In the southern region of Xinbei, there are five peaks standing straight out of the clouds. There are no trees on the top, just like a platform of earth, so it is called Wutai.
Stretching between the peaks and ridges, the charm of Buddhism is prosperous. As a holy land of Buddhism and a famous Buddhist mountain, it has always stood firm despite thousands of years of changes, ups and downs, and a transcendent status.
During the mid-Tang Dynasty, Wutai Buddhist temples flourished among the most prosperous peaks. There were hundreds of large and small Buddhist temples and more than 10,000 monks and nuns. Even though it was damaged due to the chaos of the late Tang Dynasty, it still did not hinder the "Buddha Lord Wutai".
The number of monks that can be inspected by the government alone is more than 3,000. If you add in the monks who live privately and travel to stay, the number will be even more, not to mention the households attached to the mountain temples, monks and farmers. Around Wutai, there are many mountains, flat land, and acres of farmland. It was very vast, so the population, land, and industry occupied by the temples were a huge amount of wealth, especially for the Northern Han Dynasty, which was working hard to restore and develop, it was even more attractive.
Since Emperor Liu Chengyou of the Han Dynasty decided to "exterminate Buddhism", the temples in the Wutai Mountains have inevitably become the focus of the imperial court's "care".
Just a few months ago, after a long period of investigation and preparation, Liu Chengyou officially issued an edict during the Chongyuan Dynasty to ban, suppress and rectify Buddhist temples across the country.
This move is obviously different from the previous small-scale targeted disposal. This is a comprehensive attack to destroy the Buddha. Even though Liu Chengyou's control over the center is deepening day by day, the court is still not his sole authority. Regarding this matter, there is no Several court officials raised objections and advised Liu Chengyou to be cautious. Some even directly advised him to withdraw his orders.
Buddhism still has a lot of influence at home and abroad, in the government and in the public. Even in various local towns, among the murderous warriors Jiedu, there are still many people who believe in Buddhism and may want to use Buddhism to wash away the blood on their bodies. Of course, such people , most of them still hold bloody blades in their hands and chant compassion.
However, even though there were a lot of criticisms between the DPRK and China, under the implementation of Liu Chengyou's resolution, all obstacles were not a big problem. Moreover, Liu Chengyou's preparation for suppressing the Buddha did not take more than a day or two. It took nearly two days since Li Shouzhen's rebellion in the Xiping River. Years have taken a lot of manpower.
The powerful military and political departments in the DPRK expressed their anger early and quickly reached a consensus to stand on the side of the emperor.
The Third Division is in charge of the country's finances and has always been in a tight situation; the Privy Council coordinates troops, military battles, generals' mobilization and rewards, and the plan to attack Huainan from the south has also been put on the agenda, all of which require money and food; in front of the palace, the commander-in-chief of the two divisions are guarding It is even simpler for them. Only when the state's finances are abundant can we support them. However, the local Daozhou, Jiedu, defense, and regiment training are obviously profitable. If they can get a share of it, how can they refuse it? Moreover, even if it causes public resentment Even for civil unrest, the emperor and the imperial court took the blame. They were the ones who carried out the orders of the central government...
Therefore, after the emperor's order was issued, a top-down, from central to local, attack and plunder operation against Buddhist temples across the country quickly began with great vigor.
Liu Chengyou's mission of "exterminating Buddhism" was essentially to liberate the population, land, develop the economy, and at the same time create a huge income for the court to support its great cause.
But you should not be too "straightforward" in doing this, and you will have a reputation, even if this is a naked robbery. Officially, the emperor's edicts and the court's orders were all based on "cite the old seal, The focus is on "the shortcomings before the reform" and the word "rectification" is repeatedly mentioned.
Moreover, he naturally found a "good opportunity" and then acted on this matter. It was early summer, and out of his filial piety, Emperor Liu Chengyou accompanied Queen Mother Li out of the palace and went to Xiangguo Temple in Tokyo to worship Buddha.
For the first time, the emperor expressed his intention to pray for Buddha, which made the Buddhist community, which had already sensed the impending mountain rain, great joy. Xiangguohe Temple paid special attention to it and everyone came together to welcome it.
Then something went wrong.
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First, Liu Chengyou couldn't bear his curiosity and "randomly" selected a monk to recite a scripture. The emperor and the empress were immediately displeased because he couldn't.
At that time, there were also poor people living in the surrounding area of the temple who risked their lives to break through the gate to visit them. They complained to the Buddhist temple that they had usurped property and enslaved men and women. Liu Chengyou received them and was very angry.
That is to say, he sent troops to surround the temple, control the people in the middle, and command Li Chongju, the commander of the control crane army, to inspect the Buddhist temple. As a confidant general who was an emperor's bodyguard, he was able to find out the problem easily. Among the monks in Xiangguo Temple, he investigated Several soldiers who escaped from the army came out.
When he heard the result, the emperor was extremely angry.
Next, a series of serious and thorough rectification actions against Xiangguo Temple were carried out naturally. The land was collected, the property was seized, the monks were scattered, and the lawless ones were punished. This was how Xiangguo Temple, which had not yet reached its heyday, was like this. He was set up as a model and became a victim of "destroying the Buddha".
After that, there was a big fuss. Within a few days, Tokyo and various prefectural capitals reported to each other one after another that numerous Buddhist temples were built all over the world, where monks and nuns were kept privately, and the number of obscene people increased day by day, sheltering evildoers... .In short, according to the reports received by Liu Chengyou, all Buddhist temples in the country seem to be described as places harboring filth and evil and in urgent need of rectification.
After a series of preliminary preparations, the policy of destroying Buddha is inevitable and will gradually spread to the world!
Foguang Temple, compared to the Temple of Five Peaks, can only be regarded as an ordinary temple among the temples in Wutai Mountain. However, the temple stands on the green mountain, with giant trees and majestic halls, giving it the scenery of a famous temple.
However, in the early autumn of the third year of Qianyou, the leaves in the mountains had just turned yellow, but the Buddhist temple was already shrouded in desolation and desolation.
The inside and outside of the mountain temple were occupied by a small group of officers and soldiers and a dozen government officials. There was also a wave of people in black clothes, exuding the aura of keeping away from strangers, looking at the Buddhist temple indifferently and disdainfully.
Dozens of monks, old and young, under the guard of officers and soldiers, took their packages and left the temple with miserable footsteps.
When Liu Chengyou destroyed Buddhism, he did not intend to completely eliminate Buddhism because it was unrealistic. He mainly used crackdowns and restrictions. In accordance with the regulations of the imperial court, all the Buddhist temples in Mount Wutai were distinguished and selected for their merits. Only twenty large and small ones remained, which were considered to have been destroyed. Disaster. All other temples were abandoned or even demolished. All the major temples occupying the main peak of Wutai could not escape the bad luck.
Foguang Temple is obviously not among the twenty reserved names.
A young novice monk, guided by the old monk, turned back step by step and looked at the gate of the mountain, which was high to him, with blurred eyes and full of reluctance.
The old monk caressed his head gently, looking haggard. He glanced at the officers and soldiers around him, and the polished spears and spears shone with a cold light, which made people feel heart-stopping.
I sighed heavily and felt that my mind was broken. The construction of Foguang Temple was not too long, and it coincided with the great development period of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty. However, during the Huichang period of Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, the "Wuzong Extermination of the Dharma" was
It was destroyed and later rebuilt. However, less than a hundred years ago, another major change occurred and the temple fell into disrepair.
Standing on a high place, followed by several black-robed subordinates, Wang Jingchong quietly watched the movements of the moving Buddha at his feet. The sad scene made a faint smile appear on the corner of his mouth.
With a wave of his hand, Wang Jingchong directly ordered: "It's almost done. Let the Wutai County government finish the work. The land and population under the temple should be properly allocated. All the monks should return to secular life and be placed under surveillance. Don't neglect..."
Then he walked towards the leader of the officers and soldiers and said: "Let the sergeants dismantle the bronze statues and magical weapons in the temple, transport them down the mountain, and send them to Tokyo together to hand them over to the court!"
"yes!"
"Inspect the property in the temple carefully to avoid hiding places. After the inventory is completed, demolish the temple for me..." In a cold and quiet place, Wang Jingchong gave another order.
There are too many Buddhist temples in Wutai Mountain and their influence is too wide. In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the policy of "exterminating Buddhism", the imperial court needs to send capable people. As the deputy military envoy, he became a political star who rose rapidly in the three years of Qianyou and was the emperor's "loyal dog".
"Wang Jingchong was sent to Hedong to deal with the matter, and Wang Jingchong was obviously very happy about it. He saw it as an opportunity to further his political career and was very motivated.
