Why do you publish the dollar amount that people contribute to the temple? Isn’t this contrary to the idea of selfless giving?
This is a valid questions and one worth revisiting from time to time. We do have a long Japanese tradition of recognizing the donors by displaying their gifts with the family name, etc. The temple also wrote names on a wooden board and displayed and recognized them in the back of the hondo. Most of these also list the monetary amount. If you go to Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple you will see this above the entry in the hondo. Some major gifts such as bells, incense burners and statutes have family names on the back of the items for recognition. There are many other forms in which different Buddhist traditions recognize donors, and our BCA traditions are born out of this practice.
However, there are many who like to follow the Buddhist principle of DANA, or selfless giving, by staying anonymous or selecting not to have the amount posted in the donation list. If you wish to have your donation stay anonymous or exclude the dollar amount, please let us know.