Xuanzang's energy level didn't look very good. It might have been because he was mentally exhausted from reading classics and meditating all day long. He probably could have been better off by just letting him farm for a few months.
Looking at Xuanzang's shiny bald head, I couldn't help but feel a little upset. I kept thinking to myself, as if I was talking to a scholar.
Xuanzang was very polite and in line with people's expectations of eminent monks at that time. When he saw the emperor, he greeted the emperor without sadness or joy and addressed him as "Your Majesty." He looked very magnanimous.
In this regard, it must be commended that some monks have done a very good job in interacting with dignitaries. In addition, monks like to engage in various speculations and lectures, which can attract nobles to communicate with them.
The common people will feel it is extremely profound after hearing it, which is very conducive to the spread of Buddhism.
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"Come, sit down and talk. I'll give you some tea."
Xuanzang thanked him and took a seat, and immediately entered the meditation mode of looking at his nose with his eyes and his nose at his mouth, waiting for the emperor to speak.
Even though Monk Xuanzang is young, he has actually traveled to many places. He spends his time discussing meditation methods with eminent monks. He has also written several books of his own. He is considered a well-informed person among Buddhists.
Guang, what a remarkable monk.
Since he went to the White Horse Temple in Luoyang with the monk Huizhen and others, and then followed the emperor's carriage to Chang'an, he never saw the emperor again.
Several conversations in Luoyang gave him a very bad feeling. The emperor did not know much about Buddhism, but he did not know anything about it. Many of the things he said were relevant, but he probably had not read any Buddhist scriptures.
This gave him and other monks the impression that the emperor was very intelligent.
But the more this happened, the more I realized that the emperor had no respect for the Buddha, and could even be said to be quite disgusted, because every word he said was ridiculing Buddhism.
This is very dangerous for monks who believe in Buddha.
For example, after monk Huizhen met the emperor, he talked to him about Tuoba Tao, Emperor Wu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Yuwen Yong, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
Although Huizhen didn't speak too clearly, how could Xuanzang not understand what he meant?
During the reign of Tuoba Tao, Emperor Wu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Cui Hao and others were re-employed, and monks under fifty were ordered to return to secular life and join the army to relieve the shortage of military sources.
This matter was understandable at the time, and it was not due to Tuoba Tao or Cui Hao and others he appointed randomly issuing edicts, because at that time, there were continuous wars and the people were in dire straits. Moreover, Buddhism was prevalent in the world, and the people were fleeing the conscription.
, they all fled into the empty gate.
The monks were also very rampant at that time. Most of the civil and military officials in the dynasty were followers of the Buddha. Some people were not enjoying the glory and wealth in the court, but were rushing to become a monk and practice Buddhism. This shows how prosperous Buddhism was at that time.
When eminent monks come in and out of the mansions of powerful people, such as their own temples, they do shocking things. Having an affair with a woman is the most common thing.
By virtue of their close relationship with the powerful, there are many people who serve as aides, and some who are proud of their superiority even participate in government affairs and grasp secrets.
This was what monks in the big cities did at that time, not to mention those in the countryside. There were many people who took advantage of the opportunity to make money. Each temple became a hiding place for filth and evil, and the wealth of the temples was enough to make the eyes of later generations envious.
It turns blue, even the noble ambitions cannot match it.
This was all caused by the government's lenient treatment of Buddhists. At that time, monks and nuns did not have to pay taxes, perform military or civil service, and suffer from expropriation, but they could freely enjoy the offerings of officials and people. Some large temples could even control local officials.
Lying in the temple is more comfortable than being an official.
The so-called prosperity and decline will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among some people in power, and disaster will follow.
First, some monks were ordered to return to secular life and join the army. This was also the first time that monk soldiers appeared on the battlefield, but not voluntarily. The Shaolin Temple monk soldiers who later helped Li Shimin only appeared in folklore and should have been compiled by the monks themselves.
The monks panicked a little and endured it. After all, it didn't touch the fundamentals of the Buddhists.
But what happened next was not the case. Cui Hao wrote a letter asking Emperor Wu to destroy the Buddha on the grounds that the monks were pretending to be Xirong and creating monsters.
Tuoba Tao obviously agreed very much with this, but the power of Buddhism was already deeply rooted at this time. After the edict was issued, it was delayed for many days. Among them, the prince was the leader, and they urgently asked Tuoba Tao to withdraw his order.
But Tuoba Tao had made up his mind and there was no room for reversal.
The edict was finally issued to various places, and the campaign to exterminate Buddhism began. The milder ones just forced the monks to return to secular life and confiscated the temple properties, while the cruel ones simply buried the monks alive.
Smash the pagodas, melt the Buddha statues, burn the temples and scriptures, take the monks and nuns out, and chop off their heads in front of the temple gate.
There was a great commotion, the whole country was shaken, and the wind was trembling.
However, because the edict was delayed for a period of time before it was issued, the eminent monks who had heard about it in advance fled one after another into the mountains and forests or directly defected south to the Southern Dynasty to avoid disaster.
Therefore, this was not considered a successful campaign to exterminate the Buddha. In addition to killing a large number of monks and nuns, the powerful people who believed in the Buddha did not suffer much of a blow, so more and more people harbored resentments.
Soon Tuoba Tao had to make a compromise, tortured Cui Hao and others to death, and exterminated their clan. The matter of destroying the Buddha was abandoned.
Within two years, Tuoba Tao was also killed by his close ministers.
This is actually a counterattack by Buddhism. Even talented and savage people like Tuoba Tao are not immune.
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Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Yong, was the second Tuoba Tao.
The method of destroying the Buddha was similar, but he did it more thoroughly than Tuoba Tao. During the reign of Yu Wenyong, it is said that he ordered three million monks and nuns to return to secular life.
When you hear this number, you can actually understand how serious the situation was at that time. There were three million monks and nuns. What was the population of the Northern Zhou Dynasty? They all became monks and nuns. How many social resources did they occupy?
Therefore, Yu Wenyong's action to exterminate Buddhism was supported by many people in the court, because there were too many Buddhists, and the interests of the nobles were greatly damaged.
After this, Buddhism in the north almost disappeared, which was much better than the situation faced by Tuoba Tao.
It's just that Yu Wenyong died suddenly at a young age, so I don't know if there was any reason for destroying the Buddha.
The third successor was Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian. He was a minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He had seen Yuwen Yong's methods and saw that the world would be unified. Buddhism was popular in the south and there was also a resurgence in the north. So he wanted to cut down the mountains and destroy the temples.
One wave.
Unfortunately, the thunder was loud but the rain was light. It is said that Yang Guang persuaded him to stop, so people in the south were very grateful to King Yang Guang of Jin, saying that he was the son of Buddha who came to the world.
From these events, we can see how glorious Buddhism was during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and at the same time, what cruel conflicts they had with those in power, and where the joints were.
This is the perspective of bystanders, but Huizhen and others naturally have different ideas. As the "victims" of the incident that destroyed the Buddha, kings like Tuoba Tao and Yuwen Yong are naturally regarded as demons in the world in the eyes of Buddhists. Specifically, they are
Come to fight against Buddhism.
Now in the Tang Dynasty, Li Po, the founder of the Tang Dynasty, seemed to have such signs, otherwise Huizhen would not have mentioned the two emperors Tuoba Tao and Yu Wenyong after meeting him.
But what is frustrating is that Buddhism is no longer what it used to be.
During the war at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the monks who only knew how to meditate and practiced meditation had no resistance at all. When chaos broke out, the hungry and red-eyed people were hostile to all those who occupied the fields and had enough to eat and drink.
Natural hatred.
Regardless of whether you are a monk or not, they were all robbed and killed, leaving a mess everywhere in their path. The Buddha must have taken a nap at this time, and if he was not careful, the monks suffered an even crueler death than the Buddha.
disaster.
Really, to put it bluntly, the previous top-down actions to destroy Buddhas were definitely not as effective as this kind of bottom-up war.
It is said that in troubled times, more people believe in Buddhism. In fact, it depends on the extent of the chaos. If the people are just living in poverty, they will naturally want to ask for an afterlife. This is the time for the monks to exert their efforts.
But if you really want to cause chaos in the world, monks who have no ability to protect themselves will bear the brunt. Being cooked and eaten by hungry people is nothing new.
In other words, in the early Tang Dynasty, Li Po did not need to pay too much attention to religious issues.
It was extremely difficult for the monks to rebuild the ancestral court of Buddhism in the Central Plains. They encountered various difficulties from the government. It was absolutely impossible to influence the government or even kill the emperor like in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
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Then the attitude of His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty becomes particularly important. It is not impossible for a founding emperor who is full of hatred towards Buddhism to wholeheartedly want to drive Buddhism out of the Central Plains.
Therefore, Xuanzang was not as calm as he looked at this time, and was a little nervous. He felt that this was a sign that he had not practiced enough. He secretly chanted the Buddha's name in his heart, and tried hard to remove obstacles and remain unwavering.
The body of the king of Ming Dynasty.
Li Po raised his eyelids and took a look, and said in a gentle tone: "You have been in Chang'an for half a year. I allow you to read the classics in Guanwen Hall. It should be beneficial to you, right?"
Xuanzang immediately clasped his hands together and said, "I would like to express my gratitude to Your Majesty for allowing me to stay in the palace, read the scriptures, and ponder them day and night. I have indeed gained something profound."
Naturally, Li Po would not ask him what inspiration he had received, as that would definitely be asking for trouble.
"I don't quite understand how you practice, but I also know that it's easier to know than to do. Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles. If you always sit around and recite sutras, you can't become a true Buddha, right?"
Xuanzang raised his eyebrows slightly, and said something secretly in his heart, but he replied unhurriedly: "What your Majesty said is good, but not entirely right. There is a saying in Buddhism, and it is understood by the heart. Bodhi can be seen by looking at flowers, and mustard seeds
Can accept Sumeru.
When you are in front of the Buddha, the light is great. When you are in hell, you have a compassionate heart. As long as you have the Buddha in your heart, you will have good thoughts. What does it matter to a poor monk where the skin is?"