Before Monk Zhi Daolin came looking for him in a burning hurry, Liu Acheng had honestly never considered setting up a college of cardinals for the monks.
The main thing was that, merciful as the Buddha was, Buddhism in the south still had to observe its precepts. Observing those precepts meant it could not attract great numbers of aristocrats into the monkhood, and without great numbers of aristocrats becoming monks, it naturally would not occupy vast numbers of estates. In this respect, it could not compare with the Way of the Celestial Masters, which was already showing clear signs of decline after reaching its peak.
Even someone of Monk Zhi Daolin's standing would be mocked as a sham monk for buying a mountain, keeping horses, or feeding a pet crane.
Still, never mind the "four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties" that would appear before many years had passed-even in the North right now, Buddhists were already seizing forests and fields to become landlords on a considerable scale. That had to be taken seriously.
And so Liu Acheng spoke his mind outright: first, if Buddhism truly flourished while also occupying large amounts of land, then whoever held power-even Zhi Daolin's close friend Xie An-could not possibly let the monks do whatever they pleased, provided he had any sense. Rather than that, they might as well establish rules from the outset, saving themselves from ending up like the Way of the Celestial Masters, forced by outside pressure to restart from within;
Second, if they really wanted to establish a college of cardinals and become an Illustrious Master, that was no problem. Monk Zhi Daolin had the first-mover advantage South of the Yangtze and was already recognized as its foremost monk. While Buddhism had yet to flourish there, and Zhu