Due to his early experience of becoming a monk, Zhu Yuanzhang had a comprehensive and thorough understanding of the purposes and principles of Buddhism, and his basic attitude of protecting the law and teaching was quite clear. Every time he sees kindness and true practice, he sincerely admires it. He paid great tribute to this monk, who was "in the dead of winter, his clothes were worn out, his knees were folded, and he longed for six years of asceticism in Tathagata, intending to change his mind and make the world better". Although his skin was cracked by cold, he didn't tell him (Ming Taizu Collection, Volume 10, Shi Ming Lun). With the increasing popularity of Buddhism, temples and pavilions are solemnly equipped and happy. In Hongwu, he specially chose a monk as a vassal assistant, "recommending blessings for chanting." In addition to political affairs, he often "hangs out with Zen monks in the temple" to relieve his troubles and "temporarily release a few redundant staff" (Ming Taizu Collection, volume 14, Visiting the Temple). He has extensive contacts with Fan Qi, who was awarded the title of "Master of Buddhism", Jin Bifeng, monk Zhong Tianzhu, Emei monk Bao Tan, Putuo monk Huai Xin and other world-famous monks who were awarded the title of "Master of Understanding by Silence". They are all treated with special courtesy and often given poems and songs.
Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to the transcendence and enlightenment of Buddhism. At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, he "sympathized with the wars in the four seas and killed many people" and thought that "it is not enough to be a Buddha" (Song Lian's "The Buddha shines brightly and argues with the Zen master Taming"). So, in September of the first year of Hongwu and March of the second year of Hongwu, he twice asked a famous monk in the south of the Yangtze River to abstain from morality. In the third year of Hongwu, because he was suspicious of ghosts and gods, he specially invited sixteen exorcists to stay in Datianjie Temple in Jinling, and analyzed their reasons in detail. At the same time, Chu Shi Fan Qi, the founder of Zen Buddhism, was called "the first Zen master in the Ming Dynasty" and predicted the time and fate. Before he died, he bathed and changed clothes, and wrote: "Truth is round and bright, there is no birth and death, the wooden horse rings at night, and the sun rises in the west." Give Tang Meng's master a pen and say, "Brother, I'll go." Tang Meng asked, "Where are you going?" A: "Go to the West." He also asked, "There is a Buddha in the West, but there is no Buddha in the East?" He died of shock (the actions of Chu Shi and Monk). Four days after his death, the color became brighter, and Zhu Yuanzhang and Song Lian, a great scholar, mourned for it. At that time, the imperial court banned cremation. After the Ministry of Rites heard about it, Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately gave an example of cremation by monks. When the Zen master was cremated, "more than a thousand people sent it." After cremation, "the number of teeth, tongue roots and beads is not bad, the relics are colorful, and the bones are left behind" and "as heavy as beads" (ibid.), which surprised the ruling and opposition parties for a while.
In order to rectify the order of monks and nuns and prevent confusion between monks and nuns, in the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang also formulated and promulgated a far-reaching "Buddhist Manifestation", requiring monks from all over the world to inspect and clean up the monasteries in the world, so that those who want to return to the customs can listen to their words and let monks abide by the rules and regulations, and Zen, Buddhism and yoga can all belong to their own sects. The list also specifies in detail the Buddhist chanting ceremony and the amount of money donated by donors, and strictly stipulates that if "following the order", if you still "privately own your family business and live among the people", you will be severely punished. In the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu, he ordered the Ministry of Rites to issue nine bulletins, which made more specific supplementary provisions on monks' behavior, so as to avoid self-discipline, make all monks in China live a clean and honest life according to these provisions, and make the world "worship goodness", "Buddhism and Taoism flourish, and Falun Gong often turn around" (ibid.), benefiting the country and the people.
Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to the collation, dissemination and lectures of Buddhist classics. In the fifth year of Hongwu, famous monks from the south of the Yangtze River were called to Nanjing to hold a "Guang Jian Fa Hui" to organize forces to proofread and engrave Tibetan scriptures. By the thirty-first year of Hongwu, * * * had collected more than 1600 Buddhist scriptures with more than 7,000 volumes, which was called "Hongwu Nanzang" in history. He also ordered many monks in the world to teach the Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra and Shurangama Sutra, which played an important role in the development of Zen in Ming Dynasty. In addition, he often intervened in the specific affairs of Buddhism, such as the selection of abbots, the methods of chanting scriptures, Buddhist rituals, etc., which shows his attention and concern for Buddhism.
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Zhu Yuanzhang believed in the causal theory of Buddhism and thought that "one's career can't escape, and the result is obvious" (Ming Taizu Collection, Volume 10, On Religion), and he paid great attention to the discussion of Buddhist righteousness all his life. He often likes to discuss Buddhist scriptures with Song Lian, a great scholar, dissecting the truth, especially the Prajna Sutra, and has a deep understanding of the principles of Buddhism in the vacuum of Prajna. He also distinguished that the fundamental reason for Liang Wudi's national subjugation was that he didn't do whatever he wanted, advocated empty words, abandoned the country and ignored politics, not the mistake of Buddhism.
Zhu Yuanzhang not only wrote the Diamond Sutra in his life, but also wrote a collection of Buddhist essays, the Collection of Protectors, and wrote a lot of poems about Buddhism. Among them, The Collection of Ming Taizu contains 46 articles and several poems. Among them, the discussion on the practical significance and auxiliary role of Buddhism in eliminating evil and promoting good can often be found in previous articles, which is very wise, appropriate and of great reference value.