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Sun Wukong couldn't help but be amazed. No wonder he felt as if he had lived for hundreds of thousands of years. This made him even more determined to cultivate immortality and become a saint. But let's put this aside for now.

After Kasyapa Magen and Zhufa Malan established the White Horse Monastery in Luoyang, they began to actively carry out their plan. They launched a series of powerful and extensive propaganda campaigns to attract more people to join Buddhism and follow their teachings.

In ancient times, people's understanding of Buddhism and Taoism was often about immortality. For example, the foolish and cruel Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty was a Buddhist. He built a Buddhist temple in the palace, but he did not understand the Buddhist teachings at all. He believed in Buddhism only to pursue longevity.

The rulers promoted Buddhism so much that Buddhist followers built temples and recruited many disciples, taking the opportunity to occupy the original territories of Taoism and Confucianism.

Since Buddhism was introduced into the Central Plains, the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism has almost never stopped. Due to the powerful logic and profound Buddhist teachings, Taoism has been inferior to Buddhism in many debates, and Buddhism is more respected by the rulers, resulting in the gap between the two religions becoming smaller and smaller until a contrast appeared.

The prevalence of Buddhism also brought certain harms, the first of which was the waste of money. The spread and development of Buddhism required a lot of financial support, including the construction and maintenance of temples, the printing and dissemination of Buddhist scriptures, etc. In ancient times, these expenses were often borne by believers and the government, resulting in even greater waste of scarce resources.

Secondly, the prevalence of Buddhism will also affect national and economic development. Buddhism advocates purity of mind, abstinence and self-reflection, which to a certain extent affects people's fertility concepts and social and economic development. In ancient China, population growth and sufficient labor force were important foundations for social and economic development. This Buddhist thought affected population growth and labor force development, thus affecting the country's taxation and military resources.

Except for Confucianism and Taoism, other religions all emphasize the world after death. For example, Buddhism has the theory of "Six Paths of Reincarnation", which advocates that people do good deeds in this life and accumulate blessings for the next life.

Taoism does not have such a statement. Taoism pays more attention to "this life", has the idea of ​​"enjoying life" and "rebirth", pursues the joy of life, rebirth and joy of death, and has created many methods of cultivating Taoism and maintaining health. In a sense, Taoism represents a more positive attitude towards life.

Unlike many religions (Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, etc.) that seek a supernatural god, Taoism does not pursue an omniscient and omnipotent god, but believes that "Tao" gives birth to all things. It has proposed "Tao follows nature", that is, "Tao" follows all laws of nature and has well-thought-out doctrines.

The result of the pursuit of Taoism to the extreme is to oppose unrealistic dreams, which leads to a pragmatic thought. Taoism emphasizes following the laws of nature, respecting the natural environment, and achieving personal and social development through living in harmony with nature. This view has a profound impact on the Chinese way of thinking, making them pay more attention to specific problems in real life rather than excessively pursuing illusory ideals or fantasies. Therefore, Chinese people are often considered to have a pragmatic spirit and pay more attention to immediate interests and the solution of practical problems.

At the same time, Taoism also advocates that people maintain inner peace and tranquility. It teaches people not to be overly obsessed with fame and fortune, but to learn to let go of desire and greed and return to nature. For the Chinese, this idea means finding peace of mind in a complex world and pursuing inner satisfaction rather than external material enjoyment. Therefore, the Chinese generally have strong adaptability and psychological resilience, and can remain calm and firm in the face of difficulties and setbacks.

In short, the Taoist concept of following nature has shaped the Chinese people's pragmatic spirit and inner peace. These values ​​are deeply rooted in Chinese culture and have become one of the unique characteristics of the Chinese nation. They not only affect individual behavior and thinking, but also to a certain extent affect the development trajectory of Chinese society.