The Legend of Shushan Xuanjian

Thanks to the floating name on the lake for several years, the bamboo stick gauze scarf then expressed love.

Sometimes I go to the temple to stay outside the cloud, and I travel along the river in the west when there is nothing to do.

In Taoqian County, you can see flowers and hair, and in Yu Lianglou, you can see the moonlight.

Whoever reads and presents books to thousands of miles, the king is deep in Jiuchongcheng.

——Cui Dong (Tang Dynasty) in "Letters to Suzhou Wei Shijun and Li Mingfu in Wu County"

……

The extermination of Buddhism was initially planned by Prince Li Chu's party.

Seeing that Li Chu was frowning to expand his tax revenue, Li Chu's entourage, Fu Duosheng, advised him, saying: "Your Highness, the general has been practicing in Shaolin for a while.

Shaolin has the largest amount of farmland, ranking first in Luoyang.The gold and silver treasures donated by the benefactors are countless.Even the richest man in Luoyang and the prominent family in Hedong pales in comparison.

The Shaolin Sangha has a large number of people, and its monk soldiers are as powerful as a regular army.

Seeing the big from the small, it can be seen that the Buddhist temples in the Tang Dynasty occupy countless lands and people in the world, causing too much loss.

If Buddhist temples are closed, monks dismissed, and Buddha statues cast money, the imperial court no longer has to worry about finances and taxes. "

Li Chu said: "What you said is correct. Because of this, Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty and Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty launched two campaigns to exterminate Buddhism.

However, although the benefits of exterminating the Buddha are great, it will cause resentment from Buddhists all over the world, and the gain outweighs the loss. "

Fu Duodan, the follower, said softly: "If there is too much grievance among the people, after His Highness ascends the throne, Buddhism can be restored as appropriate, but there is no need to re-allocate land and other materials to Buddhist temples.

In this way, one can not only enjoy the benefits brought by the extermination of Buddha in this dynasty, but also avoid the notoriety of extermination of Buddha, and gain the support of believers all over the world, which can be said to kill three birds with one stone. "

An evil light flashed in Li Chu's eyes, and he hurried to find someone to plan.

You Pushe Pei Mian is the uncle of Crown Princess Dugu Xiaozhong, so he is naturally willing to work for Li Chu.Pei Mian called his close friend Zheng Shuqing to serve as the censor, and the two played together.

This is how the court meeting happened.

……

Seeing Bai Fu step forward to share his worries.Su Zong was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Bai Aiqing, what's your opinion?"

According to historical records, the main reason is that Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty and Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty launched the two Buddhist extermination campaigns. The two emperors had different motives and different situations, but they were exactly the same.It is nothing more than political and religious reasons; conflicts between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism; defects in the morality of the monks; and conflicts in the money and interests of monks and laymen.

Since Zheng Shuqing, the official censor, and Pei Mian, the right servant, used tax revenue as an excuse to destroy Buddhism, Bai Fu started from this point and refuted them.

Bai Fu said: "The imperial court can order the young and strong monks in the temple to work in farming and produce crops. When necessary, they can also tax them personally and order them to perform military service and corvee service.

The tax burden on monastery land can be reduced or exempted, but the tax must be paid according to the number of acres.

In this way, there is no need for extreme events such as extermination of the Buddha, and the fiscal revenue of the imperial court can also be expanded. "

The censor Zheng Shuqing laughed loudly and said: "Master Bai's words seem reasonable, but asking monks to work and pay taxes is tantamount to nonsense.

Buddhist canons and precepts extremely despise and reject farming labor, and believe that digging, cutting grass, planting trees and other labor are "impure karma", and monks who engage in labor are violating the precepts. "

Bai Fu nodded, and said: "That's right, many temples are indeed as Master Zheng said.  …

However, there are also Buddhist sects headed by Zen sects who foresee that the imperial court will levy taxes on monastery property and order monks and nuns to serve in the service. Therefore, these sects have adopted a series of measures to help monks face the severe survival situation.

For example, Chan Master Huaihai of Baizhang Temple in Daxiong Mountain, Xinwu, Hongzhou (now Fengxin, Jiangxi Province) established his own monastery, led the people to practice, and practiced the agricultural Zen life of the Sangha.

Referring to the precepts of Mahayana and Mahayana, Zen Master Huaihai formulated a new practice life ritual "Zen Men Regulations" (that is, "Baizhang Qing Regulations"), and advocated the rule of "one day does not work, one day does not eat" to ensure the development of Zen. . "

……

Back then in Baima Temple and Shaolin Temple, Bai Fu listened to many eminent monks such as Abbot Kong and Master Kongjian explain Buddhism and tell stories about Buddhism, and he was relatively familiar with the affairs of Buddhism in the world.

Bai Fu was eloquent and eloquent, making it impossible for Zheng and Pei to argue for a while.

In addition to religious beliefs and the principle of saving all living beings, Bai Fu knew the importance of Buddhist temples and Taoist temples to the common people through his contacts with Xiong Badou and other low-level officials.

Bai Fu discussed the matter, and Kang was passionate, saying: "Whether it is a Buddhist temple, a Taoist temple, or a Nestorian Zoroastrian church, it is not only the people's pious faith sustenance, but also a disaster relief organization.

Buddhist temples and Taoist temples are responsible for supporting the elderly, weak, sick and disabled people all the year round.Once the Buddhist temples are closed, the poor people will have no food and clothing, and will suffer from poverty and disease, which will only accelerate their death.

At that time, the poor people in the world will be full of resentment towards the imperial court. "

The right servant Pei Mian laughed when he heard the words, and said: "Master Bai is too worried, the imperial court can order the capital and the states and counties to allocate a certain amount of land, and use the rent of the land to support these poor people. become official.

In this way, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds? "

Bai Fu smiled calmly, and said: "If all the institutions that preside over disaster relief activities become government-run, how efficient will it be?

Mr. Pei has been an official for many years, so the effect of bureaucratic articles is clearer than that of lower officials, right?
The common people are not stupid, so how could they not know the truth of deceiving their ears and stealing their bells? "

The right servant shot Pei Mian's expression changed, and he gave Bai Fu a hard look.

Of course the courtiers knew what Bai Fu meant - the so-called charitable government office, it is simply impossible to run it well.It's just a cover to stop the mouths of scholars all over the world.

In the face of big right and wrong, Bai Fu stands firm and does not give Pei Mian any face, even if he is an official and a right servant!
Although Suzong also felt that Bai Fu's loyal words were harsh, he was more willing to support Bai Fu's proposition than bear the infamy of exterminating Buddha.

Su Zong was about to make a statement, and Lu Chen, the secretary of Zhongshumen and the Minister of the Ministry of War, glared at Bai Fu, and said: "I heard that Master Bai once practiced in Shaolin for a period of time. When Shanzhou recruited soldiers, there were also many brave men from Shaolin .

As the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, how can he put his own self-interest ahead of the country? !
Lord Bai disregarded the overall situation of the imperial court and openly defended Buddhism today. I am afraid that I will fail His Majesty's divine grace in promoting you! "

Bai Fu's eyes turned cold, murderous intent suddenly appeared, and he said in his heart: "This old rascal has openly opposed me many times, if he bears it again and again, this person will become even more unscrupulous."

While the courtiers were whispering to each other, Liu Yan went out to make a request to ease the tense atmosphere between Bai and Lu.Liu Yanzou said: "Your Majesty, closing the temple is a big matter, we can discuss it slowly, and don't rush to draw a conclusion.

Regarding the source of fiscal and tax revenue, Weichen and Lord Bai also have some ways to increase income and reduce expenditure, which can meet the expenditure of the imperial court. "

After all, I will introduce the methods of leveling, salt administration, water transportation and other methods sorted out by Bai Fu one by one.All the courtiers couldn't stop nodding and praised highly.

Suzong Longyan Dayue said: "What Liu Aiqing said is very true. Regarding these methods of raising funds and taxes, you and Bai Aiqing will jointly write a memorial, and after submitting the signatures of the two provinces of Shangshu and Zhongshu, I will approve it personally.

As for the closure of temples and dismissal of monks, we will discuss it later. "

A few days later, Emperor Suzong made a decree, agreeing to implement measures such as leveling, salt administration, and water transportation to raise fiscal and tax revenue.

Bai Fujia Feng Shangshu Zuo PU shoot!