(Minghui.org) In the chapter “Biographies of Assassins” in the book Records of the Grand Historian, it states, “Nourishing resentment breeds calamity.” Since the beginning of history, stories of long-standing resentment turning into hatred and revenge, eventually bringing about disasters, are common. One’s resentment is a fire that can burn both oneself and others.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Lin Lingsu was a rogue in his youth, who later became a monk in a Buddhist temple. He was expelled because he did not follow the precepts. After years of wandering, he claimed one day to have received teachings from a deity and to have mastered techniques to enter heaven and earth and manipulate the weather. People then began to see him as a divine being who had attained the Dao.
Emperor Huizong of Song summoned Lin for a meeting. Seeing an opportunity, Lin later wrote “Commentary on Buddhist Scriptures Slandering Taoism” and persuaded Emperor Huizong to issue an imperial edict that eradicated Buddhism and forced people to follow Taoism.
Emperor Huizong prohibited officials and civilians from worshiping Buddha statues and from providing monks with food. He also ordered the burning of all Buddhist scriptures that criticized Taoism and Confucianism; declared that all Buddhas be called a Great Enlightened Golden Deity (a Taoist title); mandated that all Buddhist temples be renamed Taoist shrines; and instructed that monks be called “men of virtue” and nuns be called “women of virtue.” Under the proclamation, most Buddhist temples in the capital city were either taken over by the government, abandoned, or destroyed.
Why did Lin push so hard for Emperor Huizong to suppress Buddhism and promote Taoism? It wasn’t because he believed Taoism was superior, but because “he wanted to eradicate Buddhism to vent his past grievances,” says The Imperial Commentary on the General Mirror of History: A Condensed Overview (御批历代通鉴辑览). Lin defamed Buddhism to retaliate against the Buddhist monks who punished and expelled him from the temple. It’s safe to say that his resentment caused a calamity for Buddhism in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Lin’s lies to deceive the emperor were later exposed, and he was reprimanded and sent back to his hometown. In the History of Song, it states: “(Lin) misled the public and acted presumptuously, causing widespread troubles and resentment in society. In the four years in the capital, he was unrepentant and arrogant, and was eventually dismissed and sent back to his hometown.” He was later reported for overstepping his authority and was banished to Chuzhou, where he died at age 44.
A few years later, soldiers from the State of Jin, a nomadic nation north of the Song Dynasty’s territory, invaded Song. The emperor and his son were captured, marking the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. It is believed that the dynasty ended because the emperor engaged in religious suppression and blasphemy.
Lin’s resentment of the Buddhist monks led him to intentionally frame and slander Buddhism, which not only brought him misfortune but also destabilized a nation.
Category: Traditional Culture
