On one occasion, Emperor Hanming had a dream, in which he saw a golden man flying around the temple with a white light overhead, suddenly rising to the sky and heading west.
The next day, he told this dream to ministers, many of whom couldn't tell who the shining golden man was.
Doctor Yi Fu said, "There is a god in Tianzhu named Buddha. The golden man your majesty dreamed of must be the Buddha of Tianzhu. "
The Tianzhu mentioned by Fu Yi, also called Body Poison, is the place where the founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni, was born (Tianzhu is another name of ancient India, and Sakyamuni was born in Kapilowei, northern ancient India, in present-day Nepal). Sakyamuni was born in 565 BC) and was originally a prince. Legend has it that at the age of 29, he abandoned the comfortable life of the royal family and became a monk. He founded a religion called Buddhism.
Sakyamuni preached Buddhism everywhere. He preached for more than forty years and gained many followers. Everyone respectfully called him "Buddha". After his death, his disciples recorded his teachings before his death and compiled them into Buddhist scriptures, which are Buddhist scriptures.
Yi Fu's words aroused the curiosity of Emperor Han Ming. He sent two officials, Cai Cheng and Qin Jing, to Tianzhu for Buddhist scriptures.
Cai Kun and Qin Jing finally arrived in Tianzhu after thousands of waters in Qian Shan. When Tianzhu people heard that China sent messengers to ask for Buddhist scriptures, they welcomed them. There are two shamans (senior monks) in Tianzhu, one is Shemoteng and the other is Zhu Falan. They helped Cai Cheng and Qin Jing understand some Buddhist truths. Cai Kun and Qin Jing invited them to China.
In 67 AD, Cai Cheng and Qin Jing took two Samanas, rode on white horses, carried a Buddha statue and 42 Buddhist scriptures, passed through the Western Regions and returned to Luoyang.
Emperor Han Ming didn't know the Buddhist scriptures or the truth of Buddhism, but he respected the two Samanas who came to see me off. The following year, he ordered the construction of a Buddhist temple in the west of Luoyang City in accordance with the pattern of Tianzhu, where the white horse delivering the scriptures was also supported. This temple is called White Horse Temple (in the east of Luoyang today).
Emperor Han Ming did not understand Buddhist scriptures, and princes and ministers did not believe in Buddhism. Not many people go to Baima Temple to burn incense. Only Liu Ying, the king of Chu, attached great importance to it, and sent messengers to Luoyang to consult the two Samanas. The two Samanas drew a Buddha statue, copied a Buddhist scripture and gave it to the messenger.
The emissary returned to the kingdom of the king of Chu, and Liu Ying, the king of Chu, did indeed worship Buddha statues in the palace and pray in the morning and evening.
Liu Ying, the 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 by various superstitious methods.
In 70 AD, it was reported to Emperor Han Ming that Liu Ying, the king of Chu, rallied his henchmen and set up another official in an attempt to rebel. Emperor Han Ming sent someone to investigate and found that Liu Ying did have the plot of rebellion, so he changed the letter of the King of Chu and sent him to Danyang. When Liu Ying got there, he felt that the crime was serious and committed suicide.
Emperor Han Ming also sent people to investigate and deal with people who had contacts with Liu Yingyou. Liu Ying, the king of Chu, once compiled a list of celebrities from all over the country. After this roster was searched out, the government arrested one by one according to the roster, and many people were implicated. This lasted for more than a year, forcing many people to die.
Later, some ministers persuaded Emperor Han Ming that most of the people who were arrested were wronged. Emperor Han Ming personally inquired, and it was found that there were 1000 innocent people involved in Luoyang prison. He has just issued a decree to pardon them.
Although Emperor Han Ming sent someone to fetch the Buddha, he actually did not believe in Buddhism, but advocated Confucianism. He also personally went to Imperial College (China Ancient University) to give lectures on classics (in this case, Confucian classics). It is said that as many as100000 people go to listen and watch.