is nothing sacred

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/12/04/is-this-temple-for-real-china-tries-to-stamp-out-fake-monk-scourge/?mod=ST1

Nooo! Fake monks!

Is This Temple For Real? China Tries to Stamp Out Fake Monk Scourge

Here a monk, there a monk. Which one should you trust?

Any tourist in China knows to be vigilant against the country’s voluminous counterfeits, from fake lamb meat to phony jade bangles. Now, the government is offering its help in sussing out fakes of a spiritual kind.

Officials have begun certifying authentic Buddhist and Taoist temples to help distinguish them from their fake, profiteering cousins, the official news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday. “There have been some non-religious sites employing fake monks who tricked tourists into donating money or buying expensive incense,” Liu Wei, a State Administration of Religious Affairs official, was quoted by the agency as saying.

What's it like having an "effect" named after you ?

Denis Diderot, where are you now ?

http://jamesclear.com/diderot-effect?__s=itt5h7w3j17m58piu7uq

The Diderot Effect: Why We Want Things We Don’t Need — And What to Do About It
By James Clear | Optimizing Life, Self-Awareness, Simplicity

The famous French philosopher Denis Diderot lived nearly his entire life in poverty, but that all changed in 1765.

Diderot was 52 years old and his daughter was about to be married, but he could not afford to provide a dowry. Despite his lack of wealth, Diderot’s name was well-known because he was the co-founder and writer of Encyclopédie, one of the most comprehensive encyclopedias of the time.

When Catherine the Great, the emperor of Russia, heard of Diderot’s financial troubles she offered to buy his library from him for £1000 GBP, which is approximately $50,000 USD in 2015 dollars. Suddenly, Diderot had money to spare.

Shortly after this lucky sale, Diderot acquired a new scarlet robe. That’s when everything went wrong.