, for most of them, it doesn't matter where they go. They just need a place to accept them, to temporarily withdraw from their worries and anxieties, to give both body and mind a respite.
But before the start of 2023, meditation and fasting were not closely combined.
Tian Si, who has visited Mount Emei several times, calculated the account, "The mountain is basically large and small temples can be accommodated, the bed fee for multiple rooms is basically about 50 yuan, and those with a refuge certificate can stay for one night for about 30 yuan, except for the teacher, which is equivalent to not much cost." ”
She thinks that this kind of meditation in the name of light fasting must be expensive, but it hits two pain points that young people focus on - weight loss and sleep.
After all, from the perspective of online performance, consumers' demand goals are very clear, and improving poor sleep and alleviating physical anxiety are the two most prominent needs.
"Meditation is secondary, suitable for people who don't want to spend so much time doing their homework, but also want to meditate and recuperate." Tian Si said.
Note bloggers are also well aware of this, and in a limited number of pictures, they desperately post testimonials of students' weight loss and the pure time after escaping the entanglement of mobile phones.
Although Tian Si, who used to live in Emei Mountain, can tell that some meditation classes are cutting leeks in the name of psychological counseling, fasting therapy, and meditation meditation, if they are not very picky about the meditation environment, a meditation class with thousands of yuan or tens of thousands of yuan brings young people a "sense of relaxation".
02
With the explosion of camping, frisbee, and cycling, the ground has been "rolled" and not moving, and people have "rolled" to the temple.
The reasons for young people to meditate on the mountain are different, but in addition to pragmatic improvement of sleep and weight loss, they can be roughly divided into the following categories: one is tired of "rolling" in an impetuous society and wants to find an opportunity to "lie flat" for a few days; The second is that there are a lot of things in the heart, there are many distractions that cannot be digested, and I want to find a place to calm down; The third is to feel that life is confused, cannot find their own direction, and hopes to seek the meaning of life.
There are more than 30,000 notes related to meditation in the Little Red Book, and the reason why meditation is so popular is also inseparable from its low threshold, and many young people start for the first time, all by self-study.
Xu Xinyu, a Guangzhou girl working in a leading e-commerce company, saw the introduction of a weekend meditation experience in the circle of friends, and was immediately full of interest, so she picked a free weekend and signed up.
She gathered in Zhujiang New Town, the most prosperous city in Guangzhou, and after departure, picked up a group of friends in the most prosperous place in Shenzhen, and then drove to a temple in Shanwei.
A car of nearly thirty senior brothers, arriving in the temple is already night, the bus is circling in the mountains, without looking at the navigation, it has long been impossible to distinguish their direction. When I got out of the car, I saw that it was pitch black, and I only smelled a faint smell of sea. There was a master who received them and arranged for them to stay, a room for twelve people, and they could hear the insects outside the window.
I slept lightly for one night and woke up at six o'clock the next day. After washing, he followed the master to do the morning class, and the main content of the morning class was the master's chanting, but Xu Xinyu couldn't understand it at all, and there was no text to refer to, so he could only feel its atmosphere.
Unlike imagined, the frequency of knocking wood fish is not high, most of the time the master is still reading, the solemn air makes it easy to calm down, of course, no one chats during the period, some senior brothers who often come here to meditate have even learned scriptures, although they are not very proficient, but they can also read a paragraph or two with the master.
It's a way of interacting with people, and language isn't that important sometimes.
After copying the scriptures in the afternoon, Xu Xinyu helped clean the temple again. In her view, saying that it is to help is actually a kind of practice, and cleaning up fallen leaves can be seen as a process of examining the relationship between man and nature. Some senior brothers are barbers, so they often help other senior brothers cut their hair in the guest hall as a way to do good.
Life is not only about the immediate situation, but also about incense and meditation, and even if the cost is high, the contrast and immersion experience brought by the temple practice itself makes some young people addicted.
Just like the current popular electronic wooden fish and cyberworship Buddha on the Internet, it forms a strong sense of contrast, so that young people can't help but want to go inside and enjoy the happiness of "big compassion" or "small compassion".
Similarly, some meditation merchants organize the naming of the classes that follow the practice of the monks in the temple, with lunch and dinner called "passing the hall" and zazen called "entering the meditation".
Unlike other consumption, spiritual consumption is not only the purchase of products, it actually contains a deeper exchange.
In short, every daily visible fragment of life is a Zen saying; Every word of communication hides a Zen machine.
Obviously, the essence of temple meditation is no longer meditation, it has become a new way for some young people to relieve their inner anxiety, and it is an emotional experience, like bamboo milk tea and tea brewed around the hearth.
03
In addition to meditation, hotels, homestays, camping, yoga, etc. have become "additions".
In the Lushan Scenic Area of Jiangxi, the driver master who solicited passengers was once confused. They often meet young people traveling alone and want to go to Xiaotianchi Mountain. Near the foot of the mountain, the young men climbed the steps and disappeared into the dense forest.
A person in charge of a meditation organizer in Jiangsu and Zhejiang told the travel industry that the healing space of meditation theme is very malleable, whether it is in resort hotels or campsites around temples, this modular extension space is very popular, and can even become a regular travel and vacation product.
In July 2020, Japan announced the launch of the first temple homestay booking platform "Teraba テラハクTerahaku" to provide visitors with temple experience services. At present, more than 100 monasteries have been launched on the website, and it is expected to exceed 3,000 in the next three years.
With thick tatami mats, futon mattresses, low tables with a fireplace and quaint doors, Shukubo satisfies all the imaginations of traditional Japanese accommodation.
Take Ninwaji Temple in Kyoto, for example, whose "Tera Po" service opened in May this year in hopes of bolstering its dwindling revenue by capitalizing on Tokyo's booming tourism industry.
To attract wealthy guests, the temple renovated a traditional Japanese-style wooden house. The renovation cost 157 million yen and included earthquake resistance, interior design, and landscaping. Only one group of people can stay at the temple each night, and this "sky-high price" does not include meals.
However, visitors staying here can enjoy the historic office of the High Priest, or immerse themselves in the rhythms of classical Japanese culture during court music and flower arrangement.
Temple boarding is also a travel destination to experience the daily life of a temple in a traditional Korean temple and feel the spirit of Korean Buddhist practice.
Some foreign tourists traveling to Korea can experience first-hand the peaceful daily life of the practitioners and the Korean Buddhist culture and traditional cultural activities at the temples that operate the residence of the foreign temples.
Korean temple boarding programs vary somewhat depending on the temple, but most of them include Buddhist rituals to correct Buddhist etiquette, meditation meditation, and Buddhist practice 108 prayers to exercise the body and mind. At the same time, you can also experience the temple food methods - bowl offerings and tea ceremonies.
The monastery is not only a shelter for the frustrated, it is far from the red dust, quiet, silent, and unchanging, in which people can think about some "metaphysical" questions, even if it is inevitable to stick to the slightest copper stench.
Out of concern about "not being able to eat", Ni Yi finally gave up the "7 days and 6 nights light fasting meditation in Emei Mountain" and came to the Nona Pagoda Monastery in Lushan to meditate carefully.
After paying enough money, she spent a lot of leisure time in the temple, reading books, meditating, and sometimes walking up to the height of the Nona Pagoda courtyard and circling around the white pagoda dedicated to the relic of Nona's pagoda. There is also a pavilion on the higher level, where you can see the sea of clouds in Lushan Mountain, as well as the sunrise and sunset every day.
Having experienced this kind of "meditation stay", Ni Yi believes that entering the monastery is to be better engaged in life later, so that she can truly understand the uncertainty of the present and seek a trace of peace.
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