Chapter 22 It is better to block than to be sparse, and it is better to limit the Buddha than to destroy the Buddha (2)

In fact, these lands were cultivated by the people in the vicinity, and some people still rushed to do this kind of work, because the land of Buddhism did not have to pay taxes, and even the tenants with them did not have to pay taxes, that is, as long as the tenants gave enough rent to Buddhism, the rest would be regarded as their own - how is this behavior different from ordinary landlords?

Moreover, the ancients were superstitious that temples do not need to pay any taxes, and Buddhism does not pay taxes, which also leads to more and more money and food for Buddhism, and the monks are getting richer and richer, and the richer they are, they will buy more land, and then after owning more land, they will be richer...... In this way, a vicious circle is formed, and in the end, land annexation appears, and finally the country is swayed.

"......" Xuanzang really had nothing to say, of course he couldn't say anything about the tenant in front of Li Zhen, so he could only bow his head and be silent.

Xuanzang didn't speak, but Li Zhen didn't plan to let him go: "Why didn't the master speak?" Since Buddhism can collect rent, why can't the king collect their taxes? If you want the king to be exempt from taxes, you can, as long as they are exempt from these rents. ”

"......" Xuanzang showed a wry smile on his face, but he still didn't speak, exempt from rent? The poor monks have no opinion, but for those big temples, it is tantamount to asking for their life, there is no rent, they naturally will not let the farmers help them farm, there are no farmers to help them farm, so many fields, they can't plant, the idle land will be taken away by the government sooner or later, how can they be willing?

Li Zhen asked coldly: "I think you also understand what those people are thinking, such a dirty but greedy person, the master himself thinks that it is really good to leave them in the Buddhist sect?" ”

Xuanzang was a little unwilling, and pointed to another one: "Even if His Highness is reasonable, but is this incense money a bit excessive?" This is all dedicated to the Buddha by believers, and it is a bit too much for you to take it away? And Your Highness, you can't help but be too ruthless, right? Only leave them with one percent, I'm afraid it's not enough to repair the temple and scrub the Buddha's body, right? ”

"Don't worry about this, after the establishment of the Buddhist Society, the temples in the world will be managed by the Buddhist Society, and the Buddhist Society is directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, that is to say, this temple is actually the property of the imperial court, and the cost of this repair will naturally be paid by the imperial court." Li Zhen explained in detail: "Without the pressure of repairing the temple, the remaining 10% of the money is enough for those monks to live a normal life - you are all Taoist monks, you just eat fasting and chant Buddha on weekdays, and you have your own land, except for incense, there is usually no place to spend anything, 10% is enough." ”

"But after all, the money was donated to the Buddha by the believers......"

"But how much of this money can go to the Buddha?" Li Zhen's tone became cold: "There are twelve temples in Chang'an City, and the number in the suburbs is about this number, master, you can go back and see for yourself, which of the monks in those temples is not fat and big-eared, and the face is full of oil?" If they didn't embezzle the incense money of the believers, where would they have so much money to live such a good life?

On the contrary, using this money to adopt some lonely old people and young orphans is the real accumulation of virtue and good deeds, which is much better than letting those moths spend it. ”

"But......" Xuanzang finally spoke, but the words were only a beginning, but they were stuck in his throat, and in the end he could only turn into a long sigh: "That's it, what His Highness said is reasonable, the poor monk can't argue with His Highness, I only hope that His Highness can leave a little incense for Buddhism in the end, don't make us Buddhism, and break the inheritance." ”

Li Zhen nodded and said: "This master can rest assured, this king has never destroyed the meaning of Buddhism, Buddhism has been introduced into China for thousands of years and has not fallen, but it is becoming more and more vigorous, disciples and believers are all over the world, and they have long been inseparable from Chinese culture. Since Buddhism can exist, it naturally makes sense, not to mention that as the master said, the Buddhist teachings themselves are good, but some people distort the general principles of Buddhism for their own selfish interests.

This is also the meaning of the establishment of the Buddhist Society, the Buddhist Society is not restricting the development of Buddhism, his role is more to play a supervisory role, to supervise the Buddhism to go to the right way, rather than to take those crooked ways, and at the same time to help Buddhism to remove the essence, so that he can develop more healthily and upward.

Therefore, the master does not need to panic about this, the momentum of Buddhism may be suppressed in a short time, but as long as you are sitting upright, are you afraid that there will be a day when you will not prosper again? ”

Li Zhen's words are sincere, Buddhism has been introduced into China for thousands of years, and has long been integrated with Chinese culture, becoming the most important component of Chinese culture, since such a religion can exist for thousands of years without weakening, naturally there is a reason for its existence, although the teachings of Buddhism are a little overbearing, but as long as they are corrected, as a kind of knowledge spread, there is no problem.

Besides, if you want to talk about hegemony, or monotheism is more domineering, especially *** religion - you either believe me, or I kill you, this theory is much more domineering than Buddhism. Even such a religion, Chinese culture can accommodate and absorb it, just a Buddhism, if Li Zhen can't tolerate people, then his strength is too small.

"I hope so." Xuanzang sighed again, and asked again: "Let's talk about the Buddhist Society, since it is a meeting, then there should be a leader, right?" I wonder which Gaode His Highness is going to choose for this position? ”

"The Buddhist Society is only a temporary idea of this king, and there is no immediate plan to implement it, the main reason is that there is no master with sufficient prestige to take on the important task of the association." Speaking of this, Li Zhen suddenly stopped, and looked at Xuanzang with straight eyes: "But now, this king is going to advance the Buddhist Society, because this king has met a very suitable candidate......

Xuanzang understood what Li Zhen meant, and pointed at himself in disbelief: "Your Highness can't be a poor monk, right?" ”

"It's the master." Li Zhen did not deny it, and said bluntly: "Before the master went to Tianzhu, he was already a Buddhist monk, after this trip to Tianzhu, his prestige broke through the sky, and it was destined to be passed down through the ages, not only widely worshipped among the people, but also within Buddhism, his prestige will be greatly increased, and even the establishment of a sect and becoming a sect leader is definitely not a problem." ”