Jesse took my friend and I to Kawasaki-daishi temple. After watching and participating in a Buddhist ritual peppered with the esoteric—fire, chanting, and a monk beating a large drum—we walked around the grounds and finally back out into the surrounding town. There we saw not an atypical sight: pacing up and down the street was a monk chanting the heart sutra and collecting alms.

I understand it was part of a monk's practice to collect rice or vegetables through public offering but now food has given way to money. Today money is even non-essential as many temples have large endowments. Money has yielded simply to practice.