None of the statements you paraphrase addresses what the parent referred to as the meditative work with material resistance. What you point out is the logic of efficency and capital. For monks who vow to live in poverty that's less of a concern in theory than it is for all other areas of society.
We live in a time of NOW.
The monks probably do not want to build a cathedral in 500 years, but in 50, so that they might get some donators