Sitting in the political affairs hall, carrying a political affairs pen in hand, Qin Lang issued a document to the Ministry of Rites, asking the doctor from the Ministry of Shrine to come here with a monk and Taoist certificate.

The Temple Department is one of the four ministries of the Ministry of Rites, which is in charge of temple sacrifices, sacrifices, astronomy, missing carvings, national taboos, temple taboos, divination, medicine, and the policies of monks and nuns.

The Ministry of Rites is considered a cold yamen among the six ministries, and the Ministry of Shrine is the cold yamen among the four ministries of the Ministry of Rites.

The doctor in the temple department did not expect to summon him to the prime minister with his pen. He was worried and didn't know what was going on, so he hurried to the government affairs hall.

As a result, after Qin Lang met this old doctor, he just asked about the monks and Taoists' certificates and household registration.

"I wrote a poem to you. The affairs of Buddhism and Taoism were initially under the jurisdiction of Honglu Temple, but later it was changed to the Ministry of Temple management and was only responsible for the issuance of the sacrificial certificates, and were fully managed by Zongzheng Temple."

Qin Lang interrupted him, "I was promoted by the reform of Buddhism and Taoism in the Tang Dynasty. Wouldn't I know this?"

The doctor couldn't help but sweat and nodded quickly.

At first, the Honglu Temple was indeed responsible for Buddhist affairs. There was a special agency called Chongxuan School. Later, as the doctor said, the Ministry of Rites and Zongzheng Temple, one of the nine temples, was managed by the Ministry of Rites, but now it has been fully taken over by the Ministry of Shrine.

After the reform of Buddhism and Taoism, the Tang Dynasty implemented a system of monks and Taoist sanctions and records. In order to control the number of monks and Taoists and strictly prevent the temple economy from getting out of control, all monks must first study hard from their masters, and then recommend them by their masters to participate in the monks and Taoists exam once every three years. Only after the exam is passed can the temple department be approved to obtain the precepts.

When saving monks and Taoists, they must be unified in Chang'an. The censor must be present. Finally, they can receive the certificate issued by the Ministry of Rites and Temples of the Shangshu Province and become a legal monk. This certificate must be purchased for money, which is very expensive. After returning to secular life or death, the certificate must be returned to the government and is strictly prohibited from being transferred.

Nowadays, the Buddhist Taoism in the Tang Dynasty is all about radish and pits. All monks and Taoists must practice in temples and temples. Each temple has a prescribed quota. One must be returned to secular life or one die before they can recruit apprentices. After passing the exam, they can pay for the certificate before they can make up for it. Even if they are recruiting apprentices, they have strict regulations. They cannot be slandered at will, or even practice with hair, etc., and they are not allowed to private temples like Lanruo.

The temple department is responsible for the management. Now, the number of monks in the Tang Dynasty recorded in their entire archives is 8,000, nuns, and 5,000 Taoist priests.

These monks and Taoists also have special monk and Taoist household registrations. Like households, they are also made every three years, and are distributed to the state, county, and ancestral department. They must be inspected from time to time.

Under the new tax and field system, Buddhist temples and Taoist temples no longer grant land, but the existing land still needs to be paid tax on a mu and household tax, and economic activities are not allowed, such as building workshops, mills, quality warehouses, etc.

Under these strict systems, the originally powerful Buddhist Taoism in the early Tang Dynasty, especially the power and economy of Buddhist temples, were greatly hit. Hundreds of thousands of monks and nuns and tens of millions of acres of temple land were all filled with the national economy.

Without tax exemption privileges, there is no strong temple economy, and strict examinations and certificate management, most monks today are monks who recite scriptures and have to work on their own.

"I heard that recently, the temples in Chang'an have started to be ordained in private again. You are in vain for management."

When the doctor heard this, he turned pale with fright.

"Since the implementation of the new system, our temple department has strictly managed temples in various places, but there are also cases where some temples are illegal monks and Taoists, privately ordained, and illegally recruited novice monks. Once we discovered it, we immediately ordered rectification and punished it. It was just......"

"There is nothing, like today's monks, nuns and Taoist crowns are only 15,000,000, and there is no one army yet, but you can't control it? This is a dereliction of duty. I will give the ancestral department an administrative warning first. You must strengthen management. If there are any serious cases of private orphanage in the future, I will severely deal with the ancestral department."

"After you go back, let the temple department take action immediately and investigate from Chang'an and Jingji areas. Those who have privately ordained monks and Taoists and recruited novice monks and Taoists in violation of regulations will be severely punished and brought them all back to Chang'an."

The doctor asked in surprise, "I don't know what my husband Bingbi plans to deal with them? Do you want to take back the certificate, force the order to return to secular life, or just exile the army to the frontier?"

"Originally, it should be dealt with in this way. In serious cases, it is even necessary to be directly imparted as slaves. But now the prince is polite and his highness is kind, so he will give these monks a chance. I will send these people to the four countries of Haidong to promote Buddhism, Taoism, which is also considered atonement for sins."

The doctor was stunned for a moment.

Going to the four countries of Haidong to preach the Dharma? Isn’t this equivalent to expelling the country?

It's too harsh, right?

But he did not dare to doubt the words of Prince Qin and quickly received the order and left.

When he returned to the temple department, he immediately summoned a group of officials including Junwailang, and first fired at the bottom, and then deployed tasks. The temple department went out and all the officials went to various Buddhist temples and Taoist temples in Chang'an and the capital.

In just a few days, they found more than a hundred monks and Taoists who violated the rules from various temples.

After the list was delivered, Qin Lang was surprised to find that there was a Master Xuanzang inside. After carefully evaluating the files, he found that the Master Xuanzang was indeed Tang Sanzang. The reason why he was sent was to try to leave the country privately. He was sent back to Chang'an by the Liangzhou Grand Governor's Office for smuggling out of seclusion.

This happened in the three years of Zhenguan. This monk, who was already well-known in the world, and with his brother, Master Changjie and Monk Xiaoda, a monk in Qinzhou, violated the ban and traveled westward, intending to go to the origin of Buddhism in India to find the true scriptures and re-translate them in order to unify the differences in Buddhist thoughts in the Central Plains.

However, after the reform of Buddhism and Taoism in the court, monks traveled and preached were strictly stipulated. They had to apply first, and after obtaining approval, they brought a bunch of certificates such as monks, monks' books, and other certificates before they could go out. If not, the governments along the way must be strictly investigated and repatriated.

Xuanzang initially called the application report, but was directly rejected. After several applications, he simply went privately. They were still caught in the morning and night, but they were found out and sent back directly. They were also deposed and fined, and were sentenced to three years of ban on leaving the temple.

This time I was sent here because of previous bad records, and was directly raised by the ancestral department.

"This Master Xuanzang is a high-ranking monk and is famous all over the world. Go and invite me quickly. I want to see you."

Master Xuanzang, who was only 29 years old, made Qin Lang feel like a master when he met. This is a true Buddhist master who devotes himself to studying Buddhism.

This person is also considered a descendant of the famous gentry family. It is said that he was the descendant of Chen Qi, a famous minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty. His great-grandfather Chen Qin served as the prefect of Shangdang of the Later Wei Dynasty. His grandfather Chen Kang was a doctor of the Northern Qi Dynasty. His father Chen Hui was also a county magistrate who read scriptures and became a county magistrate in Jiangling.

Later, because of the decline of the Sui Dynasty, he lived in seclusion in the countryside without leaving. It was not that he was killed by thieves on the way to take office as mentioned in Journey to the West. He pretended to take office, occupied his wife, and threw away his children.

The four brothers of Xuanzang, who studied Confucian classics such as Filial Piety from his father since childhood, received a good education and influence. After his father passed away, influenced by the atmosphere at that time, his second brother Chen Su became a monk in Luoyang, namely Master Changjie.

When he was ten years old, he also went to the temple with Master Changjie to study the Lotus Sutra, etc.

Later, he met Zheng Shanguo and was rewarded by the Zheng family in Xingyang. He made him become a monk at the Luoyang Putu Temple in the eastern capital, and studied the Dharma with the master for six years in the temple.

In the early Tang Dynasty, affected by the war, Xuanzang and his brother left Luoyang to travel and study in Shu. After four or five years in Shu, they traveled to Longyou. They can be said to have traveled to famous mountains and temples all over the world and learned the ideas of various Buddhist schools.

"I heard that the monk wanted to go to the West to seek the true scriptures?" Qin Lang asked directly.

Xuanzang was very polite. This monk, who was a few years younger than Emperor Li Shimin and older than Qin Lang, was indeed handsome and had a gentle taste. No wonder he was remembered by the female fairies all the way in Journey to the West.

"I have traveled to Buddhist temples all over the world, studied Buddhism from north to south, and also heard the Dharma taught by the monk Bo in the Indian after Chang'an. He heard that Tianzhu Jiexian taught the "Yujia Lun" in Nalanda Temple that the three vehicles were summarized. So he vowed to go west to seek the Dharma, explore the original texts, and re-translate it in order to unify the differences between Buddhism in the Central Plains."

Qin Lang couldn't help laughing when he heard that he wanted to go to Yu's class.

But everyone has their own beliefs. As long as this belief is pious and does not harm others, and does not think about taking the opportunity to cheat or something, they should be supported.

"I admire the determination of the wizards for thousands of miles away from India."

"Please support from Mr. Qin!"

"I can support the mage, but there is a condition."

"Please speak with Mr. Qin!"

"Do you know the four countries of Haidong?"

Xuanzang nodded.

"The kings of the four kings of Haidong also respect Buddhism very much. They have sent people to seek the Dharma of Sutra several times. This time, the countries came to pay tribute and made the same request. They also hope that the Tang Dynasty can send Taoist monks to preach the Dharma and preach the scriptures. I plan to organize a group of monks to preach the scriptures, establish Buddhist temples for the four countries, spread Buddhism, and bring scriptures."

Xuanzang was surprised that he wanted to go to the West, Nalanda Temple in Tianzhu, and wanted to listen to Yujia, but he didn't want to go to Baekje, Japan. Although he also heard in Chang'an that Baekje, Japan, and others have also begun to worship Buddha in recent years, the Buddhist teachings in that place were all passed down from the Central Plains. He wanted to learn the Dharma, not the Dharma.

"If the monk is willing to lead the group to preach the Dharma, it will take three to five years, or one to two years, and you can return to the country after the work is completed. At that time, I will personally approve the articles and send someone to escort the monks all the way to the West to seek the true scriptures and return to the Tang Dynasty. The courts will mobilize monks from local Buddhist temples to help translate the scriptures. How about it?"

This condition made Xuanzang feel moved.

"I wonder what specific requirements do the Prime Minister Qin asked me to go to the four countries of Haidong?"

Qin Lang smiled and said, there were no specific requirements. Anyway, Xuanzang was also a very famous monk in the Tang Dynasty. Although he was young, he was very good at Buddhism, so he made you masters who could not stand the loneliness in the Tang Dynasty temples go to Haidong for activities, which just set off a wave of orgasm for worshipping Buddha.

If the four countries can be led to the worship of Buddhism as much as Emperor Xiao Wu of Nanliang, and build Buddhist temples in various places, build Buddhist statues, copy Buddhist scriptures, and make a large number of people ordained people to become monks, it would be equivalent to planting a cancer for them.

Buddhism is not necessarily bad, but if a country over-respecting Buddha, it is definitely a serious cancer.

As early as decades ago, Buddhism began to be introduced to Japan through the Korean Peninsula. Prince Shengde and the reformists represented by the Suwo family both strongly worshipped Buddhism. This naturally means taking the opportunity to suppress traditional forces. Buddhism has the meaning of tools, but the worship of Buddhism they initiated did make the Buddha begin to take root and sprout in Japan. The Three Kingdoms of Baekje Silla Goguryeo were also influenced by the spread of Buddhists in the Central Plains. In recent years, the suppression of Buddhism in the Central Plains has caused many monks and Taoists to pour into the east of the sea, forming a small climax.

Qin Lang wanted to promote a wave, and directly sent a large number of monks and Taoists to spread the Dharma in the name of spreading the Dharma, making Buddhism the national religion of the four countries of Haidong, and the Buddhism of the Tang Dynasty became the holy land of Buddhism in the four countries, just like the Qing Dynasty used the Yellow Sect to influence and control Mongolia.

Qin Lang was willing to provide funds, send out monks, print Buddhist books, and even provide them with design drawings for the construction of Buddhist temples. Anyway, if all the four countries in Haidong worship Buddhism as their national religion, then the four countries will be void because of Buddha. Even if they are not that powerful, at least they can make a lot of money by the way of exposing Buddhist and Taoism foreign trade.

"I just hope that the master can use Buddhism to impress the royal families and courts of the four kingdoms of Haidong, let them focus on Buddhism, build temples and save people into Buddha!"

Qin Lang was the promoter of the Tang Dynasty's reform to suppress Buddhism, but now he wants to go to Haidong to preach Buddhism, saying that the four countries should worship Buddhism and enter the Tao. These two completely different attitudes made Xuanzang think deeply.

But Qin Lang's conditions were indeed attractive. After returning from the trip to Haidong, he sent someone to send him to the West to seek scriptures. After returning from obtaining scriptures, he would also mobilize a monk to help him translate scriptures.

After Xuanzang agreed, Qin Lang took out a box full of temple architectural drawings of famous big Buddha temples such as Chang'an, Luoyang, and Jiangling before the Tang Dynasty. These magnificent and magnificent Buddha temples cover a positive and wide area, and are tall and magnificent, with countless exquisite and tall Buddha statues inside.

Some large Buddha statues are even several meters tall, while some exquisite pagodas are even dozens of meters tall.

Not to mention those Buddhist temples, painted with red painted glass tiles, and the Buddha statues are painted with copper cast gold cinnabar, which is extremely exquisite.

Anyone who builds it can make a small country like Haidong and the four countries cost a huge amount of money. How can a grand temple be built without a thousand eight hundred monks?

How could the long-term offering be reduced to monks' fields and so on?

The result of religious development will inevitably not be satisfied with the outside world, but will definitely turn to the secular world and reach out to secular power, which is an inevitable result.

The Central Plains have also experienced such a stage, so Qin Lang believes that Haidong worships Buddhism and will inevitably go through this stage later. Even because of the Tang Dynasty's interference and support behind the scenes, it may be more complicated.

"Qin Gong, I have a saying before. If you go to the east of the sea, just promote Buddhism and teach Buddhist scriptures without asking about secular affairs!" Xuanzang was very smart and guessed that Qin Lang was not the kind of person who truly admired Buddhism and spread the Dharma. There must be another picture of this matter.
Chapter completed!