Chapter 162: The Buddhist Influence Has Been Blowing

Buddha does not covet, and Dao Yuan does not covet either.

However, not coveting does not mean having no money. The Tianjie Temple is incredibly wealthy. People, like Ma Enhui, who extravagantly donate thousands of taels of silver, are not exceptions.

In the capital region, Tianjie Temple has the most prosperous incense, attracting literati, merchants, commoners, and Buddhist disciples alike. Everyone comes here to seek blessings, and the daily contributions for incense and oil are enough to make anyone jealous.

Even Zhu Yunwen feels envious because, during this period, Buddhist temples and Daoist temples were exempt from taxes. Even if a temple owns farmland, there is no need to pay taxes.

When implementing a tax system, the monks in places like Tianjie Temple, they disdainfully refuse to return the farmland. What’s the big deal about giving silver? The temple has plenty of it. Just buy the land directly at a certain price per acre…

Their arrogant attitude makes Zhu Yunwen feel like transcending these monks.

Zhu Yuanzhang maintained a positive attitude towards Buddhism, and the reason why Dao Yan could stay by Zhu Di’s side was that his old man hoped that having a monk follow his son would make him more compassionate and less aggressive in the future.

Monks following the kings were not unique to Zhu Di; other kings had them too. However, none were as impressive as Dao Yan. He initiated and succeeded in a rebellion, leaving his name engraved in history—a name that couldn’t be erased even with an eraser.

Zhu Yunwen worries about the development of temples, not because of Tianjie Temple, but because the trend of building and renovating temples has been strong and persistent for over thirty years nationwide.

If it were just ordinary people spontaneously establishing a few dilapidated temples, worshiping a few clay Buddhas, and expressing spiritual comfort, it would be acceptable.

After all, people also need some beliefs, as long as they are willing to work and pay taxes. Whether they believe in Shakyamuni, Jehovah, Allah, or the Jade Emperor, it doesn’t matter.

But if everyone believes in these things, shaves their heads, goes to the temple to strike wooden fish, practices all day with illusions of vajras and tigers, neglects production, and wastes time dreaming, then the Ming Dynasty would not survive.

Turning the Huaxia region into something like the Indian subcontinent would be a sin.

Zhu Yuanzhang both supported and restricted Buddhism.

In the sixth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that only one major temple or monastery be allowed to remain in each prefecture, county, and district. Its disciples would stay there, and those with good conduct would be appointed to manage it.

In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, the central Buddhist registry, provincial Buddhist Registry, Prefectural Buddhist registry, and County Buddhist registry were established, each responsible for managing temples at the national, province, prefectural, county levels.

It’s worth noting that, according to Zhu Yuanzhang’s intention, the monk officials in the Monk Registry represented the country, meaning they represented Zhu Yuanzhang in managing Buddhism, not Shakyamuni.

From this perspective, Zhu Yuanzhang may have thought:

I am also a Buddha; so I should take care of you.

The monk officials primarily function to compile monk registers (also known as general information registers) and temple records.

The monk register is responsible for recording information about the monks, such as gender, place of origin, contact details, family members, and other related details.

Of course, the gender column can be mostly ignored…

The temple records are responsible for documenting information about the temple, such as its location, construction date, whether it’s a violation or approved by the court, the number of disciples, the amount of housing, acres of land, and other relevant details.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the trend of constructing temples became increasingly prominent. The primary driving force behind this was not the common people but the court, specifically Zhu Yuanzhang and his numerous sons.

Indeed, the feudal lords were the main force behind building temples. If you were to open the map of Ming Dynasty, in any region where a feudal lord was granted land, you could be certain to find a temple, and not just one.

Taking Zhu Yuanzhang’s third son, Zhu Gang, as an example, in the 11th year of the Hongwu era, Zhu Gang was granted the title of King of Jin and assigned to Taiyuan. After arriving in Taiyuan, he busied himself with constructing his own King of Jin residence while overseeing the construction of the Chongshan Temple in Taiyuan.

In theory, building a temple in the city to express support for the old man’s policies would be enough. However, Zhu Gang didn’t think so. After completing Chongshan Temple, he looked around Taiyuan Prefecture and found several other temples.

Temples like Fahua Temple in Mount Meng, Shengshou Temple in Tianlong Mountain, and Duofu Temple in Mount Juewei are not thriving and are in poor condition. No worries, he used his own money to help them renovate.

Having fixed several temples around Taiyuan Prefecture, Zhu Gang was still not satisfied. But what to do when there are only these temples around Taiyuan Prefecture and they have all been renovated?

With nothing in front of him, he extended his gaze further…

Zhu Gang’s vision reached far, to places hundreds of miles away, such as Qingju Zen Temple in Matou Mountain, Xingwang Temple in Jiexiu County, and Yunfeng Temple in Mount Mian.

It can be said that the King of Jin’s Mansion has a significant influence on the temples around Taiyuan Prefecture.

It is precisely because each King is so enthusiastic that Buddhism has flourished. The reason Zhu Yunwei chose to build Bao’en Buddhist temple instead of Bao’en Daoist Temple is also because of the local support there.

Of course, the main reason was that the Buddhist temples had money.

Zhu Yunwen had only take 200,000 taels of silver from the Ministry of Revenue, and it was impossible to complete a project costing three to four million taels of silver. The shortfall had to be made up, and the question was, who would fill the gap.

Just because the court doesn’t have money doesn’t mean the people don’t.

Hiding wealth among the people is a longstanding tradition in China.

Zhu Yunwen wasn’t afraid of not being able to carry out the project. Even if no one volunteered, he could attract investments and sponsorships. After all, projects sponsored by the court were mostly completed, and unfinished ones were the exception.

Losses?

How many real estate companies were losing money?

Dao Yuan, the abbot of Tianjie Monastery, was an old monk who understood how to seize opportunities. He was well aware that building the temple and erecting the monument were done in the name of the Ming heroes and loyal soldiers, meant to pass down through the ages.

In other words, the future Bao’en Temple would be revered by everyone in the Ming Empire as a timeless sacred place, an irreplaceable spiritual sanctuary.

If Buddhism could dominate in Bao’en Temple, it would have great benefits for the future development and prosperity of Buddhism.

This was the opportunity for Tianjie Monastery and the entire Central Plains Buddhism!

Dao Yuan anxiously looked at Zhu Yunwen, hoping for his approval. If he could accomplish such a great cause in this lifetime, he could depart with a smile, serving the Buddha.

Zhu Yunwen looked at Dao Yuan with a hint of amusement in his eyes and said, “Contributing to a good cause is a good thing. I have no reason to refuse. However, how much can Tianjie Temple contribute?”

Dao Yuan relaxed, as long as the emperor nodded, everything would be fine. After a moment of contemplation, he said, “Twenty thousand taels of silver per year until Bao’en Temple and the Heroes’ Monument are completed. Would this be acceptable?”

Twenty thousand taels might seem like a lot, but compared to the financial strength of Tianjie Monastery, it was extremely manageable.

Zhu Yunwen wasn’t satisfied with this result. Shaking his head, he said, “If it’s only twenty thousand taels per year, the Central Daoist registry might also consider contributing some effort.”

Dao Yuan’s old face suddenly lost its smile. The Emperor is clearly jacking up the price, almost like extortion…

However, if the construction of the Bao’en Temple is handed over to those stubborn old Taoists, the decline of the influence of Buddhism would be inevitable. This is an outcome that Dao Yuan cannot accept.

“Your Majesty, after careful consideration, Tianjie Temple is willing to contribute forty thousand taels annually for the construction of the Bao’en Temple and the Monument to the Heroic Souls…”

Dao Yuan spoke, making a Buddhist gesture.