Eighteen monks and lay Buddhists from the Jade Buddha Monastery in Shanghai attended their first MBA class on Tuesday, hoping to run the temple in a modern way.

The Shanghai Jiaotong University launched the new MBA program on running Buddhist temples beginning from this semester. Apart from ordinary MBA courses, the half-year program offers seven lectures related to temple management,including philosophy and religious product marketing, according to Wednesday's China Daily.

The English-language newspaper said that Sun Tsu's Art of War and corporate strategy are also on the curriculum of the MBA course designed for Buddhist monks.

"Through this program, we want to learn how the secular world is managed," said Chang Chun, general manager of the monastery, who was among the monks in the MBA class.

Located in the downtown area of the bustling metropolis of Shanghai, the century-old Jade Buddha Monastery covering 1.3 ha. has 280 monks including 120 masters.

Buddhist temples are not shy of commercial world. The Jade Buddha Monastery has six Buddha statues fixed at the entrance of the temple, each with a plaque on which is inscribed the name of adonor of 10,000 yuan (US$1,200).There are also wall posters informing visitors of the services offered by the temple with price tags.

"Through the MBA program, we hope to make the monks aware that a profit-driven method in management will not always work," said Wang Fanghua, president of the Antai Management School of the university.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2005)