Meton was not afraid and said calmly, "Although I'm Mo Jiazi's younger brother, I'm here today to discuss Buddhism on behalf of the imperial court. As everyone knows, Buddhism has suffered many disasters and His Majesty is fated with Buddhism. He can't bear to see Buddhism and the imperial court in a dilemma, so he ordered me to come and discuss Buddhism.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'm grateful!" Master Hui Yuan said gratefully.
The other monks couldn't help but twitch their lips. In their view, Buddhism was pure and kind, with mercy at its core. Two martial arts had destroyed Buddhism because Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei and Emperor Taiwu of Northern Zhou were vicious and cruel. In addition, Confucianism and Daoism had added fuel to the fire. Thus, Buddhism had suffered two disasters. Buddhism was not wrong at all.
Modun's eyes swept across the crowd and immediately took in the expressions of all the Buddhist monks. He couldn't help but say loudly, "Buddhism is particular about karma. Coincidentally, the ancestors of the Mohists also once had a maxim. Please enlighten me."
"We'll listen to the School of Mohism!" Master Hui Yuan said solemnly.
"Mo Sheng summed up countless grudges and feelings and sighed. 'There's no such thing as hatred or love without reason in this world,'" Merton said.
"There's no such thing as hatred or love without reason!" Master Fa Lin frowned. He naturally understood the meaning behind Mo Jiazi's words. How could the School of Martial Arts destroy Buddhism for no reason? There must be karma involved.
"Buddhism saves all living beings from suffering and loves the world. We never ask for anything in return …" Master Hui Chang could not help but refute.
Meton sneered, "You really don't ask for anything in return? Then why does Buddhism accept incense money and have temple property? "
"This is what the believers willingly offered. We didn't force them!" Master Hui Chang retorted.
"Then why didn't the believers give us incense money for no reason?" Meton pressed.
"Ugh!" Master Hui Chang was speechless.
"Believers offer incense money to Buddhists in order to pray for peace, for the protection of Buddha, and for ascension to the Western Paradise after death. This is the real reason. The School of Mo doesn't have these. Naturally, he wouldn't willingly give us School of Mo money," Meton explained himself.
"Mosheng is indeed a man of great wisdom. He has explained the essence of the Way of Karma in a concise and comprehensive manner." Master Hui Yuan exclaimed.
The other monks all fell silent. Since Master Hui Yuan admitted that there was no such thing as love for no reason, he naturally also admitted that there was no such thing as hate for no reason. In this way, there must be a reason for Erwu's destruction of the Buddha, and not the Buddhists who always thought that they were innocent victims.
"Since all of you agree with my words, then let me carefully calculate the relationship between Buddhism and the imperial court." Meton heaved a heavy sigh of relief. He was afraid that these monks would cling to their beliefs and not be able to convince them.
"We're all ears." The monks snorted coldly.
"I believe that the biggest reason why Buddhism has suffered so many calamities is because they did not do their duty for the country. Although you are all monks, you are also people of Huaxia and the people of the Tang dynasty. You must also consider the country …" Merton said.
Before Meton could finish, Bian Ji who was standing behind Master Hui Chang couldn't help but retort, "We Buddhists are monks. The four elements are empty, and the six senses are pure. We don't care about the worldly affairs."
Meton's face suddenly turned cold. He stared at Bian Ji and said, "Whose land are you standing on? Whose clothes are you wearing? Whose food are you eating? …"
With Meton's rhetorical questions, Bian Ji couldn't help but blush and couldn't say anything.
"During the military parade last year, the people of Chang 'an shouted that everyone has a responsibility for the prosperity of the world. Whether it is the Hundred Schools of Thought or the common people, everyone has to bear the responsibility for the prosperity of the world. Buddhism is no exception. Otherwise, why would you think that Huaxia would give Buddhism unconditional love?" Meton said solemnly.
"Benefactor Mo is right. If the world needs Buddhism, we won't hesitate even if we have to give up this body!" Great Master Hui Yuan said solemnly.
"Buddhism saves the world. Naturally, we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for the country," Master Fa Lin said solemnly.
Fa Lin was a cultivator of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. She knew that the Hundred Schools of Thought's goal was to bring peace to the world. If Buddhism wanted to integrate into the Tang dynasty, it must align with the Hundred Schools of Thought's ideals.
"Bian Ji, stand down. Don't talk nonsense!" Master Hui Chang scolded. Bian Ji was an elite carefully cultivated by Buddhism. Although his wisdom was extraordinary, he was still far from Mo Jiazi, who was famous all over the world. Now was not the time for him to face Mo Jiazi.
Hearing this, Moton raised his head and looked at Bian Ji's young face in surprise. He did not expect to meet such a famous person in history at this time. He immediately pointed out, "Great Master Huichang, you should teach your disciple well, lest he bring disaster to Buddhism in the future."
Master Hui Chang's face changed. He looked at Merton warily and said, "Buddhism will take care of the disciples of Buddhism. Merton, you don't have to worry about it.
Modun smiled. He was just reminding them out of goodwill. If the Buddhists didn't take it to heart, then he wouldn't worry too much about it.
Then, he continued, "Since Buddhism is willing to contribute to the country, I will settle the score with Buddhism. When Buddhism was attacked, there were two million monks and nuns in Northern Wei and three million monks and nuns in Northern Zhou. Why don't we use at least two million monks and nuns as the bottom line for Buddhism's calamity? "Moton asked.
"Amitabha!" Master Hui Yuan and Master Fa Lin couldn't help but recite the name of Buddha.
"Professor Shen, how much land and people are needed to feed two million people?" Meton asked.
Professor Shen held a calculating chip in his hand and counted. He said, "An ordinary person needs to eat about one jin of food every day. Two million people need to eat two million jin of food every day. In a year, they need to eat seven hundred million jin of food. In Northern Wei, the yield per mu was about three hundred jin. After deducting the seeds and the farmers' expenses, it would be good to have a surplus of one hundred jin. Then, we need seven million mu of land to feed two million people."
"Seven million mu of land!" The monks couldn't help but be shocked. They thought they were innocent, but after Shen Hongcai's calculation, they realized that Buddhism wasn't that innocent.
Modun said solemnly, "Seven million mu of fertile land is almost equivalent to the Guanzhong Plain to feed the Buddhists, not to mention the Buddhist clothing, scriptures, and monasteries. How much manpower and material resources are needed for this? Isn't this the reason? "
The monks fell silent, but they didn't refute Meton's words. They also knew that two million monks and nuns seemed to be enough for Buddhism to grow, but the ruler didn't want to see so much labor become idle monks and nuns.
"Since two million monks and nuns are already in danger of annihilating Buddhism, Prof Shen, the two of you calculate how many years it will take for Buddhism to reach two million monks and nuns with its current scale of development." Moton turned to look at Prof Shen.
Shen Hongcai and Zu Mingjun looked at each other and calculated in their hearts. In a moment, they blurted out, "At most two hundred years, Buddhism will reach two million monks and nuns."
"Two hundred years?" The monks were shocked. If they had known that Buddhism would be so prosperous two hundred years ago, they would have been extremely excited. However, at this moment, they were all worried because once the number of monks and nuns reached two million, it would be the time when Buddhism would be in trouble.
Meton nodded and turned to ask the monks, "I don't know if Buddhism has a good plan to solve the crisis two hundred years later. His Majesty deeply remembers Buddhism's kindness and naturally won't touch Buddhism, but who can guarantee that the next emperor won't touch Buddhism?"
The monks were silent and shook their heads. They naturally wanted Buddhism to grow, but they didn't know that Buddhism was walking step by step into the abyss.
"Please guide us, Benefactor Mo!" Master Hui Yuan bowed with his hands together.
Meton nodded and said, "I think that since two million is the bottom line for Buddhism, then Buddhism should be reduced by at least half to ensure safety."
"One million monks!"
The monks thought about it and didn't raise any objections. After all, compared to Buddhism's current number, one million was quite a lot.
Meton looked up to the sky and sighed, "One million monks. Last year, when our imperial court went west to Tuyuhun, there were 200,000 troops. By the way, Zu Mingjun, you also participated in the production of the catapults. Do you know how many troops the Tang dynasty has in addition to the 200,000 western expedition troops? "
Zu Mingjun stood up and said in a clear voice, "Our Tang dynasty's army has sixteen great generals and various divisions. When we went west, a part of the sixteen great generals went out, and then we took out the soldiers of various divisions from all over the world. There are a total of 200,000 soldiers, and about 140,000 soldiers and horses stationed in various places."
Meton suddenly understood and said, "In this way, our Tang dynasty has about 34 soldiers and horses. In this way, the Military School is worthy of being the leader of the Hundred Schools of Thought. I didn't expect that the food provided by our Tang dynasty to support Buddhism could support three times the number of soldiers and horses."
The Military School and Buddhism were the same. They didn't produce and consumed a lot of food and money. Now that Buddhism's food consumption was enough to support three times the number of soldiers, as the ruler, it was easy to imagine what they would think. If they felt unbalanced, they would definitely find trouble with Buddhism.
The monks couldn't help but be in an uproar. They naturally heard Mo Jiazi's intention. He actually wanted the number of Buddhists to be less than the Military School, and suddenly reduced from one million to three hundred and forty thousand. Compared to the current eighty thousand monks and nuns, there was still a lot of room for growth, but it was far below their expectations.
"That's impossible. Benefactor Mo is going too far. There are many Buddhists who are loyal to Buddhism. It's impossible for Buddhism to refuse him." Master Huichang was furious.
"Yes, Buddhism stands aloof from worldly affairs and has a pure cultivation base. Benefactor Mo limits our number to less than the Military School. Could it be that he suspects Buddhism of rebelling?"
…
As soon as Meton's voice fell, the monks became angry and objected. Even Master Huiyuan and Master Falyn couldn't help but frown at Mo Jiazi.
Seeing this, Meton couldn't help but show a hesitant expression. He said, "Since everyone is against limiting the number of monks, this one has a compromise proposal. I wonder if everyone can listen to me."
"Benefactor Mo, please speak." Master Huiyuan nodded.
"Since there are many people who are loyal to Buddhism, we naturally won't stop them. How about we set a rule? The imperial court will create a monk's certificate for Buddhism. Only those who are proficient in the scriptures and familiar with Sanskrit can obtain it. In this way, not only can we leave a path for those who are loyal to Buddhism, but we can also choose people with wisdom for Buddhism. Isn't this the best of both worlds? However, the bottom line is that the number of certificates cannot exceed five hundred thousand. I am confident that I can convince the imperial court on this point. "Meton revealed a harmless smile.
"This …" The monks couldn't help but focus on the number of certificates. Buddhism itself needed to be able to read the scriptures and Sanskrit. Everyone present was an eminent monk, so they naturally thought that it was basic knowledge for monks to be proficient in the scriptures. They couldn't help but nod subconsciously.
Familiarizing oneself with scriptures and Sanskrit was naturally not a difficult task for a group of eminent monks. However, they did not know that most of the monks had only mastered these after being influenced by what they saw and heard in the temples for a few years. If a secular person were to recite Buddhist scriptures, perhaps only a truly devout believer could do it. Most people would have already given up halfway.
Among the monks, only Master Huiyuan and Master Falyn looked at Meton with sharp eyes. They saw through Mo Jiazi's plan, but even so, they looked at each other and didn't stop him.
This was because this would indeed be beneficial to Buddhism. It would greatly improve the quality of Buddhism. Although it would limit the number of Buddhists, the two of them fell silent when they thought of the tragedy of the two martial artists destroying Buddhism.
"How many literate people are there in the world? The Hundred Schools of Thought have almost all of them. How many can Buddhism have …" Bian Ji naturally wouldn't be so kind as to suddenly help Buddhism so much. He couldn't help but retort. The Hundred Schools of Thought had already selected all the talents, so how could there be any left for Buddhism?
The School of Medicine has its own medical school, and the School of Mohism has its own compulsory education system. Even the School of War, which is usually referred to as the Foot Soldiers, has begun to require literacy, and has set up military schools to train military officers. If the School of Buddhism wants to rise and embark on the road of revival, it will be even more difficult if it still wants to maintain its incomplete state. Moreover, my ancestor behind me has always been committed to compulsory education for all. If the School of Buddhism has the heart to do so, you can contribute. When the time comes, naturally, we won't have to worry about not having literate believers.
Master Falyn fell silent. Master Huiyuan was far away in the Shaolin Temple and naturally didn't know the changes in Chang 'an City. However, when he was in Chang' an City, he knew the results of the Hundred Schools of Thought's competition in Chang 'an City. In comparison, Buddhism was far inferior.
Some of the methods that the Buddhists used to attract believers were useless in front of the Hundred Schools of Thought. The failure of the Great Mercy Temple was the best example. If the Buddhists did not change, compared to the Hundred Schools of Thought, the Buddhists would fall behind the entire era.
"Buddhism saves all living beings from suffering, but Almsgiver Mo wants Buddhism to set its own threshold. This goes against the teachings of Buddhism. Please forgive Buddhism for not being able to do so." Master Huichang shook his head and retorted.
"Once the imperial court issues a certificate, it means that they acknowledge Buddhism's identity and enjoy certain privileges such as exemption from labor and taxes. I still stand by my words. There is no love without a reason in this world. Buddhism wants to enjoy these privileges but doesn't want to pay any price. Aren't you being too presumptuous?" Meton retorted mercilessly.
"Moreover, I'll reiterate that those who don't issue certificates are not proficient in Buddhism. Naturally, they can't blame others. Besides, it's not that they can't cultivate, they just have to be like ordinary people and pay taxes. If their cultivation reaches a certain level, the imperial court will naturally issue certificates. At that time, it won't be too late to serve Buddha." Meton added.
"Buddhism can accept this point. After all, this is also beneficial to Buddhism!" Master Huiyuan made the final decision. The annihilation of Buddhism by force had caused Buddhism to suffer heavy losses. However, Buddhism accepted believers regardless of aptitude, causing crooks to mix in with the honest folk. It wasn't unrelated to the repeated incidents that had tarnished Buddhism's reputation. Although issuing certificates limited the development of Buddhism, it could expel a portion of people who were just there to make up the numbers. This was greatly beneficial to the long-term development of Buddhism.
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