The hanging ice on the eaves is more than a foot long, and the howling cold wind is enough to make everything tremble, but it will not extinguish the dry hearts of the more than 2,000 monks gathered in the Great Ci'en Temple.

When the voice of the lecture hall became louder and louder, the monks waiting for the news outside the square were all silent, and they all stepped forward to find out, but the guards carried swords and swords, and guarded in groups, without permission, no one was allowed to approach, and could only listen to a vague word.

The first day of the Shimen Congress was very happy, and most of the participants spoke freely and offered their opinions and suggestions, because although the meeting held by the imperial court was somewhat inexplicable, Zeng Wu's attitude won the favor of the monks.

"In this cold day, I invited all the great monks, in fact, there is only one topic, that is, how to better promote the healthy development of Buddhism, well, although His Majesty is from a Taoist family, he has words first, freedom of belief, as long as it is to persuade people to be good, conducive to social unity, conducive to people's livelihood and stability, are all good teachings, and they are worthy of support.

Now, Fengxiang and Jingzhao have been Qin soil, and the entire Guanzhong will be recovered in the near future, and then in the future, the entire Central Plains, the whole world, will hang the flag of my Great Qin, then, the management of the monk temple is placed in front of us, whether to implement the existing policies of my Great Qin, or to integrate the relevant laws and regulations of the pseudo-Song Dynasty, how to implement, this requires everyone's collective wisdom, of course, what difficulties do you have, what requirements, while this law is not timed, you can ......"

Therefore, on the first day, it became a meeting to complain about grievances, to offer advice, and even during the lunch break, the delegates took time to gather together and unify their voices, in order to strive for more benefits from the imperial court.

Zeng Wu has been smiling, witty words, the opinions, ideas, and requirements of the great monks have been registered one by one, and after the conference is held one day, the great monks are all in high spirits and full of red light.

The next day, the atmosphere changed.

"Yesterday's conference was a great success, and we received a lot of constructive comments, which is very good. Today, we continue to discuss how to better promote the healthy development of Buddhism.

However, there is a reality, please pay attention to the great monks, according to rough statistics, only in this Jingzhao Mansion, Fengxiang Mansion, there are currently more than 160 temples, and the monks are as high as more than 4,700. This is not enough, there are still people who are actively planning the construction of new temples, and they are still calling on the people to be ordained.

The total number of households in Jingzhao and Fengxiang is less than 300,000, and the number of Dingkou is only more than 700,000, reaching the point where 64 households are for one monk.

Great monks, I would like to ask, do you really need so many monasteries? Is there really a need for so many monks?

Ah, this is not a harsh criticism, but a matter of facts, please everyone talk about their views on this issue, one by one, Mingcheng monk, let's start with you. ”

“……”

Monk Mingcheng shouted the Buddha's name, got up slowly, and said in a slightly apologetic tone: "I'm really ashamed, the poor monk is either presiding over the temple affairs or reciting the Buddha's enlightenment, and his ears don't hear the things outside the window, he really doesn't know the specific situation, and he doesn't dare to comment on himself, please forgive me." ”

"I also learned at the end, how to say that the great monk is also a person in the Liberation Sect, the situation is much more familiar than that of an outsider like me, and there are no outsiders here, except for the original appearance and Tang joining the army, they are all fellow Monks, let alone outsiders, but it doesn't hurt to say."

“……”

Monk Mingcheng's eyebrows were knotted, and he was forced to be helpless, so he had to make another noise about the Buddha's name, and took the opportunity to organize the language: "This door is prosperous, and the poor monks, as disciples of the Shi family, are naturally happy, and the reason why the number has increased is because of the Song Guan's devotion to cultivating Buddhism......"

"Well, the reason is naturally known, and the original picture is to ask, in the land of the two prefectures, so many monks and temples, is it reasonable?"

"This ......"

"The monks don't speak, and the great monk, as a monk with a Tao, has to speak in a hurry?"

Monk Mingcheng was embarrassed, and on a cold day, there was sweat on his forehead.

Speaking from the heart, so many temples, it is simply harmful, the incense money is gone, how can the temple flourish again, he is the host of the Qingliang Temple, and the true transmission of Huayan Sect, whether it is from the temple income or Buddhist philosophy, are quite dissatisfied with the practice of Zen Buddhism.

First, recruiting disciples will inevitably lead to mud and sand, and second, the doctrine of "not setting up words, not preaching outside the teaching, pointing directly to the hearts of the people, and becoming a Buddha by seeing nature" is also the most likely to be used by people with ulterior motives.

The pot of Zen Buddhism, why do you want me to carry it.

Although he was dissatisfied, it was always inappropriate to openly reprimand his fellow practitioners, so he was sweating on his forehead in a hurry, and he couldn't say a word in a hurry.

Fortunately, Zeng Wu was no longer embarrassed by him, motioned to take a seat, and asked the next one instead.

With the buffer of Monk Mingcheng, the next speech is much simpler, in general, the prosperity of the Buddha is because of my Buddha's compassion, of course, as far as Jingzhao Mansion and Fengxiang Mansion are concerned, there are enough existing monasteries.

And said that because of the large number, it is inevitable that there will be one or two people who are indiscriminate and full of people, and people who are eager for success and profit.

At the same time, please rest assured that the total number of temples and monks will not increase in the future, based on the existing temples and monks, and should be strictly controlled.

Zeng Wu happily bowed his head, and after the monks finished expressing their positions one by one, he smiled and made a summary: "All the great monks have said very well, and their opinions are highly unified.

The first is that there are enough monasteries, and the second is that there are indeed some indiscriminate and inferior sons. Isn't that so? ”

Monks, you look at me, I look at you, they are all thinking in their hearts, although the meaning has changed slightly, but it is still the same, and they all nodded yes at the moment.

Zeng Wu said: "Very good, everyone's thoughts are consistent with the ideas of the imperial court, and we also think that this number is enough, even exceeded, but since they have all been shaved, we can no longer force those monks to return to the world, the policy purpose of our dynasty has always been consistent, here is clear again:

Freedom of belief, the imperial court will not interfere.

As for some of the black sheep who are indiscriminate, the great monks also said that the Shimen has its own way to solve it, and the court will not interfere in this matter, hoping to implement it. ”

After speaking, all the monks were overjoyed and praised the goodness again and again.

Zeng Wu picked up the teacup, blew lightly twice, took another sip, and continued to speak: "The imperial court allows freedom of belief, but it does not allow the law outside the law, the Buddha said that all living beings are equal, and my Majesty Daqin also said that everyone in the world is equal, I don't know such an idea, do you think the great monks are right?" ”

The monks' hearts suddenly, this is what they said, but what they said was irrefutable, under Zeng Wu's arrow-like gaze, the monks had to bite the bullet and nod yes.

"That's right, our ideas are one step closer to each other."

Zeng Wu leaned back, leaned back comfortably, and said with a smile: "Tang joins the army, you tell the meaning of the court to the great monks." ”

"Yes."

Tang Shi got up and said solemnly: "Since all living beings are equal, Shimen has no special rights, no matter how many temple and garden properties there are, they will all pay taxes according to the regulations, and the monks are also Dingkou, and they serve as one."

Ah, I need to explain that this is the old practice of the Tang Dynasty in the previous dynasty, and I will quote it, everyone, there will be no opinions. ”

There was silence in the lecture hall.

The layout of this hall, on the style is quite magnificent, one person, the table is high, and now the mystery under this style is finally revealed, the front and back are sitting far away, and they can't communicate in a low voice, the monks sit on the chairs, and can only look left and right, and make eye contact.

"If you have no opinion, just do it."

Tang Shi's tone was like ice.

"Yes."

Finally, someone was the first to come out: "Shimen is a place outside the party, since ancient times, there is no tax difference, the old case of the Tang Dynasty, there is no way to test, Zeng Xianggong, Tang joined the army......"

Tang Shi pulled a smile at the corner of his mouth, and fought a lawsuit with me, but he didn't know what I was eating, and he knew coldly at the moment: "I don't know where the land outside the square is, I only know that under the Putian world, it is not the king's land, the shore of the land, and the king's minister." Even if the temple is a place outside the square, it is first on the ground of my Great Qin. ”

“……”