Chapter 80 79 Studying Buddhist scriptures and seeking Buddha statues

Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty was sixty-three years old and died of illness.Prince Liu Zhuang came to the throne, that is, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty. Once, Emperor Han Ming had a dream. In the dream, he saw a golden man with a white light flying around the temple, suddenly rose into the sky, and went west. The next day, he told the ministers about the dream, and many ministers could not tell who the golden man with the glowing head was. A doctor Fu Yi said: "There is a god in Tianzhu named Buddha. The golden man in your majesty's dream must be the Buddha of Tianzhu."

The Tianzhu mentioned by Fu Yi, also called body poison (sound yuan-du), is the place where Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, was born (Tianzhu is another name for ancient India, Sakyamuni was born in Kapilavatthu in the northern part of ancient India, in present-day Nepal).Sakyamuni was born about 565 BC), was originally a prince.Legend has it that at the age of twenty-nine, he abandoned the comfortable life of the royal family and became a monk to practice Taoism.He founded a religion called Buddhism. Sakyamuni preached the principles of Buddhism everywhere.He has preached for more than 40 years and has received many believers. Everyone respectfully calls him "Buddha".After he died, his disciples recorded his theories during his lifetime and compiled them into scriptures, which are Buddhist scriptures.

Fu Yi's words aroused the curiosity of Emperor Han Ming.He sent two officials, Cai Yin (yin) and Qin Jing, to Tianzhu to seek Buddhist scriptures. After traveling through thousands of mountains and rivers, Cai Yin and Qin Jing finally arrived in Tianzhu.When the Tianzhu people heard that China sent envoys to ask for Buddhist scriptures, they welcomed them.There are two ascetics (high-ranking monks) in Tianzhu, one named Shemo Teng and the other named Zhu Falan, who helped Cai Yin and Qin Jing understand some Buddhist principles.Cai Yin and Qin Jing invited them to China. In 67 A.D., Cai Min and Qin Jing took two ascetics, carried a Buddha statue and forty-two chapters of Buddhist scriptures on a white horse, passed through the Western Regions, and returned to Luoyang.

Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty didn't understand Buddhist scriptures, and he didn't know the principles of Buddhism, but he respected the two monks who came to deliver the scriptures.In the second year, he ordered to build a Buddhist temple in the west of Luoyang City according to the style of Tianzhu, where the white horses for sending scriptures were also enshrined. This temple was called White Horse Temple (in the east of today's Luoyang City). Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty did not understand Buddhist scriptures, and princes and ministers did not believe in Buddhism. Not many people went to the White Horse Temple to burn incense.Only Liu Ying, the king of Chu, attached great importance to it, and specially sent envoys to Luoyang to ask the two monks for advice.The two ascetics drew a picture of Buddha and copied a chapter of Buddhist scriptures to the envoy.

The envoy returned to the feudal kingdom of the king of Chu, and Liu Yingzhen, the king of Chu, set up a Buddha statue in the palace and worshiped in the morning and evening. Liu Ying, king of Chu, was an ambitious man. In the name of believing in Buddhism, he made friends with a group of alchemists and deceived people with various superstitious methods. In 70 A.D., someone reported to Emperor Han Ming that Liu Ying, the king of Chu, gathered party members and appointed officials himself to rebel.Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty sent people to investigate and found that Liu Ying was indeed involved in rebellion, so he removed the throne of King Chu and sent him to Danyang.When Liu Ying arrived there, she felt that the crime was serious, so she committed suicide.

Emperor Han Ming also sent people to investigate and deal with people who had contacts with Liu Ying.Liu Ying, king of Chu, once compiled a roster of famous people all over the country.After the list was searched, the government arrested them one by one according to the list, and many people were implicated.This has been going on for more than a year, and many people have been killed. Later, a minister persuaded Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty that most of those arrested were wronged people.Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty inquired in person, and he found that Luoyang Prison held more than a thousand innocent and impoverished people.He issued an imperial edict to pardon them.

Although Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty sent people to ask for scriptures and Buddha statues, he actually did not believe in Buddhism, but advocated Confucianism.He also personally went to Taixue (a university in ancient my country) to give lectures (here refers to the classics of Confucianism).It is said that as many as 100,000 people went to listen to the lecture and watch it.