Bringing all the temples and other religious sites within the territory under government control, and the addition of new temples also requires government approval. This is only the first step in Li Tai's plan to control monks.
This is relatively easy to achieve. After all, a temple is such a big and conspicuous building that it is difficult to store it casually. As for a temple built in a remote area inaccessible to people, its purpose is not to expand the number of believers and amass money.
There is no need to impose controls.
Once the place is under control, the next step will naturally be to scrutinize and restrict the practitioners. All monks must submit ultimatums, otherwise they will not be ordained. Those who do not have ultimatums as monks will be classified as demons and monsters, and all temples will not be able to accommodate them. Otherwise, once verified
Severe punishment will be imposed!
Dutiu is one of the most important institutional means for managing religious figures such as monks and nuns in ancient society. It can not only effectively control the number of monks and nuns, but also is a means of generating income. By controlling the number of dutiful issuance, the government can effectively control the Buddhist temples within the territory.
scale of development.
After all places and people are brought under effective control, the next step is to control various Buddhist activities.
The current Buddhist activities mainly include translating scriptures, copying scriptures, Buddhist rituals, digging caves and making statues, etc. These Buddhist activities will basically cause a certain degree of waste of social resources and productivity, and among them, digging caves and making statues is the worst.
.
If the manpower and material resources consumed to build a Buddhist cave, including the statues inside, were used for normal social production, the value produced would far exceed that of worshiping the Buddha. Especially in troubled times like the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the level of productivity was very limited.
A large amount of social resources and labor are invested in Buddhist worship activities, which is a huge loss to national strength.
Therefore, Li Tai also hopes to gradually bring these Buddhist worship activities into the control of the government. All Buddhist worship activities exceeding a certain scale must be reported to the government, and can only be carried out with the approval of the government. Otherwise, all Buddhist worship activities that are participated in
Those involved in the activities, whether they are ascetics, monks, nuns or ordinary believers, will be severely punished for the crime of monasticism!
Of course, Li Tai himself felt that such standardized management involving all aspects was a bit harsh, and it was obviously impossible for the current monks to fully accept it in a short period of time.
After all, even though Xiao Bodhisattva in the Southern Dynasties had been advocating vegetarianism for ascetics for so many years, this precept was not fully implemented in the Southern Dynasties. Monks in Xiangyang, Jiangling and other places were still happily drinking wine and eating fish. During this period,
Buddhas, the mainstream is that they cannot endure any suffering and are unwilling to accept any discipline.
So the next step is to put the reins and saddles on this unruly wild horse bit by bit.
Li Tai did not tell all of his plans to the two old monks, but only gave them some guidance on their next work.
But even though it was just a preliminary instruction, the two old monks couldn't help but sigh with emotion after listening to it. Especially Master Tan Jing, who had suffered a similar loss before, after hearing Tang Gong's intention slightly revealed, his heart became even more intense.
I can't help but secretly sigh that after so many years, Tang Gong has become more and more proficient in using various methods!
At that time, Master Tanjing was also a powerful figure in Qinzhou, Longyou. He was not only the abbot of a famous temple in Longyou, but also served as Duvina, the monk official of a county. He had almost all the ascetic monks in Tianshui County under his control.
But as Tang Gong arrived in Tianshui, his good days came to an end. Somehow, he suffered a big setback. Not only was the huge temple he had worked so hard to run lost to Tang Gong, but he also found it difficult to gain a foothold in Longyou.
, had to follow Tang Gong's arrangement and rush to northern Shaanxi.
But at that time, I was in trouble. After all, Tang Gong also took the bait. But today, these so-called virtuous monks who have been squeezed out and cannot come to Taiwan spend their own money, build a nest with real money, and then forcefully put the hook in their mouths.
Rise!
After some face-to-face discussions, Li Tai asked the two old monks to be sent back to the annex where they lived now, and asked them to do the ideological work of those eminent monks. After all, they were all from Samana.
When we communicate with each other, we will have more common topics.
After the two monks returned to the annex, they went separately to visit the eminent monks who were closing their doors to thank guests and meditating hard. They said they were meditating, but in fact they were depressed, autistic, and escaping from reality.
This debate started after the Buddha’s birthday on April 8th, and it is now the midsummer of June. For more than two months, every debate has to rack its brains and apply what it has learned throughout its life.
After the Xia Dynasty, the city of Chang'an was extremely stuffy again. The huge mental consumption and the stuffy living environment made every extra moment of stay for these eminent monks a kind of torture.
However, the current situation forces them not to bow their heads and admit defeat easily. As long as they can maintain a stalemate, they will still be respected virtuous monks, but once they show their timidity and admit defeat, they will instantly become scum of Samana who deceive the world and steal their reputation.
, not only will they be spurned by their peers and scorned by believers, but their personal safety may also be severely threatened!
It should be noted that the titles of these eminent monks are not obtained out of thin air. Each title means a huge donation of materials. Those who are proficient in the meaning of Buddhist scriptures are usually not the abbot monks who preside over the daily affairs of the temple, so their titles are either
The temple where they stayed spent all their treasures to buy it for them, or several temples and powerful local donors jointly contributed funds.
These people who provide them with funds are not just for promoting Buddhism, but also have a very urgent and realistic need to return their capital and make profits. Once these eminent monks admit defeat, they will immediately lose their transcendent religious status, and those who invested will lose all their money.
People will inevitably use them as objects to vent their anger.
The debate didn't even need to end. At that moment, some people who were already red-eyed were already doing their best to intimidate those eminent monks to quickly find ways to get a chance. Some eminent monks were even tortured to sleepless nights by the intimidation.
, if you don’t still live in an annex provided by the government, your personal safety may not be guaranteed.
After visiting a group of eminent monks and understanding their current situation, Monk Hongyi and Master Tanjing were filled with emotion. Not to mention how they felt when they were defeated by Duke Tang, but now they are only happy and grateful.
.Especially when I see those eminent monks looking gloomy and in a dilemma, I feel more and more how calm they are now with the mountains at their backs.
After understanding the status of the eminent monks, Monk Hongyi came forward to summon all the attendees to ventilate the situation and discuss a countermeasure.
Everyone was worried now, and after hearing this call, they all gathered together. In addition to a group of eminent monks, there were also the investors behind them and the real talkers, totaling three or four people.
As many as ten people.
"At this point in the situation, you must all be feeling troubled. If it continues to be delayed, I'm afraid it will be even worse!"
When everyone gathered, Monk Hongyi took the lead to speak. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, another monk next to him pointed at him angrily and said angrily: "Now that the situation has come to an end, isn't it possible that you bastard monks are flirting with you?"
Is it because of offering favors? If it weren’t for you and other demon monks donating things to make progress, other families would have been selected based on their superb Buddhist principles, and they would have been able to calmly win or lose, and they wouldn’t be in such pain and suffering now!”
This is the advantage of finding a few white gloves instead of ending up personally. Even the monks secretly felt that they were being fooled by the court this time, but they did not dare to directly and openly accuse the court, but would target them.
The rafter who came out from the inside: If you, the little bitch, hadn't rolled in first, how could this have happened if everyone had smashed it together?
Monk Hongyi is also a ruthless person who spreads Buddhism in Jihudui. Although he is already very old, he is not something that just anyone can handle. After hearing this, he immediately slapped the table and glared: "How can you master Buddhism?"
Can righteousness be used to show off? You are a mute dog slave in front of a group of people and barking at your back. The old monk has called you to discuss a life-saving plan. Whoever doesn’t want to live should get out immediately! If you don’t want to survive yourself and bother others to save themselves, then you should do it first.
Kill this place!"
Hearing the old monk shouting and killing at every turn, everyone was frightened by it. There was silence for a moment, and then another old monk with a tired look said in a tired tone: "Master Hongyi, please calm down for now. May I ask if you have any questions?"
What good advice can I teach the people here?"
"The original intention of this debate on scriptures and preaching was to kill Taoists in one fell swoop and make me, the Samana, dominate the world. However, unexpectedly, the barbarians from Nanman Island entered the pass and messed up our plans. It is really hateful! But if we miscalculate now, our gains and losses, our honor and disgrace, can be
I don’t care, but if ascetics are imprisoned and suppressed because of this, causing the legal system to wither for hundreds of years, we will be sinners in life, and we will probably fall into Avici hell forever after death, and our sins will never be eliminated!"
As soon as Monk Hongyi said this, the faces of the people present changed. Someone even said with a trembling voice: "How can the ascetics become famous in the world overnight? There are many good men and women in Guanlong who devote their lives to worshiping Buddha. Duke Tang is afraid that
I don’t even dare…”
"You are more vicious than the army of thieves Qi? As the leader of the Qi Kingdom worships Buddha and protects the Dharma, it is inevitable that Tang Gong will slaughter his army and kill his majesty, so what is the plan? Tang Gong has already said that he wants to distinguish the two religions in order to survive. Now,
The facts are all there, how dare you force Mr. Tang to go back on his word?"
As Monk Hongyi stared and asked, all the monks present fell silent again. Seeing that no one spoke, Monk Hongyi spoke again: "Rather than suffer together, it is better for God to listen to us while we are still able to speak.
In this situation, it is better to take the initiative to correct your mistakes and eliminate the dirt of Samana. It is better to survive with a broken arm than to sit and wait for death!
Nowadays, there are many demonic monks who dig trenches into temples and erect fences into temples. They are superstitious and fool the people of the world. Most of the people in the world are ignorant and only regard such evil demons and heretics as one with the true teachings of Buddhism. So what if they are confused with such insects.
Able to promote the great Buddha Dharma!"
"Master, you have such a wonderful view! It is precisely this kind of confusion in the human world. There are too many people who deceive the world and steal their reputations, which makes the Buddha Dharma mixed and mixed. The true meaning is profound and difficult to understand!"
Master Hongyi did not need much guidance. As soon as he proposed this idea, it immediately aroused almost unanimous approval and agreement from the people present.
It is always difficult for people to admit their mistakes and shortcomings, but it is almost an innate instinct to shirk faults and evade responsibility. It cannot be said that these monks are all despicable in nature. They, the mainstream and orthodox monks themselves, have no respect for those who are not as good as the mainstream.
The monks and nuns were disgusted and rejected, but now there happened to be a hat suitable for that group of people, and of course they were happy to put it on them.
It’s just that they don’t know that the size of the hat and the range of buckling it may not necessarily be theirs to decide.