History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 839 Chai Rong Governs the Country 5
3. Restrictions on Buddhism

When many people mention Chai Rong, they immediately think of the phrase "Three Wus and One Zong destroyed Buddhism". In Chinese history, there were four large-scale top-down movements to restrict Buddhism, namely the "Three Wus": Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty Tuoba Tao, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty Yuwen Yong, and Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty Li Yan; and the "One Zong": Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou Dynasty Chai Rong.

I do not want to use eye-catching words like "destroying Buddhism" or "ruining Buddhism", but prefer the neutral term "restricting Buddhism". This book does not discuss the Three Wars, but only one sect.

Chai Rong's approach to Buddhism was not "destroying" or "destroying" Buddhism at all, and had nothing to do with religious beliefs. Moreover, during the Five Dynasties, Chai Rong was not the only one who restricted Buddhism. Zhu Wen and others also restricted Buddhist activities for many reasons.

At that time, the government granted temples many privileges, such as tax exemption and exemption from corvee labor. After all, monks are beyond the Three Realms and not in the Five Elements, and the economic source of monks is single and unstable, so the court allowed temples to own their own land, and all these lands were tax-exempt.

These policies were entirely preferential care from the imperial court to monks, but no one expected that in an era of frequent wars, these "monk-friendly" measures would be exploited by criminals.

For example, as long as the poor "become a monk", they can openly refuse military service and corvee labor; as long as the rich "donate" their land to the temple, they can be exempted from all taxes; even some extremely heinous criminal suspects can escape legal sanctions as long as they "become a monk". For example, the early deeds of the Liangshan heroes in "Water Margin" are based on the novel, but the general background is the same.

These people did not really become monks, and the land they donated was not really donated to temples. There are a lot of paper details and behind-the-scenes deals involved. You can figure it out for yourself.

In addition, with the influx of these new "monks", the "monk" groups gradually evolved into criminal gangs with underworld characteristics and became organized crime groups.

These social cancers in monk's robes seriously damaged the government's fiscal revenue, military resources, and manpower resources, and seriously endangered social security and even threatened the normal operation of local governments. Their actions were contrary to Buddhism.

Under such circumstances, the imperial court had to deal with this cancer.

In May of the second year of Xian De (955), Chai Rong issued an edict to restrict Buddhism. If we excerpt part of the content, we will know why Chai Rong did not "destroy Buddhism" or "destroy Buddhism", but rather "restricted" and standardized Buddhism as we have always emphasized:

"Buddhism is a sage's wonderful teaching. It helps the world and encourages good deeds. Its benefits are very good."

——The first sentence of the edict clearly stated the attitude: Buddhism is a good thing, it encourages people to be good and builds a harmonious society, which is very good!

"…Recently, I have read reports from various states that there are monks who continue to break the law. Since there is no law to stop them, they are even more unlawful and privately ordain monks and nuns…The problem is getting worse in the countryside."

——“Monks” are committing more and more crimes, but the government can only sit back and watch them go unpunished; the phenomenon of privately ordaining monks and nuns is even more rampant despite repeated bans. These drawbacks are particularly prominent in remote rural areas.

"Those who have escaped the army shave their heads to avoid punishment; those who commit crimes and thieves hide their crimes by asking the abbot to take them as their guardian."

——The temple has become a lawless place and a paradise for wanted criminals.

"When promoting the teachings, we must distinguish between the good and the bad, and it is appropriate to cite the old rules and use them to reform the old malpractices."

——So, I am going to clean up the chaos in Buddhism.

The first paragraph of the edict ends, and the logic is very clear: First, it states that I have no objection to Buddhism itself, and that Buddhism is good; but there are many chaos now, so I have to rectify the industry. How to rectify it specifically? Please see the second paragraph:
"All prefectures, counties, towns, villages and neighborhoods that should have imperial inscriptions on their temples should remain as they are. Those without imperial inscriptions should be abolished."

——Those with formal business licenses can operate normally, while "black temples" operating without licenses must be banned in accordance with the law.

"…If there is no imperially-appointed temple, then among the temples that should be closed down, select the one with the most meritorious buildings, or leave one for each monk and nun in the temple. If there are no nuns living there, leave only one for the monks."

——This is very humane. The idea is that if there is no formal temple in a certain place, then among the illegal temples that have been closed down for rectification, select a leader with the largest scale and the best performance in the industry, give it a break, "recruit" it, and allow it to open for business. In addition, the gender of the monks must be taken into consideration. Both temples and nunneries must be available.

"The kings, nobles, relatives, and other Taoists have been ordered to stop petitioning to build temples or to set up ordination platforms."

——Reform must start with the rich and powerful. I have to add that I saw a public service advertisement on a bus not long ago about anti-corruption and promoting integrity. It almost made me laugh. Would a real corrupt official squeeze into a bus? If he is already squeezed into a bus, is it necessary to give him repeated warnings?

"If a man or a woman wishes to become a monk, he or she should seek the care of his or her parents and grandparents. If an orphan is willing, he or she should seek the care of his or her uncles and brothers who live with him or her. They can only become monks after receiving their permission." - The imperial court did not prohibit becoming a monk. From here on, Chai Rong emphasized the legal process of becoming a monk. The first step is to obtain the consent of the guardian.

"Men aged 15 and over who can recite 100 pages of scriptures or 500 pages of scriptures; women aged 13 and over who can recite 70 pages of scriptures or 300 pages of scriptures, can file a petition with this government office to shave their heads, and the recorder, military officer, and judge will be appointed to test their scriptures."

——After the guardian agrees, the applicant should apply to the local competent department, and then the relevant unit will be responsible for the assessment. Only after passing the entrance examination can the applicant proceed to the next step. If the Song Dynasty also strictly enforced this policy, fugitives such as Wu Song and Lu Zhishen would have been arrested long ago.

"Before shaving their heads, they must keep their hair in a bun. If anyone shaves his head privately, he will be forced to return to secular life. His master will punish him by severely beating him and forcing him to return to secular life, and he will also be forced to do forced labor for three years."

——If someone shaves the head of a monk's church without permission and in violation of regulations, the regular monk in charge will also be implicated. Not only will he be expelled from the church, but he will also be severely punished.

"…If anyone receives the precepts privately, the person himself, the master, the three leaders who preside over the altar, and the monks and nuns in charge will all be punished as if they were shaving their heads privately."

——Severely punish those who privately ordain monks and nuns.

"…Men and women who have parents and grandparents but no children to take care of them are not allowed to become monks."

——Becoming a monk does not mean abandoning your family. You must first ensure that there is someone to take care of the elderly at home.

"People who have committed crimes and have been prosecuted by the government, as well as those who have abandoned their parents, escaped slaves, spies, evil traitors, fugitives, uncaptured criminals, and people who have committed crimes and are on the run are not allowed to become monks and shave their heads."

——Wu Song would be silent after seeing this, while Lu Zhishen would cry after seeing this.

"If any temple tolerates such behavior, the person, the master, the three chiefs, the monks and nuns in charge, and the monks living in the neighboring rooms will all be arrested, interrogated, and reported to the court for punishment."

——Took away half of Mount Wutai and scared the whole Daxiangguo Temple.

"In the past, many monks, nuns and laymen sacrificed their bodies, burned their arms, refined their fingers, nailed their hands and feet... played with props, used talismans and performed unorthodox practices... all of which gathered people to confuse the laity. From now on, all of this will stop."

——Zero tolerance for cults.

"... Every year, two copies of the monk register are made, one for the emperor and one for the Ministry of Worship. After the 15th day of April every year... by the end of May, the previous register has arrived in Beijing. Those monks and nuns whose names are not included in the register will be forced to return to secular life."

——The imperial court reviews the list of monks and nuns every year and clears out “black monks” who operate without a license.

"When they travel on foot, go in and out, they can do whatever is convenient for them."

——The imperial court still protects the legitimate rights and interests of regular monks, and all departments should give all conveniences to the "Tang Monk and His Four Apprentices".

The above is Chai Rong's imperial edict restricting Buddhism. It is not difficult to find that the so-called "destroying Buddhism" and "destroying Buddhism" are all groundless, the title party is the master of the devil, and the rumors stop at the wise.

After the edict was promulgated and implemented, remarkable results were achieved. According to records, a total of 2,694 legal temples were retained that year, and another 30,336 "black temples" that operated without licenses were banned according to law; there were a total of 61,200 legal monks and nuns who met the conditions for becoming a monk and were registered.

Through the rectification, Buddhism became purer and more standardized. The real monks supported Chai Rong's actions from the bottom of their hearts, because Chai Rong was actually helping them to clean up the door and reshape the good image of monks. The pure land of Buddhism is not a place to hide filth and dirt, and it should not become a paradise outside the law for criminals. Monks are based on compassion and convenience, and they spend their lives with morning bells and evening drums, green lamps and ancient Buddhas. They should not become COS objects of gang members.

For the country, first of all, it increased fiscal tax revenue, secondly, it obtained more sufficient sources of soldiers and men, and finally, it maintained social order.

(End of this chapter)