From the situation of the first introduction of Tibetan Buddhism to Mongolia, the entry of Mongolia into the Central Plains and the implementation of its religious policy is of decisive significance. As early as in the period of Genghis Khan's western conquests and southern wars, in order to obtain the rule of foreigners and eliminate obstacles, they had adopted a policy of universal acceptance of all religions. At that time, China's northwestern region and the Central Asian countries, both circulating Mahayana Buddhism, Islam, Nestorianism (i.e., prevalent in the Middle Ages, Christianity, Nestorianism) and so on. Genghis Khan treated all religions equally, without distinction. As Zhi Fei Ni in his "History of the World Conqueror" wrote: Genghis Khan "because of irreligion, do not worship doctrine, so he did not have prejudice, do not give up a kind of and take another kind, and do not respect this and inhibit the other, ...... he side of the Muslims treated with courtesy, on the one hand, and the other side of the great respect for the Christians and iconoclasts (according to: i.e., the On the one hand, he treated the Muslims with honor and respect, and on the other hand, he had great respect for the Christians and the idolaters (i.e., Buddhists). His children and grandchildren, some have been according to the good, choose a religion: there are converted to Islam, there are Christianity, there are idol worship, there are still adhere to the old law of the fathers and ancestors, do not believe in any religion; ...... although they choose a religion, but most of them do not show any religious fanaticism, do not go against the zazah of Genghis Khan, in other words, to all religions equally, and do not respect the other. That is to say, all religions are treated equally and without distinction." (Note: Zhifeni's History of the Conquerors of the World (Han), Inner Mongolia People's Publishing House, 1980 edition, p. 29.) It is also recorded in the Dosan Mongol History that Genghis Khan "ordered his descendants not to favor any one religion over another, but to treat the people of all religions equally," and that "the teachers, clergymen, paupers, physicians, and other scholars of all sects were exempted from military service." (Note: Dosan Mongol History (Han), Volume 1, Chapter 10, translated by Feng Chengjun, Commercial Press edition.) According to Mr. Fan Bao-liang, "These edicts and customary laws of Genghis Khan laid down the rules and policy foundations for the subsequent successors, and also gave various religions the legal right to exist for a long period of time * * * and to preach to the Mongols." (Note: Fan Bao-liang, A Study of the History of Mongolian-Tibetan Relations, Qinghai People's Publishing House, 1992 edition, p. 73.) Afterwards, Genghis Khan's descendants converted to his religion according to their political needs. This is evidenced by the conversion of Cuoduan and Kublai to Tibetan Buddhism and its introduction into the Mongolian royal family.
It is generally believed that the Mongols accepted Tibetan Buddhism from the beginning of the meeting between Cuoduan Nuoyan, the son of Wukodai Khan, and Sakya Panchita, the leader of the Sakya School in Tibet. In fact, Tibetan Buddhism had already been introduced to Mongolia during the time of Genghis Khan. First, after Genghis Khan swallowed many political enemies on the Mongolian plateau, the fear of the Woodchucks, the destruction of Western Liao, the attack on the Jin Dynasty and the western conquest of the flower prickly Zimo, the death of the Western Xia and so on, all took place in the once under the rule of the Turfan in the Gan, Qing area. In the situation of the Mongolian iron cavalry invincible, Gan, Qing the tombs, and even Tibet's monks and feudal leaders out of fear of Wei and self-protection mood, sent to the Mongolian army "to serve the money," it is entirely possible. Moreover, the contact with Ganqing and even Tibet provided conditions and convenience for Genghis Khan to understand Tibetan Buddhism. Secondly, during the period of Genghis Khan, the conquered Wu Wuer, Western Liao and Western Xia were all Buddhist countries. In particular, the royal family of Western Xia had employed Tibetan Buddhist monks as state masters or masters. In Xixia, many Tibetan Buddhist monks also traveled to Mongolia. When Genghis Khan attacked Xixia, some Xixia monks spoke to Genghis Khan and made him order the exemption of monks from taxation. (Note: Chen Qingying, Bastba, China Tibetology Press, 1992 edition, p. 24.) It is possible that Tibetan sects learned about Genghis Khan's religious policies through the Western Xia monks. The History of Politics and Religion in Amdo states that Sinagasi, who had studied the scriptures in Sakya for many years, went to meet with Genghis Khan when he was stationed in Shangdu and was kept by the king. (Note: History of Ando Politics and Religion, Gansu Nationalities Publishing House, 1982 edition, p. 166.) This suggests that the Sakya sect had a strong connection with the Sakyas at that time. ) This shows that at that time the Sakya School had someone to go to Mongolia to detect the situation, which should be the beginning of the spread of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia.
Tibetan Buddhism was formally introduced into the Mongolian society in the period of Wukodai Khan. 1227, Mongolia destroyed Xixia. 1234 after the death of Jin, Wukodai will be the original Xixia jurisdiction and Tufan territories (i.e., present-day part of the Tibetan areas of Gansu and Qinghai) for the Cuoduan portion of the land. In order to strengthen the rule of the Mongol forces in the Xixia territory, to guarantee the security of the flanks of the Mongol army when it attacked Nanning in the south, and to unify Tibet under the rule of the Mongol Yuan, in 1240 (also recorded as 1239), Cuoduan sent his general, Dodanabo, to lead his army to attack the Tibetan hinterland. Not only did this open the door to peaceful negotiations between the Mongol royal family and the local Tibetan forces, but it also opened a new chapter in the history of Mongol-Tibetan relations. The negotiator from the Tibetan side was Gunga Khyentse, the head of the Sakya Sect, who was invited by Kuoduan to come to Liangzhou for a meeting in 1247. This meeting was both a political negotiation, the main content of which was the submission of Tibet to the Mongol Khanate and the establishment of the Sakya Sect as the agent of Tibetan affairs by Kuo Duan; and at the same time, it was a religious negotiation to introduce Tibetan Buddhism into the Mongol royal family. From the situation of Cuoduan's invitation to Saban and the development of the situation after the talks, Cuoduan had a general understanding of the history of Tibet, the political situation, the influence of the religious forces and their status and role, etc. At the same time, we can also determine from the strategy Cuoduan adopted for Tibet that Cuoduan had accepted the influence of Buddhist thought from the Xixia people (especially the Xixia monks). This is clearly shown in his invitation edict to Saban. Although this edict still contains shamanistic words such as "long life, weather, and power", the general content is based on the needs of Buddhist thought. For example, the first sentence of the edict states: "In order to repay my parents and the grace of heaven and earth, I need a teacher who can show me the way to choose, and I have chosen you in the selection." Obviously, Cuoduan chose the Sakya not on the basis of the number of sangha, the size of their power, the thickness of their feelings, but on the basis of their proficiency or lack of proficiency in the Dharma. (Note: Doda Nabo to broad end of the recommendation letter said: "in the remote Tubo place, the sangha to the Kadam school of the largest, the ridge of Dharma King will be the most sympathetic, the stop Gong Jing Russia's power is the largest, the Sakya Panchida on the teachings of the most proficient, to welcome the person who please understand the instructions.") This invitation from Cuoduan contained two layers of connotations; one was to invite a senior monk who was well versed in the Dharma to serve as one's guru, and the other was to subdue Tibet through a prestigious upper lama. The facts after the talks fully proved these two points. After the talks, Gautama kept Saban by his side and treated him very favorably. For this Sakyapandhu was grateful from the bottom of his heart. (Note: See "Sakya Panchita's Letter to the Tibetans", cited in Chen Qingying's "Bashi Ba Biography", pp. 38-42.)
What we should note here is that Saban was a Tibetan negotiator, not a hostage. So why did Saban not return to Tibet after the negotiations between the two sides ended successfully and the agreements were reached? He left from Tibet with two young nephews to Liangzhou, and for what intention? We cannot but consider this in depth. In terms of time, Saban had plenty of time to return to Sakya after the negotiations; from the perspective of a negotiator, Saban did not need to bring his two young children, but should have brought a senior monk or a political figure. We still do not know the inside and specific content of Cuoduan's dealings with Saban's messenger, but from their behavior and specific results, we can judge that Saban was carrying a twofold mission (i.e., political negotiation and dissemination of the Buddha's teachings) to Liangzhou. At the time of his departure from Lhasa, Saban had already decided to subordinate the Mongol Khanate on behalf of all Tibetan sects and secular political forces. At the same time, Saban also knew that Cuoduan had converted to Buddhism. In this way, the Sakya Sect could maintain a close and long-term relationship with the powerful Mongol royal family. At the same time, he also considered that he was old and spreading Buddhism among the Mongols, where shamanism was dominant, was not an easy task and could not be realized in his limited years. Therefore, he brought along his young nephews, Bashi Ba and Chana Dorjee, with him to carry on his work. As it turned out, the subsequent circumstances fully realized the judgment of the thoughtful old Dharma master. And Gwadan did fulfill the promise in the edict he gave to Saban. This was in fact to make Saban his own guru. Cuoduan has already converted to Buddhism, and is the lord of the holy land of Buddhism, in accordance with the ancestral system of honoring the "guru" is also a reasonable thing. Cuoduan regarded Saban as his religious tutor, and it was the first time for Mongolian royal family to honor Buddhist monks as their "masters". And also for the Mongolian society to import Tibetan Buddhism opened the legal and convenient door. At that time, just because of the status and identity of the broad end of the limitations, can not be openly sealed called "national master", "master" and other legal names only.
Cuoduan's enthusiasm and positive attitude towards religion was not due to religious fervor. There are many indications that although Cuoduan believed in Buddhism and respected Buddhist monks, he was not a fanatical believer. His behavior was a concrete embodiment of Genghis Khan's religious policy, the ultimate goal of which was still to serve his political purpose of ruling Tibet. It is only that Cuoduan's practice was more brilliant, more suitable for the reality of secular society and religious forces in Tibet and the requirements of the times.
Following the political and religious ties established between Cuoduan and the Sakya Panchsheel, the brothers Mongkol and Kublai inherited and carried out Cuoduan's religious policy towards the Tubo, and further strengthened the management and governance of the Tubo, which pushed the relationship between Mongolia and Tibet to a new stage.
Mongkol Khan succeeded to the throne, while sending people to Tibet to check the household, demarcate the boundaries, the implementation of the feudal system; while also issued an edict announcing the exemption of monks from taxation, military service, labor, to protect the interests of the monks. The edict also recognized the leading position of the Sakya Sect in the Tibetan Buddhism sects. In addition to maintaining formal relations with the Sakya Sect, Mongkol Khan also had relations with other sects. Mongkol Khan's fiefdom in Tibet was the sphere of influence of the Zhigong sect, and he also had a close relationship with the Karma Kagyu sect. The leader of the Karma Bakshi in 1256 defected to Mongkol Khan, Mongkol Khan, in addition to granting him a gold seal, silver, and a black hat with gold, since the beginning of the Karma Kagyu faction of the Black Hat system of reincarnation of the living Buddha. It can be seen that, during the reign of mongol khan, the Tibetan Buddhism sects take is equal treatment, inclusive protection policy, this is also in accordance with the system of Mongolia khanate rule Tibet is more feasible way. From then on, forcing Tibetan sects to gain an advantage over other sects, they had to pay attention to intensifying close contact with their benefactors - members of the Mongolian royal family, and even the central dynasty, in order to get their support and foster them. In short, the management of Tibet during the period of Mongol Khan, whether it is to send troops to guard, check the household, or to close the upper echelons of the Tibetan Buddhist sects by various means, the purpose of which is to unify Tibet into the Mongol Khanate.
Tibetan Buddhism into the Mongolian court, become the dominant religion, is through the Kublai Khan and Bashi Ba's effective cooperation to complete. As the successor of the Sakya Dharma Lord, Basti Ba fully inherited his uncle's mantle, so that Buddhism was carried forward in the Mongolian ruling class. And as Kublai, the acceptance of Tibetan Buddhism was obviously determined by two factors, namely, the role of Bastba and Kublai's own needs. Bastba came to Mongolia at the age of 11 and grew up in the Mongolian royal family. He not only learned and mastered the Mongolian language, but also understand the Mongolian royal family within the political forces between the fight, coupled with his uncle Saban's careful cultivation and his cleverness, so that he learned a wealth of experience in the political struggle, cultivated a keen political vision. In the whirlpool of the intricate struggle for power within the Mongolian royal family, eight Siba always correctly grasp the direction, single-mindedly rely on "think big in the world" Kublai the political figure, first of all, in politics to Kublai produced a sense of trust. Political power, paved the way for his missionary statement. At the same time, he also by virtue of humble and calm behavior, diligent and studious spirit, profound knowledge won the favor and respect of Kublai and his family, and make Kublai accepted Tibetan Buddhism.
Kublai in the "submerged residence", has been acquainted with the Central Plains scribes, familiar with the situation in the Central Plains Han, accepted the culture of the Central Plains Han. In his royal residence, recruited a large number of Han intellectuals as staff, and very much reuse them. All officials, military, financial management, cantonment and other matters, and even seize the throne, "the scale of the country," etc., more from these people's schemes. They also gave Kublai's explanation of the Chinese cultural classics "University of Diffraction", "Xiaojing", "Shangshu", "I Ching" and Confucian political science and history. Among these staff, the Han Chinese monk Liu Bingzhong had the deepest influence on Kublai. Because of his erudition and ability to plan and strategize, he was highly valued by Kublai. His ideas of peace and security, statehood, governance, military, etc., on the adoption of the "Han law" played a powerful role in promoting Kublai. 1251, Mongkol Khan became the throne, Kublai was appointed in charge of the military affairs of the Han in the southern part of the desert, and from then on he was more closely with the Han Chinese political and cultural integration. Under such circumstances, it should be said that the Buddhist culture in mainland China would undoubtedly have a significant impact on Kublai's ideological beliefs. But in spite of this, Kublai and other kings and nobles finally chose Tibetan Buddhism.
As far as Buddhism is concerned, it is inward-looking, conservative, and closed. However, Tibetan Buddhism formally entered the religious arena of the Mongolian region, which was very interesting for the Mongolian ruling class who relied on sword and fire to open the way for themselves. In particular, to explore the phenomenon of Kublai's acceptance of Tibetan Buddhism by such an inspiring and accomplished political figure, the author believes that this phenomenon is not only related to his pragmatism, but also closely related to the fulfillment of this pragmatism by Tibetan Buddhism.
Kublai's pragmatism towards Tibetan Buddhism was mainly due to political needs. All the rulers in Chinese history seem to have had their direct political reasons for advocating religion. However, Kublai advocated Tibetan Buddhism not only to utilize it, but also attempted to seek theories and methods of ruling the country and securing the state in Buddhism. Yuan Shi Shi Lao Chuan recorded: "Yuan started Shuo Fang, certainly already advocate Buddhism. Was obtained in the Western Regions, Shizu to its wide and dangerous and far away, the people are rough and aggressive, think of having to due to its customs and soft its people, is the county Tupan land, set up an official division, and led by the Imperial Division." From this record, it is clear that Kublai respected Tibetan Buddhism, and reuse eight Siba purpose, is "because of its customs and soft its people", effective rule in Tibet. Reuse a eight Siba, better than using thousands of troops and horses to conquer "wide and dangerous far, the people rough and aggressive" Tibet, which is based on Tibet's special religious system to take the strategy. Although Tibet was full of sects, the effective policy formulated in a previous life, i.e., the establishment of the leadership of the Sakya Sect, brought about the submission of the whole of Tibet. The political benefits were so great that a far-sighted politician could not but follow the example of his predecessors. However, this kind of "softening" strategy did not work in the Han area. In the Han Dynasty, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the rulers made use of and supported Buddhism, and many famous monks at that time were revered by the aristocratic royal family and were called "family masters", "door masters" and "state masters". The title of "Master of the family", "Master of the door", "Master of the country". By the time of the Tang Dynasty and Liao, Jin Dynasty, monks such as master of the country also have a certain political power. But there was no dynasty in which religious power was as involved in the realm of power as in the case of Tibetan Buddhism. Especially in the Song dynasty, with the strengthening of the authoritarian centralized system, Buddhism was completely controlled under the rule of the secular regime. It was under the restriction of the centralized regime that Buddhism gradually became popular and popularized, and lost its unique value, while the monks, who were the elite of Buddhism, detached themselves from the need for popularization and gradually became one with Buddhism. Buddhism in the Song Dynasty has shown the trend of decline. In this case, Kublai would not fail to realize that Han Buddhism is difficult to become a weapon to strengthen their rule.
Kublai revered Tibetan Buddhism, another important factor is the tacit understanding between the two peoples and Tibetan Buddhism, the Mongolian rulers need to subdue and governance of Tibet through religion, and Tibetan monks also need to consolidate and strengthen their position through a strong political backing. As early as 1242, when Kublai summoned the Venerable Master Haiyun, he asked, "Is there any method in Buddhism to pacify the world?" From this question, we can see that Kublai's first concern was to seek the theory and method of ruling the country from Buddhism. Venerable Master Hai Yun also answered from the perspective of governance, explaining the need to believe in Buddhism. It is this kind of "Buddhism in the world's law", so that the great ambition of Kublai developed the idea of faith. If this idea of Kublai began to appear more fuzzy and chaotic, 1251 and 1253 with two meetings with Bashi Ba, as well as in the Qing, Gan, Sichuan area in contact with the Tibetan community, it will continue to be strengthened and inspired. He recognized the vital importance of Tibetan Buddhist monks in ruling Tibet. The state of Tibetan society at that time was, as Duzi puts it, "one in which the sect gained great power, became a new force on a par with the nobility, and gradually replaced it, with monasteries possessing privileges, monopolizing land and wealth, and relying not only on the armed, specially warlike monks, and other sources of secular power in order to gain the respect of the people," (Note : see A Medieval History of Tibet by Duchi, translated by Li Youyi et al, p. 16.) And they also held those unseen and more awe-inspiring weapons, namely, the religion that ruled people's spirits. Therefore, for such a region, one could only adopt the strategy of "softening their people because of their customs", which was also the most effective way of ruling that suited the politico-religious situation of the Tibetan region. For a politician, no matter which religion he admires or believes in, there is a clear political purpose and pragmatic psychology. Therefore, it is normal and inevitable that Kublai accepted Tibetan Buddhism and did not believe in Chinese Buddhism. Admittedly, although Kublai did not accept the Han Buddhism, but he politically accepted the "Han law", ideological acceptance of Confucianism. This was also determined by his political aim of ruling the Han Chinese land effectively.
Because of the important role of Tibetan Buddhism in the Tibetan region under the Mongol Khanate and the outstanding contribution of Basti Ba, as well as Basti Ba and Kublai's close and friendly relations, greatly enhanced the status of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism from Kublai Khan's personal beliefs, soon became the Mongolian royal family *** with the faith. Kublai always faithfully carried out his grandfather's religious policy, and did not impose his own beliefs on the Mongolian people and other ethnic groups. Other religions still coexisted and were freely practiced. This is the main reason why Tibetan Buddhism was believed only among the Mongolian royal family and nobles, but was not spread among the lower Mongolian people. From the aspect of Tibetan Buddhism, the Sakya Sect was satisfied with the status quo and did not seek to expand the sect's power due to the favorable political treatment and rich material enjoyment. From the aspect of other sects, due to the Yuan Dynasty's implementation of reasonable religious policies, it was difficult to intensify the sectarian struggle. As the imperial master of the national Buddhism, Bastba basically adopted the attitude of mutual equality and freedom of belief towards all sects. As a result, a sense of security was created for other sects. At the same time, the Sakya Sect was favored by the imperial court, which limited the expansion of other sects. After the eight Siba and Kublai Lie, the successive emperors of the Yuan dynasty continued to support the fostering of the Sakya school at the same time, and the other sects are also in constant contact with the rewards, to close, which not only objectively encourages the sects to fight for the favor of the central to remain close, but also limit the sects due to the expansion of its sphere of influence in the situation of internal conflict.
In addition, the Yuan government firmly controlled the religious forces and local power in Tibet, and as a local secular force, it could not (and could not) intervene in religious affairs, so that the political struggles between the sects could be mitigated, and the need for the sects to expand their influence outward gradually faded. At the same time, the emperors of the successive Yuan emperors did not expand their sphere of influence outside the imperial family, no matter which sect they belonged to. Tibetan Buddhism in more than a hundred years after the introduction of Mongolia, mainly in the imperial palace to engage in religious activities to spread, and the majority of Mongolian people did not convert to Buddhism, they still believe in the original shamanism. With the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolian rulers withdrew from the Central Plains, back to the steppe, Tibetan Buddhism was once in the Mongolian society disappeared, after 2 centuries, only to begin to propagate again.