A beam of sunlight passed through the stained glass and cast mottled colorful light into the hall.
The light rendered by stained glass cuts colorful beams of light in the tall and majestic hall. Some dust is flying in the beams of light, and the colorful beams of light seem to carry some kind of holy light.
The holy light is reflected on the huge golden statue of Buddha.
Anyone standing in front of the giant golden statue will feel insignificant.
Emperor Zhu suddenly laughed. He smiled, raised his chin and shook his head.
Looking at the colorful sunlight, he shook his head gently, and then walked out of the palace lightly.
When walking out of the palace, the solemn chanting outside the palace echoed in the temple, and the solemnity and majesty went straight into my heart. Being in such an environment, the awe and worship were born naturally.
However, to Emperor Zhu, all of this... is just a tool.
It's just a tool of the rulers.
After taking a look at the lama in the distance, Emperor Zhu raised the corners of his lips slightly and said.
"Left Prime Minister, when Africa is covered with temples, it will be the day when our Ming Dynasty will be successful."
Zuo Zongtang, who was following beside His Majesty, nodded.
"Your Majesty has a far-sighted vision that is beyond our imagination."
Zuo Zongtang's compliment made Emperor Zhu laugh.
"You, too, have learned to flatter. I am not so far-sighted as to say that I am just copying others. The Ming Dynasty built the Great Wall and the Qing Dynasty built temples. The Qing Dynasty relied on education to tame and disintegrate Mongolia. This is still worth learning from."
Pointing to the palace behind him, Emperor Zhu said with a serious expression.
"We Han people are different from other ethnic groups. The Han people have always been a nation with strong beliefs. This self-confidence is essentially a kind of civilizational self-confidence. Han civilization has a strong belief. This belief is different from the emphasis on religion. To sum it up, it is - respect the heavens and ancestors and stay away from ghosts and gods. First worship the ancestors, then worship the Three Pure Ones, then worship the Buddha, worship the gods when you see them, and worship the Buddha when you see them. It is neither pious nor sincere, let alone dedicated. Therefore, to a certain extent, our understanding of the emphasis on religion is often not deep enough, or we cannot understand how the emphasis on religion can be used as a tool for rulers."
"Your Majesty, since Buddhism was introduced to the Central Plains and flourished in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the number of monks in the world has increased day by day. Monks have the privilege of not having to bear military service, corvee labor, or pay rent and taxes, which led to Buddhism competing with the country for wealth and manpower. This led to the destruction of Buddhism by Emperor Taiwu of Wei. Since then, the destruction of Buddhism in successive dynasties has been mostly due to the large number of monks and nuns, which is directly related to the country's competition for wealth and manpower. With the precedent of the "Three Wus and One Zong" destroying Buddhism, the Chinese dynasties have suppressed Buddhism and controlled temples, forcing them to live in the mountains and away from the world. Rather than saying that successive dynasties did not understand how emphasizing religion could help rule, it is better to say that successive dynasties knew that emphasizing religion was not conducive to rule."
Zuo Zongtang, the prime minister of the empire, did not completely agree with Your Majesty's point of view. He had his own views and opinions on the emphasis on education.
"So, from now on, we only see the harm of emphasizing education, but not its benefits... Monks do not have to bear military service, corvee labor, or pay rent and taxes, so they are harmful to China, but beneficial to the grasslands and plateaus!"
Emperor Zhu said with a smile.
"For example, the Qing Dynasty used Lamaism to rule Mongolia, vigorously promoted Lamaism, built temples, respected living Buddhas, treated Lamas preferentially, and granted privileges, making the Mongolian people extremely superstitious about Lamas. Lamas were exempted from military service, corvee labor, and taxes, which was tantamount to encouraging the common people to give up production and life and become Lamas... This is how Emperor Kangxi's blunt words came about - "Building a temple is better than raising 100,000 soldiers."
When talking about the achievements of the Qing Dynasty in Mongolia, Emperor Zhu Di's tone was full of sighs. In fact, the Ming Dynasty also built temples. For example, in Qinghai, most of the temples were built in the Ming Dynasty. Since the Hongwu Emperor, the Ming Dynasty has been adhering to the policy of "more titles and more construction" for Lamaism in Qinghai, that is, conferring more titles such as Dharma King and building more temples. The purpose is also to use the temples to educate the local people.
However, it takes time for the power of emphasis on education to manifest itself. The Qing Dynasty began to promote Tibetan Buddhism in Inner and Outer Mongolia in the late 17th century, but the effect did not become apparent until the 19th century, when it achieved complete control over Outer Mongolia.
"'Building a temple is better than raising 100,000 soldiers' is probably true!"
Zuo Zongtang's sigh made Emperor Zhu laugh.
"The Qing dynasty was like this, and so were Europeans. European colonization often involved holding a gun in one hand and a Bible in the other. After the soldiers conquered, missionaries followed. Guns conquered the land, while education conquered the soul. This was true in America and other places, and it is worth learning from."
This is certainly worth learning. After all, when it comes to colonial rule, the Ming Dynasty is just a student. All it needs to do is follow the path pioneered by countries around the world, and of course it needs to learn from advanced experiences.
Of course, the Ming Dynasty was just learning and borrowing from others. It would not be as barbaric as the Europeans and would not massacre at will. After all, the Ming Dynasty was civilized.
"If the Ming Dynasty wants to rule Africa, it must rely on the power of religion. Although the local indigenous people in East Africa are influenced by the Islamic religion, they are essentially deeply influenced by primitive shamanism. Compared with Christianity and Islamic religion, Buddhism, especially Lama education, is easier for primitive beliefs to understand. This is also its natural advantage..."
Emperor Zhu explained his ideas as he walked. In fact, as early as when the company established its first colony in Matadi, Emperor Zhu had seriously considered how to rule that land, not just conquer it.
After much thought, they decided to learn from the "advanced experience" of Europeans - missionary work. Of course, the missionary work was definitely not about God or Abraham, but... Lamaism.
Why not Han Buddhism?
After experiencing the destruction of Buddhism by the "Three Wars and One Sect" and the suppression by successive Han dynasties, Buddhism in the Han area had long been tamed into becoming a member of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. It had been beaten so badly that it had no fighting power at all!
In this case, Emperor Zhu had no choice but to banish Lamaism. In Gansu and Qinghai, several Dharma Kings appointed by the Ming Dynasty had lost their influence due to the decrease in believers. As a result, there was the "Buddhism Crossing East" ten years ago - more than a dozen Dharma Kings led monks across the ocean to the Ming Dynasty.
However, according to Emperor Zhu's plan, their missionary work was limited to Ming's African colonies, and in the future they would move the Dharma King's temple to each colony. In fact, if some things were used well, it would also be beneficial to governance.
"…That's why I asked the Dharma Kings to go to the local area to spread Buddhism. In the future, I will help them build larger temples there. Education…is not just cultural education. Temples are also a kind of education, a kind of power, and can also help the local people get rid of their previous ignorance…"
Listening to His Majesty's narration, Zuo Zongtang couldn't help but sigh in his heart, Your Majesty is truly a sage king that has never been seen in the history...
While Zuo Zongtang was sighing, Emperor Zhu continued.
"Of course, what is the most important role? To guide people to be good. They are still in ignorance, and we need to guide them onto the right path, so that they can become more kind, not kill, do good deeds, and seek the afterlife. This is the purpose!"
Yes, this is the ultimate goal of spreading Buddhism to that continent. Alas, the emperor is so worried about this...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
