"Master, you said that the vast Dharma can benefit all sentient beings. And you said that Venerable Jiexian is more proficient in the Dharma than you, and you may not be able to catch up with him for the rest of your life, am I right? Li Ke looked at him and asked.

"Yes." Xuanzang nodded, this is what he said, he naturally dared to admit it.

"Then dare to ask the master, this precept dynasty generally distinguishes people according to the so-called caste system, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, divides people into different classes, the Buddha emphasizes the equality of all beings, but in this precept dynasty there is no equality of all beings, not to mention the untouchable class, Dalit."

"And these people are the most numerous, so may I ask, why hasn't the Dharma of Venerable Jiexian been so profound, why hasn't it been universalized yet?" Li Ke asked rhetorically in a flat tone, "Then since even the Venerable Master Jiexian, who is more advanced than your Dharma, cannot achieve the vast Dharma and universalize all sentient beings. Then what is the significance of your actions, Master? ”

Xuanzang: "......"

He was almost confused by Li Ke's series of rhetorical questions, and he naturally knew how miserable the most untouchable and Shudra class lived in the society of the Ring Sun Dynasty.

"Your Highness, the country is different, the situation is different, not to mention that the kings and nobles of the Jieri Dynasty do not believe in Buddhism." Xuanzang said helplessly.

"Oh, but this is the birthplace of Buddhism, and the country here once believed in Buddhism, and since Buddhism can universalize all sentient beings, then it must naturally be that the country is rich and the people are strong, and the country is rich and the people are strong, so why should the country perish? As the birthplace of Buddhism, it was once the place where the entire country, from the kings to the people, believed in Buddhism. Does this mean that Buddhism is not useful? Is all belief in Buddhism harmful to the country and to the people? Li Ke asked curiously.

Xuanzang: "......"

"Your Highness's words are wrong, we don't know what the situation was in the past dynasties after all, but if the poor monks work hard to spread the Dharma, they can naturally benefit all sentient beings." Xuanzang took a deep breath and said.

"Then what if my father and I order the Buddha to be destroyed? It's like the extermination of Buddhism in the Northern Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties. Li Ke looked at him lightly and asked.

Xuanzang: "......" He pursed his lips and didn't know how to answer this question for a while, because this was not anyone else, but the King of Qin of the Tang Dynasty, a prince, he dared to say so, it was possible to be true, how could he answer?

"I believe that since Your Highness has seen me, it is impossible for him to make such a move." Xuanzang took a deep breath.

"That's not for sure, whether the Tang Dynasty will destroy the Buddha depends on whether Buddhism is useful to the Tang Dynasty, in other words, whether Buddhism is useful to the rule of the Tang royal family, if the harm outweighs the good, it will inevitably destroy the Buddha." Li Ke is talking about things, "So, even if you are proficient in Buddhism, master, and in the end you are useless to the Tang Dynasty, I still want to destroy the Buddha, dare to ask the master, how do you benefit all sentient beings?" ”

Xuanzang was silent because ...... This doesn't seem to be a transfer of manpower, "What His Highness said, how can we not destroy the Buddha?" Xuanzang took a deep breath, his heart was not shaken, but he felt that he could not be asked by His Royal Highness King Qin like this, if he continued to ask, he felt that his whole person was not good.

That's why he had to take the initiative to attack.

"Of course, Buddhism is useful to the Tang Dynasty, for example, the Tang Dynasty is now constantly expanding, in Nanyang, the Tang Dynasty has added a lot of territory, and in these lands, there are many believers who believe in Buddhism, if you cooperate with the propaganda of the Tang Dynasty government, let them gradually identify with the Tang Dynasty and integrate into the Tang Dynasty, then of course the Tang government will not destroy the Buddha, but even so, Buddhism is still under the official management of the Tang Dynasty." Li Ke said with a smile.

"This is not a Buddha." Xuanzang spit out four words from his mouth.

"Well, that's right, this is not a Buddha, at least not the ideal Buddha described in your sutras, but it can keep Buddhism alive, let you have more followers, and make you influential. It can save more people from military disasters and injuries, and under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, they can live and work in peace and contentment, the people are peaceful, and they will no longer rebel and cause disputes. Then save the nations from fire and water. Li Ke cracked his mouth and smiled.

"This is not a Buddha, this is a tool, it is a tool of the ruler, this is not the Buddha in my heart, I study the Dharma, I study the Buddhist scriptures, not for this." Xuanzang frowned and said, he probably understood why His Royal Highness King Qin came here, it turned out that Buddhism became a tool of the ruling class.

"Yes, I know, didn't you say that studying the Dharma is for the benefit of all sentient beings? Since it is for the sake of universalizing sentient beings, if you follow in the footsteps of the rulers, you will be able to save all the people, you will be able to purify all sentient beings, and perhaps with the passage of time, subsequent rulers will also be able to believe in Buddhism. ”

But if you don't do that, it's useless for you to study the Dharma, and you can't universalize sentient beings, isn't your ultimate goal to purify sentient beings? If you can't universalize sentient beings and you can't expand the Dharma, what's the use of studying this sutra? Satisfy yourself? If it's just to satisfy yourself, for your own sake, then I have nothing to say, it's a personal choice. Li Ke nodded as a matter of course.

Xuanzang: "......"

It was a rebuttal, a refutation that he could not answer.

"Whether it can succeed or not, I don't know, but this is my pursuit and vision, whether it can be achieved or not, if I do it, it is possible to achieve it, but if I don't do it, it will never be realized." Xuanzang's face was calm, and he didn't talk to Li Ke about Buddhism, Buddhist scriptures, or Buddhist scriptures from beginning to end.

Because he knew that His Royal Highness King Qin in front of him had never understood the Buddhist scriptures at all, and it was useless for you to tell him this.

He had somewhat learned about His Royal Highness King Qin's character, and he had heard a lot about some of his reckless things on the way to Tianzhu.

"You see, the topic is coming back again, if you serve in the Tang Dynasty, you can influence the emperor, influence the emperor, you can save the people, save the people, and you can purify all sentient beings and save the people from fire and water, although they may not be in the midst of fire and water. But if you study the Dharma here, the result is that you can't do anything, and you may be doing useless work all your life. ”

"Master, isn't your vast Dharma for the benefit of sentient beings? Now that we can benefit all sentient beings, what's the point of the vast Dharma? If we have to cling to the Dharma and not all sentient beings, are we putting the cart before the horse, and are we violating the five precepts of Buddhism? Presumably the Buddha is not like this, right? Li Ke looked at him and said.

Xuanzang looked at Li Ke, he didn't know what His Highness was going to do.

But I have to say that His Royal Highness's words made Xuanzang's mind really no longer calm.