Chapter 1957, the creation of the prosperous world has nothing to do with the Buddha
Inside the study room of the Imperial Palace in the Ming Dynasty.
As usual, Huangdi Hongzhi convened a small meeting with important ministers, including Liu Jin, Wang Shouren, Han Wen, Zhong Fan, Yang Yiqing, Jiang Mian, Zhu Fu and other important civil and military ministers.
Zhong Zhong was old and frail, and his health was getting worse day by day. He had resigned not long ago and returned to his hometown for retirement. Han Wen took over and joined the cabinet. At the same time, Zhong Fan, who was the former Minister of the Ministry of Industry, was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Jiang Mian was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
Yang Yiqing served as Minister of Household Affairs.
"Your Majesty, the King of Chu of the Chu State felt ashamed and committed suicide under house arrest, leaving a posthumous edict to pass on the throne to Zhu Rong? The demon monk Huiming committed suicide and died on the day when the army attacked the city. The entire Chu State began to exterminate the Buddha...
"
Zhu Fu reported to Emperor Hongzhi in detail the affairs of the Chu State.
This time, what happened to the Chu State shocked the whole world. It not only brought huge losses to the Chu State and greatly damaged the vitality of the Chu State, but also suddenly awakened many overseas vassal states and colonies.
Since ancient times, there have been countless ambitious people. This Huiming was originally just a monk, but because the Chu State believed in Buddhism and had great trust in him, it ended up leading to today's situation.
But there is another question worth thinking about.
That is, as Ming Dynasty expanded externally and became more and more closely connected with other parts of the world, external ideas, culture, religion, etc. were also constantly affecting Ming Dynasty.
As for the Unitarian sect founded by Huiming, there was originally no Unitarian sect in Buddhism. Many of the teachings in this Unique sect were absorbed from sectarian ideas in Europe, the Middle East and other regions.
The most important one is the idea that divine power is greater than royal power, and the idea of using religion to establish a theocratic country. This idea obviously evolved after absorbing religious ideas from outside.
The powerful civilization of the Ming Dynasty is constantly exported to the outside world. Similarly, external ideas and culture are also constantly exerting influence on the Ming Dynasty, especially in terms of religion.
The people of the Ming Dynasty have always been relatively tolerant towards religion, without any special requirements or restrictions, so all kinds of religions can find a place to survive in the Ming Dynasty.
Fortunately, Liu Jin had a premonition of this early, so he strictly prohibited the spread of foreign religions. Otherwise, the current Ming Dynasty would definitely be more than just the Chu State.
There are many places where things could go wrong, and they will become more serious.
"What do you dear ladies think of this matter?"
After Zhu Fu finished his report, Emperor Hongzhi pondered and asked.
When everyone heard this, they were immediately stunned. What do we think about this matter in Chu State?
Of course, I don’t have any opinions. Things have calmed down, and it will pass soon.
"Wang Shouren, tell me?"
Emperor Hongzhi scanned the circle, named Wang Shouren and asked.
"Your Majesty, the root cause of Chu's affairs is that the King of Chu blindly believed in Buddhism and allowed Huiming to act recklessly, which eventually led to catastrophe!"
"We, the Ming Dynasty, should ask all vassal states and colonies to learn from the Chu State to prevent such things from happening again."
Wang Shouren thought for a while and said.
"Um!"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly. In fact, there were quite a few vassal states and colonies like the Chu State. Because the vassal kings and colonial owners believed in Buddhism and other religions, they were deceived by the monks and gave them full support. But there was no such thing.
It’s only to the level of Chu State.
"Korean, tell me~"
Emperor Hongzhi looked at Han Wen again and asked.
"Your Majesty~"
"Over the years, our Ming Dynasty has prospered, and people's lives have become better and better."
"Buddhist temples and the like have also become increasingly luxurious. Take the Fahua Temple in Beijing as an example. They hold regular Buddhist conferences every month. They are called Buddhist conferences, but they are actually money-making conferences. Every time, believers donate huge amounts of money and
The goods range from a few hundred thousand taels to a few hundred thousand taels of silver."
"A temple's annual income can reach millions of taels of silver, and some people will spend tens of thousands of taels of silver on these temples."
"These temples are getting bigger and bigger, and the decorations are getting more and more luxurious. They often lend the Buddha a name to build a golden body, and then find ways to make money, and they also use burning incense and other means to make money."
"Many times, ordinary people work hard in factories and earn only a few taels of silver a month, but they have to donate one or two taels of silver to temples."
"Except for a small part of the huge money collected by the temple that is used for the daily expenses of the temple, most of the money eventually falls into the hands of these monks."
"On the surface, all of these monks are enlightened monks, but secretly they eat meat, drink wine, have wives and children, and even many monks and temples have purchased a large number of luxury cars, luxury goods, etc."
"I believe that the excessive development, growth and crazy accumulation of money of temples and monks have greatly affected the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty!"
"At the same time, it will have an extremely bad and serious impact on true Buddhist disciples. The imperial court should strictly control all temples, Taoist temples and the like."
"Restrict their size and number of people, strictly prohibit them from amassing money, impose heavy taxes on temples, and severely punish monks who violate their requirements."
Han Wen stood up and reported to Emperor Hongzhi very seriously the situation of the temples in the Ming Dynasty.
The people of the Ming Dynasty are getting richer and richer, and their lives are getting better and better. The temples have also expanded accordingly. Various Dharma gatherings are held non-stop, temples are being built, and golden bodies are built for the Buddha.
, and what kind of top incense, big incense, etc., in short, it is a new way to continuously make money.
As for the believers, they are rich now, and they are much more generous with their purchases, so that the money collected in the temple is very huge and considerable.
However, the temple does not need to pay taxes. Each of these monks is full of food and does not have to do anything. Not to mention how comfortable they are in their small lives.
He also led more and more people to go to temples to become fake monks, and the influence became worse and worse.
"Is there such a thing?"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he immediately frowned.
It is not easy for ordinary people to make money. Emperor Hongzhi went to the factory and saw that the workers worked hard for only a few taels of silver for a month.
But as for these monks, they just sit and open their mouths and get money, and there are still a lot of money, a lot of money, not to mention how comfortable they are in this small life, this is not good, this is a proper blood sucking, with everyone's
Faith comes to suck blood.
"Your Majesty, there is indeed such a thing."
"My wife believes in Buddhism and goes to worship the Buddha every month. In the past, it was enough to spend dozens of taels of silver each time. However, now, every month in the temple, there are rituals, or gold statues, and buildings.
Temples, etc., even burning incense are divided into grades. The largest and longest incense costs ten taels of silver each. There are also many tripods divided. Those who spend more can get closer, and those who spend less can get closer.
Even the monks don't have a good look on you."
"When I go to the temple to worship Buddha every month, I have to spend at least a few hundred taels of silver, and sometimes I have to spend a few thousand taels of silver, which is ten times more than before."
Zhu Fu stood up and said.
Although a few hundred taels of silver was nothing for Zhu Fu's family, the monk's method of amassing money was really disgusting.
Buddhism is supposed to be a pure place, so everyone is willing to donate some sesame oil money so that the temple can operate normally. However, Buddhism has changed now. It has become more and more important to money, and they are trying every means to make money. This
It's changed.
"I have also heard about Dharma gatherings in various temples in the capital. There are indeed many more than before, and there are indeed many levels of incense burning now."
"Originally, I just believed in Buddhism and sought comfort in my heart, but it turned into a way for these monks to make money."
"I think strict control should be implemented!"
Zhong Fan also stood up and expressed his stance.
Taking advantage of this matter, we must severely purge these temples and monks within the Ming Dynasty, and we cannot allow them to continue to develop in such a disorderly manner.
"Your Majesty, during the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Buddhism was at its peak. There were countless large and small temples. A large number of young people did not work, but entered the temples to sit as monks and enjoy their achievements."
"This seriously affected the Tang Dynasty at that time, resulting in fewer and fewer available people, and less and less wealth to collect. Monks even entered the court, the palace, and the cholera court for the first time. The impact was extremely bad."
"This is also an important reason why the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline. All religions are the same, and there is no difference in essence. The monks are not engaged in production but can enjoy the benefits, and they all rely on the donations of believers."
"When the scale is small, the impact on the country is not great, but once it develops to a certain scale, such as Chu State, the impact on the country is very huge."
"The reason why our Ming Dynasty is able to prosper today depends on your majesty's majestic strategy, civil and martial arts, and the conscientious work and meritorious service of the ministers in the court. More importantly, the people of our Ming Dynasty are thrifty and hardworking.
This is how our Ming Dynasty prospered today."
"What did the Buddhas in those temples do? They made no contribution to our Ming Dynasty, but they enjoyed their success and made money wantonly, which seriously affected the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty. I think they should be strictly controlled!"
Liu Jin also stood up and said, and cited the example of the Tang Dynasty to illustrate the importance of this matter and the severity of its impact. The Ming Dynasty is what it is today, relying on top-down efforts, not the blessing of the Buddha.
, and has nothing to do with those monks.
The Tang Dynasty was prosperous and temples also developed extremely vigorously. What was the result?
As a result, when the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline, what contribution did this monk make?
There was nothing, and by the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties it had further developed, so much so that the extermination of Buddhism occurred.
After hearing Liu Jin's words, Emperor Hongzhi suddenly became gloomy. The prosperity of the Ming Dynasty was the foundation of Emperor Hongzhi, and no one could touch this.
