Ivory Urn for Top Thai Buddhist's Remains Sparks Debate

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BANGKOK, Thailand -- In Thailand, an urn has been carved from ivory to hold the remains of the country's top religious leader, who died last year. The production of the urn comes as Thailand faces international pressure to eradicate the world’s largest market for unregulated ivory.

<< An image of the urn is seen on the front page of the Bangkok Post.

Sometime next year, a ceremony will be held to transfer the cremated remains of Thailand’s late Supreme Patriarch into an urn made of ivory.

Somdet Phra Nyansamvara died last October at the age of 100.

The Supreme Patriarch or Sangharaja was the head of the Sangha Supreme Council, overseeing all Buddhist monks in Thailand. He was appointed by the King upon the prime minister’s recommendation.

Last month, photographs of the completed ivory urn for the late Sangharaja were on the front pages of newspapers in Thailand, where 95 percent of the population is Buddhist.

The ten kilograms of ivory used to carve the urn were taken three years ago from the tusk of a 70-year-old Thai bull elephant, named Thongbai.

The tusks of captive elephants are sometimes trimmed for health reasons.

In Thailand, some Buddhist leaders have called for congregants and temples to reject the use and trade of ivory, even if it's from live captive elephants. They note the demand for ivory drives the unsustainable poaching of elephants, a revered animal in the kingdom and in Buddhism.

The assistant abbot of the Golden Mount Temple (Wat Saket) in Bangkok, Phra Maha Napan Santidhaddo, said Buddhists are to avoid intentions or acts which would cause more animals to be harmed.

“In the case it's not harming any elephant it would be fine. But we have to be careful about the message that we send to the society that 'oh, it would be great if we can do the urn from the ivory.' And maybe it causes a new circle of destroying elephant life,” Napan noted.

In Thai tradition, ivory is considered a pure and auspicious material and donating it for the urn of a highly respected figure is considered meritorious.

Other materials for the Supreme Patriarch's urn were deemed inappropriate. Gold is reserved for royalty. Using marble, ceramic or wood would have been too pedestrian.

Phra Maha Napan sees the publicity about the Supreme Patriarch's ivory urn as a Buddhist teaching moment.

“We have to respect both sides, the environmentalists and the ones who have a strong belief in making merit. It's a great chance to educate both of them,” stated Napan.

Sales of ivory from domesticated elephants are legal in Thailand.

But the kingdom has no ivory registration system in place. Thus it is not possible to trace the origins of the lucrative product.

And that, according to the TRAFFIC wildlife monitoring network, creates a loophole for bringing illegal ivory from African elephants into the Thai marketplace.

Many Thais are not aware of the link between ivory and wildlife crime.

The head of Thailand’s department of national parks and wildlife, Nipon Chotiban, is calling for an amendment to existing legislation that would help bring the domestic ivory trade under control.

Thailand, last year, pledged to close its domestic ivory market. But a military coup this year displaced the civilian government. And with the junta expected to be in control until at least late next year it is unclear whether Thailand will be able to make good on its previous commitment.

A global regulator, expressing frustration with Thailand, is warning that the country faces a total ban on wildlife trade unless it soon brings the ivory situation under control.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (known as CITES), at a meeting in Geneva last month, set a March, 2015 deadline for Thailand to make significant progress or risk wide-ranging sanctions.

Colman O Criodain, a trade analyst for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), was at the meeting. He said the sincerity of Thai officials agreeing to act quickly in Bangkok eventually persuaded CITES against taking immediate action.

“Some member states were so incensed about the situation in Thailand that they were insisting on sanctions now. And it took a lot of persuasion to get them to back off. So, whatever, about Thailand being serious they need to recognize that the international community is serious about this and they won't be pawned off with excuses,” O Criodain said.

The sanctions would impact Thailand’s trade in species covered by CITES, including orchids and reptile leather.

CITES and environmental groups blame Thailand's de facto unregulated market for the illegal killings of African elephants.

CITES estimates more than 60,000 African elephants have been killed in the past three years, far outstripping their birth rate.

There is significant demand in Asia, especially in China, for ivory for jewelry, artwork and traditional medicines.

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Shrine's IPO plan sparks public outcry

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Shanghai, China -- The latest effort to float on the capital market by Putuo Mountain, a Buddhist site, has renewed discussions over whether religious venues should turn into high-profile commercial entities through initial public offerings.

<< Visitors gather near the Goddess of Mercy statue at Putuo Mountain, known as a holy Buddhist mountain, in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province. Putuo Mountain Tourism Development Co Ltd is gearing up to go public on the domestic capital market. [Photo / China Daily]

Putuo Mountain Tourism Development Co Ltd, a subsidiary company under the Putuo Mountain Scenic Management Committee, is gearing up to go public on the domestic capital market after prudent considerations and a year of preparation, a committee official told China Daily on Monday.

"We are set to raise around 750 million yuan ($118 million) to bolster the site's development," said Zhang Shaolei, who works for the committee, which is affiliated to the Zhoushan municipal government in East China's Zhejiang province.

The local authority is the driving force of the listing, Zhang added.

But he declined to reveal the timetable or comment on the revenue source or composition of the planned listed company.

Putuo Mountain Tourism Development Co Ltd was unavailable for comment.

The listing of companies linked to world-famous Chinese heritage sites is not new in the country's capital market.

For instance, Emei Shan Tourism Co Ltd, which is primarily engaged in the sales of admission tickets and the operation of tramways and hotels in Emei Mountain, another renowned Buddhist mountain, was listed in Shenzhen in 1997.

A more recent example is Famen Temple, another high-profile temple in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, which put the brakes on its IPO in May after preparing for a Hong Kong listing, according to the China Securities Journal.

The issues seemed to have touched the nerves of the government, which has criticized plans to promote tourism via temples, or temples banding together to go public for fundraising.

Xinhua News Agency quoted Liu Wei, an official with the State Administration for Religious Affairs, as saying last month that such plans violate the legitimate rights of religious circles, damage the image of religion and hurt the feelings of the majority of religious people.

"Looking at the rest of the world, no venues for religious activities have ever been packaged for listing before," he said.

Besides, the authorities are drafting documents to regulate policy boundaries that differentiate philanthropic endeavors from profit-driven activities, said Wang Zuo'an, head of the bureau.

Attempts to list religious sites have apparently crossed the line because it is overly money-minded to misuse public assets for profit-driven activities, said Liu Yuanchun, a researcher on Buddhist culture with Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

According to Article 24 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics, no State-owned sites protected for their historical and cultural value, which are established as museums or cultural relics preservation institutes or used as tourist sites, may be made assets for business operations, Liu said.

"A Buddhist temple is a public asset that belongs to the whole country, not the so-called temple managers or the local government," he said.

Reports about Shaolin Temple, famous for its kung fu monks in Henan province, planning a listing sparked a public outcry when they surfaced three years ago.

The temple has made huge profits in recent years from tourist visits, international stage shows, film productions and online stores.

Most local governments have an inherent desire to make temples more attractive and lucrative, as the tourism industry can help boost employment and become a vital source of income, said Ling Xiao, an IPO specialist at Zhong Yin Law Firm.

For example, Emei Shan Tourism Co received approximately 2.6 million visitors to Emei Mountain last year. Net profits rose 31.6 percent year-on-year to reach 145 million yuan, a majority of which came from admission and cable car fees.

But it is highly "inappropriate" for the companies, which rely solely on natural and religious resources, to seek funding on the stock market, as it contradicts current laws on public listing and religious regulations.

"According to the Regulations on Religious Affairs, the land legally used by a religious body or a site for religious activities is protected by law. Therefore it is impossible for the listed company to claim ownership," he said.

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