Since ancient times, the word "faith" seems to be deeply ingrained in the blood of Chinese descendants. There may be differences in the religions or theories of belief in different eras and different regions, but it is undeniable that religious beliefs , as a spiritual and cultural existence, are an indispensable part of today's social development.
Let’s take a closer look at the mainstream religions currently existing in our country. Buddhism, Taoism , Christianity, and Catholicism are the major religions that are widely spread in our country, and each has its own unique spiritual core.
Among them, Taoism is a religion native to my country, and it is also the only "domestic" among the five major religions. It seems that there is always a preference for biological children. Taoism has been relatively smooth in its overall development process.
A large part of the reason may be that Taoism adapts to the changes of dynasties in our country, and its spiritual core is more in line with the needs of the ruling class of feudal society for thousands of years in the past. It is a qualified spiritual domestication prop.
But on the contrary, it is full of bitterness to detail the past of "imported" Buddhism. What were the reasons for the "destruction of Buddhism" several times in history? How hateful was Buddhism at that time?
In our modern understanding, Buddhism is the Mahayana, and it also has a very important weight in the hearts of Chinese people. Buddhism advocates a vegetarian diet, a pure mind and few desires. All things are caused by causes and conditions.
It seems that when we think of Buddhism, we will think of temples full of incense, the sound of wood, the soothing Sanskrit singing, and even the salvation of many people in desperate situations, cleansing their souls...
But is such a superior Buddhism, why did it have incompatibility with the rulers? has been exterminated many times?
The first time the teachings of the Buddha were destroyed
The first and most fundamental reason was that the teachings were inconsistent. The cultural foundation of our country has been unshakable for thousands of years. Since ancient times, we have emphasized that "there are three types of unfilial piety, and the greatest is not having offspring", "the hair and skin of the body are received from the parents", "the happiness of family", and the blood of the clan... These are the foundation of our great China and the way to ensure peace.
But Buddhism emphasizes abstinence from desires, abstinence and introspection. If a large enough population believes in Buddhism, then what is the way to reproduce? Isn’t it that everyone abstains from sex, escapes into Buddhism, and has no intention of the so-called mundane world? The most direct way, how to promote the development of social economy?
In ancient times, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty burned books and harassed Confucians, pushing Confucianism to the ultimate position of Dengfeng. Confucianism advocates benevolence, and benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and trust are its theoretical pillars. It was precisely because of being loyal to the emperor and obeying parents that it became the mainstream theory and was highly praised by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
On the other hand, Buddhism often retreats into Buddhism, has a pure heart and few desires, and is at ease with the world. However, at its core, this is contrary to governing the world.
Perhaps when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty fully promoted Confucianism, the theory of Buddhism was completely alien at the time. I said "Organize the family, govern the country and bring peace to the world" because I wanted you to do it, but you said " Namo Amitabha ". With your legs crossed, knocking on the wooden fish and chanting words, can you be like a thousand cavalry and level the mountains and rivers, or can you save the farmers from lowering their heads to work and turn into a granary?
The motivation for the second extermination of the Buddha
Secondly, our country is a multi-ethnic country, and the Han nationality has always been the ethnic group with the highest proportion of the population. Previous great national integrations, taking the Northern Wei period as an example, were essentially large-scale sinicization. Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty destroyed Buddhism , which is also a classic in history.
We can take a closer look at the motivations of Emperor Taiwu . The Northern Wei Dynasty was a political power for everyone in Xianbei. How could it achieve the unification of such a vast territory and a huge group of Han people? There is no doubt that when standing in the same queue, at least culture comes first and faith is the foundation.
The rulers of all dynasties were not stupid. Cultural rule is the lowest cost and can be achieved without a single soldier. If you want to unify, you must stand in the local religious ranks of the Han people and unanimously fight against foreigners to gain cultural recognition.
We also mentioned in the previous article that Taoism is a direct descendant, and Buddhism is an imported product . It is now clear where the balance of popular cultural identity is leaning and how to choose.
The necessity of destroying the Buddha for the third time
The third one, each performs its own duties. The changes of dynasties over the past thousands of years were not like the peaceful and prosperous times today, but were full of turmoil. It seems that the more people experience suffering, the easier it is for them to hypnotize themselves, as if they can obtain salvation through the theoretical power of bliss in the West after rebirth, which leads many people to plunge into illusion to escape the suffering of real life.
The direct results of this are even more obvious: there is no one working on the farmland and food is scarce; expansion of territory requires troops, but people are compassionate and do not kill;
economic development requires taxation, but no one pays taxes or joins the army. In this era, what king can endure it?
Let’s take Northern Emperor Taiwu of the Wei Dynasty and Tang Wuzong as examples. The eras they belonged to were both turbulent and separatist periods, and they were very similar in that the central government had no time to take care of them.
Due to the lack of management, Buddhism took advantage of the east wind in a short period of time and developed rapidly. This caused Buddhism to attract a large number of manpower, material and financial resources.
As a result, many temples were built. The idle dandies "escaped into Buddhism" and wore the cloak of Buddhism to indulge in extravagance and disobey the precepts. The poor people were overwhelmed and entered the temples one after another to escape the suffering of reality.
This has greatly intensified social conflicts, especially for the rulers, which is harmful but useless. Therefore, in these two periods, large-scale "extermination of Buddhism" was carried out, and the reasons can also stand up to scrutiny.
ending
In general, whether in a centralized feudal society or in a modern society with highly developed economy, the development of science and technology is always given top priority, and the existence of spiritual and cultural levels must also be conducive to social development and play a positive role in promoting it.
A detailed list of several actions to exterminate Buddhism in history does not negate Buddhism itself. It is just that in a specific historical period, it did not play a role that satisfied the rulers, so it was a relatively realistic choice.
Buddhism itself is not wrong. Today it is respected to a higher status and recognized by the mainstream of society. It has become one of the five major modern religions in my country, which affirms the rationality of the existence and prevalence of Buddhism. After all, the existence of is reasonable . In this modern society that is chaotic and full of lust, Buddhism is also the first choice for people to have spiritual shelter.
In today's society, there is relative freedom of belief, and economy and culture, as the right and left arms, have always been indispensable. Compared with religions such as Buddhism and Taoism that are recognized by society, what is chilling is that there are still many social dregs in the dark corners of society that poison the soul, amass money, and even kill lives.
As a new era, we must always keep a clear mind and get rid of the dross. People should have faith, but they must also pay attention to the direction. Good faith is enough to light up a beacon and make life boil and shine; wrong superstition will make all living beings miserable and eventually eliminated.
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