明代宦官与佛教寺院

宦官政治是明史研究的重要课题。明代宦官普遍信奉佛教 ,积极营建寺院 ,是天下佛教寺院重要的檀护力量 ,各处的佛教僧团也呈现趋附宦官势力的倾向。因此 ,这成为明代宦官政治史和佛教史的一大特点。宦官营建寺院的活动 ,有种种复杂的表现形式 ,总体上是借助于皇家背景 ,使其势力由宫廷渗入民间社会 ,其实际意义也远远超出宗教范畴 ,具有了更多的社会及政治影响

Eunuchs and Buddhism Temples in Ming Dynasty

In Ming Dynasty, eunuches usually believed in Buddhism. As a result, they usually became a powerful supporting institution to the Buddhist temples. Consequently, monks and their organizations were inclined to play up to these eunuchs. The interactions between monks and eunuchs exercised a great influence on normal, popular communities in the society, so that the real meaning of these religious supporting activities exceeded the pure religious scale, and had even more social and political impacts.