Regarding religion, Zuo Menggeng's cognition and attitude have always changed.
In the beginning, he had a completely negative attitude towards religion.
He believed that religion was a backward idea that would imprison people and hinder social progress.
But as his political level improved, he began to gradually realize the role of religion.
In particular, the Quanzhen Religion took the initiative to take refuge and its subsequent actions made him discover that religion has a role that the country, the military, and even the government do not.
For example, this time, communication with the Kandy Dynasty would have been almost impossible without Buddhism as a channel.
When Siti Mojia proposed on behalf of the Kandy Dynasty to let the empire help revitalize Buddhism, Zuo Menggeng immediately realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
However, in order to achieve the goal, the Buddhists in China must be able to be used by the country.
He took Master Xuanzang as an example and began to encourage monks to take the initiative to go out.
When the eminent monks heard his remarks, they immediately understood the country's intentions.
What Zuo Menggeng said was the country's conditions.
If it is useful to the country, then the status of Buddhism is guaranteed. Otherwise, it's hard to say.
Just to go out, these local monks are a little at a loss.
For thousands of years, they have been accustomed to living in temples and enjoying incense and offerings. It is always difficult to adapt to leaving a comfortable home and experiencing ups and downs.
Most importantly, they don't know where to start.
Seeing the monks' reactions, Zuo Mengeng couldn't help but sigh deeply.
Compared with their counterparts outside, these religions in Middle-earth are really far behind.
It's also because the environment in Middle-earth is so good that they have become accustomed to comfort and have long since lost their enterprising spirit.
But now the empire was established and joined the Age of Discovery. Since it is committed to foreign development, as part of the empire, religion must shoulder its responsibilities.
This is a religious obligation.
If you don't fulfill your obligations, how can you have any rights?
After sending away the envoy from Kandy and facing these monks alone, Zuo Menggeng showed his sharpness.
"Tianzhu is a fertile land with rich products, but the people are too weak and can easily be conquered by outsiders. Now the largest area of Tianzhu is ruled by the Mughal dynasty, the descendants of the Mongols. However, European colonists have begun By penetrating into the interior of Tianzhu, I believe they will become the masters of that land soon. Once Tianzhu is occupied by Western colonists, the biggest impact on our empire will be that we will lose control of the waterways to the Western ocean. Power can only depend on people's faces. This is not in the interest of the empire. Therefore, we must have a certain presence in Tianzhu and be able to share the waterway with Western colonists. The problem in Tianzhu is a religious issue. As long as the religious issue is solved, everything will be fine. It’s not a problem. Buddhism originated from Tianzhu, and it should also be the pioneer for the empire to enter Tianzhu. This requires your help, and it is also your responsibility as Chinese people."
It was the first time for all the monks to deal with Zuo Mengeng, and some of them were not used to his straightforwardness.
However, such a clear idea also allowed the monks to understand the country's intentions.
Abbot Sikong said quickly: "It is also the wish of the poor monk and others to be able to promote Buddhism and attract many followers. Since your Majesty has your destiny, we should serve you."
His happiness did not make Zuo Mengeng too happy.
"Then do you know what to do after arriving in Tianzhu?"
Going straight to the core issue, these monks who are accustomed to chanting sutras were at a loss.
Abbot Fatu thought about it and tried to say: "At the beginning of human beings, nature is inherently good. As long as our compassion is spread widely, I believe that I can awaken the original kindness in the hearts of the people of Tianzhu, and it will naturally happen naturally."
How could this answer make Zuo Meng more satisfied?
"If the local religion in Tianzhu is sharpening its teeth, will you be able to resist?"
The monks were a little panicked when they heard that they would use force.
"Amitabha. Monks are compassionate. If others treat others with evil, we should repay them with good thoughts."
Such pedantic remarks made Zuo Mengeng a little angry.
"Although I am a merciful Buddha, I can also act like a vajra with angry eyes and give a slap in the face. How can I be humiliated and patient in the face of crooked ways?"
Wow…
The monks knelt on the ground, all terrified.
"The poor monk dare not."
After Buddhism was introduced to China, it developed rapidly at first. But after experiencing several disasters, he finally became honest.
Put on a compassionate and kind face and act as a helper for the ruler to consolidate the people's hearts.
The monks did not dare to face the ruler's butcher's knife when it came to showing off their force.
Zuo Mengeng didn't care whether they dared or not. Since the country needed it, they had to do it.
He handed these monks to Lu Ping.
Lu Ping is not a military instructor, so of course he will not conduct military training on these monks.
Lu Ping just placed Tianzhu's information in front of these monks.
That's it, that's enough.
After these monks saw the actual situation in Tianzhu, they naturally understood Zuo Mengeng's meaning.
In that land, the princes, nobles and common people were naturally weak and incompetent, but the power of religion was vast.
Disputes over religious beliefs always ended in horrific bloodshed.
No wonder Zuo Mengeng wanted them to do something like King Kong's angry eyes.
"Except for the issue of force, your teachings will not gain much advantage in Tianzhu."
After accepting the mission, Lu Ping led his subordinates to conduct a detailed understanding and analysis of Tianzhu's situation, and even everyone became a religious expert.
The decline of Buddhism in Tianzhu is certainly due to the loss of support from the rulers, but its own weaknesses cannot be ignored.
Especially compared with mainstream Hinduism, Buddhist teachings appear fragmented and vague.
On the contrary, Hinduism integrated the advantages of other religions and had the advantage of being a latecomer, so it quickly became popular in Tianzhu.
In addition, the Islamic religion also spread rapidly on the Tianzhu continent with its strong cohesion and the military support of the rulers.
If Buddhism from China wants to enter Tianzhu, it has no hope of success without making changes.
The poor monks had no idea that it would be so difficult to promote Buddhism under the empire.
But in order to survive, they have no choice but to obey the state's command.
But since they are all eminent monks and great virtues, there must be no problem with their cultivation. Moreover, when so many eminent monks gathered together and had intense discussions, the inspiration that emerged was astonishing.
Finally, everyone agreed.
They made one point clear first.
That is……
There is little hope in competing with local religions for the ruler's support in India.
The teachings of Hinduism and Islam were far more popular with rulers than Buddhism.
In this case, we can only go in the opposite direction and choose the bottom-up path.
It just so happens that this is the development path of the empire.
Under the needs of the situation, Buddhism actually reached unity with the national strategic thinking.
(End of chapter)
