The Spirit of
Chinese Philosophy
--Inaugural
Address as Chair Professor
at
Fu Jen Catholic University (1973)
Thomé H. Fang
Translated by
Suncrates
Sandra A. Wawrytko
The Kumārājiva Project
Thomé H. Fang Institute
2003
Translators’ Introduction
Of all Professor Fang’s works, the following “Inaugural Address”[*]
may be the easiest to understand, yet the most significant to mark--for a
special reason. It is truly a Prelude
to a whole series of the most important unique contributions he had made to the
world of thought.
For 23 years (1925-48) Professor Fang had taught at several universities
in
In 1973 Suncrates served as Visiting
Associate Professor and Acting Chairman, Philosophy Department, and Acting Director, Institute
for Graduate Studies in Philosophy, at
By the middle of 1974, to the
author’s great disappointment, most of the tape-recordings of his lectures at Taida for the past seven to eight years were found
“unusable,” for odd reasons, as one may say! Fortunately, the author had three
more years (1974-77) to live, which, in spite of the acute pain caused by
spreading cancer, he had managed to devote to the arduous task of re-delivery
of this series of lectures at Fu Jen Catholic University on a Visiting Chair
Professorship. Thanks to the great foresight and open-mindedness of these two
scholarly Catholic fathers, Rev. Kung and Rev. Chang, a fuller account, in the
original Chinese language, of Professor Fang’s most mature thought and judgement on Primordial Confucianism, Primordial Daoism,
Neo-Cofucianism (600 pages) and Mahāyāna
Buddhism (1700 pages) has been preserved -- hence transmitted -- to posterity
and all lovers of wisdom the world over!
We have heard it said in 1991, by Professor Antonio Cua
of the
May these works of Dr. Hayeks’ and Professor Cua’s be accepted
as part of the raison d’être for our Kumārajva Project (for Translation).
In this connection we are most pleased to announce that the Institute
for Thomé H. Fang Studies was officially established
on the campus of the
Suncrates & Sandra A.Wawrytko
Co-Directors, Kumārājiva
Project
Thomé H. Fang Institute, Inc.,
2009
The Spirit of Chinese
Philosophy
Contents
1. Background
and Occasion
(1) A Friendly
Challenge from S. Radhakrishnan
(2) Experience
in the Western Philosophical Communities
(3) Two Myths
of the “Rounder Moon”
(4)
Dissatisfaction with Contemporary Works in the Field
(5) Ten Years
of Dedication to the Task
(6) Retrospect
and Prospect: A Simple View and Hope
2. Fundamental
Import and Motive: Pervasive Unity
(1) Prelude:
Two Stories
(a) Taking a
Flight in the Air
(b) The Child
Flying a Kite
(2) Four
Traditions Poetically Epitomized
(3) Challenge
and Response: Re-Discover and Re-Create
3. Approaches
to Chinese Philosophy
(1) The Motif of Creative Humanism:
“There is Man
in Chinese Philosophy!”
(2)
Methodological Considerations
(a) The
Scientific and Logical Approach
(b) The
Religious Approach
(c) The
Metaphysical Approach
(3) Three Types
of Metaphysics
(a) The Praeternatural or Transcendent Type
(b) The
Immanent Type
(c) The
Transcendental and the Transcendent-Immanent Type
(3) Two
Methodological Traps in Western Philosophy
(a) Vicious
Bifurcation, rather than Comprehensive Harmony
(b) Partial
Analysis, rather than Exhaustive Analysis
(4) An
All-Comprehensive and All-Penetrative System of Thought and Philosophy as an Exhaustive
Treatment
4. Fundamental
Differences between Chinese and Western Philosophies:
(1) Trans-dualistic
vs. Dualistic System
(2) All-Comprehensive
vs. Partial-Analytic System
5. General
Characteristics of Chinese Philosophy
(1) Doctrine of
Pervasive Unity
(2) Doctrine of
Dao
(3) Doctrine of
Exaltation of Personality
6. Distinctive
Features of Four Traditions:
1. The Primordial Confucian
Type: Time-Man
2. The Primordial Daoist Type: Space-Man
(3) The Mahāyāna Buddhist Type: Time-Space Man with an
Alternative Sense of Forgetfulness
(4) The Neo-ConfucianType: Concurrent Time-Space Man
I. Background and Occasion
(1) A Friendly Challenge from S. Radhakrishnan
A short while ago the department head [Rev. Dr. Aloysius C. T. Chang]
suggested that we had better change to a larger classroom, but I don’t
think it is necessary. For just as Kierkeggard once
said, it is always the case with lectures on philosophy and religion that for
the first time a large audience comes, for the second, it is reduced by half,
and for the third, by half again until eventually there remains one person
alone: the speaker himself indulging in monologue and playing speaker and
listener in one. Perhaps when next we meet we may yet have to change to an even
smaller classroom, with just one person showing up there!
First of all, I wish to apologize for being unable to speak Mandarin
Chinese as the official language; the language I am used to speaking is the
ordinary speech prevalent over the plain of the
There have been several turning points in the course of my own
philosophical studies and development. Though I was brought up in the cultural
milieu of a Confucian family background and was taught to read The Book of Odes while only three years
of age, nevertheless after entering college I was primarily interested in
western philosophy. Ever since then, the books I have read and the courses I
have taught have been mostly in the field of western philosophy. With the
Resistance against the Japanese Invasion in World War II a change was called for,
even necessitated, as it were, by the situation. I felt then, as now, that more
attention should be paid to the philosophical tradition deeply embedded in
Chinese culture as its matrix. Thus, my focus of attention and concern has
shifted, though gradually, from the West to the East.
During this period of time, however, a noteworthy episode occurred.
Soon after
Suppose someone only moves round an object outwardly, he can never
expect to enter into it; basically he remains an outsider—a layman, that is to
say. Considering the philosophical traditions of both
In this respect, admittedly, we Chinese scholars are left far behind
our Indian spiritual comrades who, under the influence of the British, have
acquired an excellent command of English as a vehicle of communication and can
use it with perfect facility. Complex, intriguing, and subtle by nature, the
Chinese speech has continued to remain a living language down to the present in
spite of all the changes and modifications it has undergone in sounds, forms,
and usages throughout the ages. The Chinese people have taken great pride in
their language, believing it to be adequate and sufficient for the expression
of their own philosophical wisdom. For ancient
(2) Experience in the Western Philosophical Communities
After my arrival in Taiwan I spent one year’s sabbatical leave
completing The Chinese View of Life
(1956) which, as some scholars [Professor Joseph S. Wu] pointed out, was a book
with too modest a title; in fact it was a presentation of The Chinese Philosophy of Life. Even my earlier lectures delivered
at
(3) Two Myths of the “Rounder Moon”
Needless to say, in the last fifty years Chinese culture in its institutional
and intellectual aspects has surely called for modernization. Unfortunately,
this need was mistaken for a need for mere Westernization! Despite the
resounding slogans in the name of Westernization, our scholars, while
discussing this issue of pressing concern, have seldom begun with, or touched
upon, the origio et fons of
Western civilization, such as is found in its literature, art, philosophy, and
religion. Instead, their perspectives are confined to the skin-deep outward
appearances alone, i.e., on the surface level such as politics, economics, commercial
enterprises, and the like. For all such superficialities our scholars of the
last generation must be held responsible; they are to blame! For it is they who
have led [or more correctly, misled] our young generation to believe in the
myth: that the moon of the West is rounder than that of the East! Western
scholars, it is true, used to look at
Nevertheless, the same holds for the West, too. The Westerner, as we
see, has erroneously espoused the idea of history as developing along the
pattern of linear progression; in recent times, as a result, it is even pushed
so far as to equate “progression” with “progress,” as if really the later makes
the better and the late-comers surpass their predecessors! Modern thinkers in
the West cry out: “God is dead! Religion is dead!” But the point to be asked
is: “Who has killed Him! Who has killed it?” To be frank, it has been done by
none other than the Western mind itself! -- which has speeded up the classical
tradition of Ancient Greece, Medieval Europe, and the Modern West towards the
consummate goal of total annihilation, hellbound, knowing
only to look forward, rather than retrospectively at the same time.
For instance, labeling the Medieval Period as the “Dark Age” betrays
one’s own blindness, one’s intellectual blindness. For this reason perhaps the
Western youths are found to be cast in the same psychological mould [as their
Eastern or Chinese counterparts], so much so, as to believe in the inverse
myth: namely, that the moon of the East is rounder than that of the West! No
wonder that recently Chinese, Indian, and Japanese thought of all varieties has
been in vogue in the West. But let it be not forgotten that theirs is a
position of futurism. They have forgotten a great deal of their own important
cultural heritage; they keep seeking the East, but blindly; being unable to
overcome the language barrier, they indulge in talking abut Zen (Chan), ending
up of course in the “crazy Zen (Chan),” incapable at any rate of saving the
crisis of the West. And what they are looking for can be anything but the
essence of Chinese culture!
Thus, we notice that for the promotion of better mutual understanding
between the East and West we should first rectify our own attitude and outlook,
immerse ourselves in the matrix of Chinese cultural tradition, capitalize on
the genuine Eastern mentality, and then devote ourselves to the studies of the
West.
Take, for example, the case of Professor Liang
Shuming. Professor Liang
was a good scholar in his own right but, as soon as he came to discuss East and West Cultures and Their
Philosophies, he had made some fundamental mistakes. For instance, in his
discourse on Indian Buddhism he classified Indian culture as of the “retrospective
type.” This shows he was far from understanding the Buddhism of India. When
Dewey and Russell came to lecture in
Each major cultural tradition has its own determinant factor in the
course of development: For Greek culture, it is science and philosophy; for
Indian culture, religion and philosophy; for Chinese culture, art and
philosophy. As inheritors of such a tradition, we should firmly establish
ourselves in its beautiful legacy of spiritual culture, developing as our basis
the precious inward life and creative vitality, cultivating thereby our inward
wisdom, reflecting critically and open-mindedly upon our own strength and
weakness, and then adopt a comprehensive view for appraisal of the West and its
cultural heritage, in order to “model ourselves on the highest as paradigm—in
aim, if not in achievement.”
(4) Dissatisfaction with Contemporary Works in the Field
In 1966, soon after my return to
The course of this lecture series I had offered twice before at
Fong Youlan’s New Discourse on the Dao, rendered into English by E. R. Hughes,
the British scholar, under the title of The
Spirit of Chinese Philosophy, only deals with ideas derived from the Neo-Con-fucianism of the Song and Ming periods, amounting to no
more than a quarter of the entire tradition of Chinese philosophy. Besides,
since Fongs’ understanding of Neo-Confucianism was in
terms of the Neo-Realism of the modern West, understandably there was not much
of the spirit of Chinese philosophy left. On the other hand, most of the works
in the West on the intellectual history of
In Hu Shi’s work An Outline History of Chinese Philosophy, for example, such an
important Daoist as Laozi
is treated as full of anti-political consciousness! As for Mengzi’s
thought, obviously his central concern lies with a theory of education; yet,
oddly enough, Hu has missed the whole point!
Let us now take another glance at Professor Xiong
Shili’s case, whose study of Buddhism took
Neo-Confucianism as a point of departure. Unfortunately, since he was unable to
escape from mainland China after the communist take-over [in 1949], he had to
adopt the strategy of “adaptation to the ruling authority” by having his later
work on Confucianism, Chapter I, heavily coated with the ideological terminologies
of historical materialism, so that he might pass for a communist sympathizer
before it could be approved for publication. Such a strategy of camouflage is
reminiscent of those scholars of former times who had to conform to the
official standard by composing their essays in the stereotyped “eight-legged” [8-sections]
pattern in order to pass the State Service Examination. But treating Confucian
and Daoist thought in such a fashion so as to subject
it to the stereotyped pattern of modern scientific materialism is as misleading
as treating Berkeley as a materialist, as many a communists have done out of
sheer ignorance. In view of the fact that this was the only way to get his
works published under the communist censorship, Professor Xiong’s
case deserves our profound sympathy all the more.
(5) Ten Years of Dedication to the Task
This book of mine is written with a view to elucidating the transmission
of Chinese thought in its historical development. Take Confucianism for
example. Attempts have been made to trace its development from the pre-Qin through the Early and Later Han, and Wei and Jin, down to the Song, Ming and Qing
Periods. A variety of systems of thought produced in the pre-Qin Period should be understood in terms of the Zeitgeist (spirit of the time) of the
age in question. In the Early and Later Han Periods (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) new
thoughts developed as a result of the transformation and modification of the
social structure, State organization and institutions; the Han Confucians were
then seen to be no longer the same as the Confucians in the pre-Qin Period (Prior to 221 B. C.). In the Wei
and Jin Periods (220-420) Confucianism receded, yielding to Neo-Daoism
represented chiefly by He Yan (190-249) and Wang Bi
(226-249). He Yan claimed to have incorporated
Confucianism into Daoism while Wang Bi attempted to give a new interpretation
to the Han studies of the I-Ching [The Book
of Creativity, usually known as The
Book of Changes], such as the Image-School and the Number-School, etc. In
its original versions of the Chou Dynasty (1027-206 B. C.) The Book of Creativity began with the hexagrams of the Qian and Kun, the Creative and the Pro-Creative, whereas
Wang Bi in his new interpretation began with the Hexagram of Fu, emblematic of
the “Return to the Primordial Unity in the Eternal Non-Being.” In other words,
it was no longer a deduction—on the basis of philosophical ontology—from the
Creative and Pro-Creative as the ground of Being to all things; rather it was
an inference from the meontological ground, i.e.,
directly from Wu or Non-Being to the myriad forms of existence. This is a sheer
distortion of Primordial Confucianism with a Neo-Daoist
twist. Many in the later generations, unable to overcome the philological
difficulties involved in the classics, instead started with the Five Masters of
the Northern Song (960-1126) and Zhu Xi of the Southern Song (1127-1279) down
to the Neo-Confucianism of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing
Periods (1644-1910). In fact, the Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism all flourished
after the tenth century, and therefore had all been exposed, in one way or another,
to the influences of the Buddhist trends of thought of the Six Dynasties
(420-581), Chan (Zen) Buddhism, Daoism, Neo-Daoism, etc. At any rate, it would
be a gross misunderstanding to assume these truly represent the Primordial
Confucianism of the pre-Qin Period.
[Perhaps it is worth pointing out in this connection that] nowadays we
have many “writers” here who are not writers at all, but plagiarizers, by
copying the works of some authors on mainland China before the communist
take-over. In this regard the Western scholars are quite conscientious, with
all quoted sources duly documented with footnotes. Our “writers” should not
think that living on this tiny island [
For instance, those who found Buddhism too complicated to handle went
ahead with copying from Japanese works in the field. Few can write a general
history of Chinese philosophy from the ancient to the present. Why? The reasons
are two-fold: (1) for lack of sufficient source-materials; and (2) for lack of
sufficient competency to marshal those materials needed. From the period of the
Three Kingdoms (221-280) onwards, Primordial Buddhism was introduced into
Intellectual developments are unmistakably marked with the accent of
the Zeitgeist of each age. As regards
the development of Chinese philosophy, only by distinguishing itself from the
various branches of sinological scholarship such as
philology, historiography, history of institutions, and the like, can the true
spirit of its life shine forth as philosophy proper. For example, Guo Yan-wu (1614-1682) and Huang Lizhou (Zongxi, 1610-1695) were
both men of great scholarship, but not philosophers in the proper sense of the
term. Chinese philosophy was dead in the early phase of the Qing
Period [since 1644].
(6) Retrospect and Prospect: A Simple View and Simple Hope
In
Hence, discussing Chinese philosophy today, we should realize: The
decay of Primordial Confucianism had already begun with Emperor Wu of the Han
Dynasty and what was taught by the Han scholars was a matter of Confucian
classical studies [canonical exegesis by philological approaches]. From the Wei and Jin down to the Six Dynasties Primordial Daoism,
too, receded, yielding its way to Neo-Daoism. Again, after the Northern Song
Period Buddhism declined, giving rise to the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and
Ming Periods. In the Qing Period, when
From the fourteenth century onwards the West desired to revive the
classic legacy but was unable to do so—even up to the sixteenth century—due to
a lack of sufficient documents. Works on the history of Western philosophy by
scholars of the eighteenth to the nineteenth centuries were found to be
laughing stocks—full of ridiculous mistakes—until at least a century afterwards
when an increasing number of scholars specializing in Greek and Latin devoted
themselves to the classic studies in the first-hand materials, tracing all way
up to their fons et origio. It
is, therefore, from the nineteenth to the twentieth centuries that many excellent
works in the History of Western Philosophy were produced. Recently, few have
been able to write a competent work in the field. Generally speaking, the
Catholic scholars are competent for the task because they can penetrate into
the first-hand source-materials in the original. Such is the case with the
History of Chinese philosophy. One should, first of all, solve the linguistic
problems so as to return the thought of a given age to that age in its own
terms, and then to trace systematically the development of Chinese philosophy
as unfolding in its entire course.
3.
Fundamental Import and
Motif: Pervasive Unity
To sum up the foregoing discussions: The major systems of Chinese
thought are such that they had evolved along with Primordial Confucianism,
Primordial Daoism, Three Systems of Speculative Philosophy in the Wei and Jin Periods as the foundation whereupon to build
what is essentially a Chinese Mahāyāna
Buddhism. This shows that in metaphysics what was derived from foreign thought
has matured to a climax in seventh century
Apparently Chinese philosophy was dead in the Qing
Dynasty but, in fact, it has just become all the more receptive to novel stimuli.
Therefore, given one to two hundred years, it definitely will be able to create
new climaxes in ways far beyond what can be possibly predicted by those
superficial adherents of wholesale Westernization. External stimulation
revitalizes our inmost creative impulses, hence it follows as my simple view
and hope as well: That, certainly,
(1) Taking a Flight in the Air
We now will proceed to discuss our subject for this section. As prelude to our discussion let me
suggest, as I often did to my students in former times, that the best first
lesson for any student of philosophy is an invitation to take a flight on an
airplane.
On the ordinary or commonsensical level we live in our present world,
but we don’t fully understand the world we are living in; we exist in this
world, but we have yet to learn to appreciate rather than curse it. In case of
any slight frustration we tend to misunderstand, to curse it as full of absurdities,
owing to the bitter experience of suffering and pain. Viewed from the vantage
position on the airplane, the so-called dark world of sufferings looks like the
multifacets of Life as Reality. Five times I had the
experience of flying over the Great Lakes Areas on the border between the
On this point Zhuangzi was quite clear. He
had himself spiritually been transformed into a magic bird, called the “big peng,” which by beating the whirlwinds mounted to an ever
ascending height above 90,000 li’s [30,000 miles]!
Before the take-off he saw the sky as cast in an infinite vastness of blue;
after the take-off he cast his gaze upon the earth-world again. In the light of
time-space relativity he at once realized: Is the infinite beauty and sublimity
of the sky its real color and form? When viewed from above, the world down
below looks the same! Therefore the world, too, is found to be replete with
beauty.
Such a realization will help correct much of our misunderstanding about
the world. All the more so today on the testimony of the astronauts who have
pointed out thus: that when we look up at the moon from the earth (especially
on the Mid-Autumn Festival), our appreciation of its beauty was inspired by a
variety of poetical imageries; but for those who had been to the moon, it was
nothing but a vast land of desolation and barrenness. Contrarily, if viewed
from Space high above, the earth looks so multi-colored, beautiful,
magnificent, -- just marvelous! Any student of philosophy who sees this world
only in regards to its ugly, absurd, evil, and dark sides is far from being a
person of wisdom at all. Instead, one should cast one’s gaze again upon the
world from the vantage of the free spirit and thereby beautify it. Only by
letting the free spirit take flight from heights to heights in infinite Space,
then taking a new look at the world, can our philosophical wisdom of various
kinds be properly cultivated.
(2) The Child Flying a Kite
Let me tell you another story as a clue to the horizons of Primordial
Confucianism, Primordial Daoism, Mahāyāna
Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism. As is customary with Chinese dramatic literature,
the opening of a play is preceded with a prologue that sums up, in the simplest
language possible, all the subtle cultural implications contained therein. My
story is quite simple indeed.
As the legend goes, a man with great wealth and fortune was once so
excited that he hit upon a fanciful idea to design a magnificent mansion and
have it erected on a beautiful location surrounded by great mountains and
rivers. After the construction was finished he found its interior far too
empty. He said to himself: How nice it would be if I could get a good painter
to do a huge mural for the main hall! So, he hired a famous painter and had him
well served with all luxuries. Endowed with great talents, but rather weird in
appearance, the painter did nothing after he moved in, fooling around all day
long, enjoying himself with sightseeing in the nearby great mountains and
rivers. Occasionally he composed some poems and cis
(known as “tz’u poetory”).
Two months passed without any progress in the work he was commissioned to do.
A man of good taste, the host just let him have his own way, without
interference, until another period of several months had passed and then he
became really anxious. He asked the painter to move into the main hall and had
him locked up there, well served as before. Another six months passed until,
all of a sudden, he really got started up. Picking up the brush, in a moment he
finished a mural on the wall. There he painted a beautiful boy holding in his
hand a thin thread connected on the other end to a kite in the form of a
butterfly. It was “A Child Flying a Kite.” Across the whole space there was
just a long line and a butterfly, the child holding the line firmly in his
hand; whereupon was displayed the great propelling force of the Celestial
Winds: Here it symbolizes the whole cosmic power of creativity as displayed in
the thin thread as well as the free spirit of the philosopher in the image of
the butterfly. The child feels that power intimately through the very thread
vibrant in his firm grasp.
For anyone who wants to engage in the system-building of philosophy,
there can be no better way than imitating the child of the story flying a kite,
firmly and steadily—besides taking a flight in the air. Though unable to mount
up to spaces on high, surely one feels the wondrous, all-propelling cosmic
creative forces at work through the very delicate thin thread within one’s firm
grasp!
In Chinese philosophy this is not a magic show or performance of the
successive movement of up and down! Rather, it suggests the idea of a central
thread whereby we are enabled to discover the collective wisdom of the Chinese
people as a whole. According to the Confucian view, as stated in the “Life of Guo Yong ” (History
of the Han Dynasty), we should strive to “establish the
Zhuangzi’s insightful statement,
“grasp the Great Center as the Pivot of Dao so as to be able to respond
adequately to myriad situations,” simply means to comprehend, to grasp, to
experience the Cosmos as a Whole wherein to orient and establish our life as
interpenetrating with all the power of the Cosmic Life Itself. Thus, we see
that the cultivation of wisdom is not a matter of achievement by individuals
alone. Highly developed philosophy is always bound up with the highly creative
spirit of art; the aesthetical attitude combines itself with the intellectual
to form an inseparable unity. The spirit of philosophy is immersed, through and
through, with the horizons of art experience.
The Confucians, following Confucius, urged that one should “abide by
the Dao, hold to Virtue, rely upon Creativity (ren), and immerse oneself in the
arts.” This is to say that the totality of cultural life shall comprehend high
levels of metaphysical wisdom and moral spirit, unified by highly artistic
talent and great taste as the central thread running throughout all aspects of
experiences, so as to consummate the cultural achievement of life as a whole. Zhuangzi stated this point even more explicitly: “The sage
is one who comprehends the Reason of all things in the light of cosmic beauty
and sublimity.” The Chinese people tend to use literature as a medium to
express their philosophical ideas and to use beautiful poetry or plastic arts
or paintings to transmute the realm of truth into a world of beauty and meaning
as if by magic. For this reason the establishment of systems of thought is at
the same time the crystallization of the spirit of art.
Under the inspiring influence of Zhuangzi, Li
Po (701-762) the great poet of the Tang Dynasty sang thus:
Pluck out that
Divine Power
of Cosmic
Creation,
And Transmute
it to my magic power
Of masterly
execution!
This holds no less true of philosophers who attempt to create their own
systems of thought: They are not supposed to formulate their ideas into a mere
cold abstract scheme; rather, they must strive to get the cosmic creative
forces condensed and concentrated in their own creativeness before they could
expect to have these ideas competently expressed. Only when thus accomplished
can such a thinker and his system of thought be said to have truly represented
the image of Cosmic Beauty as crystallized.
A moment ago we have spoken of the painter and his work, [which
suggests the idea that] infinite primal vitality pervades infinite space in the
form of the cosmic play of forces. The kite flyer must be able to grasp firmly
the cosmic vital forces, known as the Great Celestial Winds. The thin thread of
the kite upon which all the cosmic forces play stands for the Unifying
Principle of the Cosmos or Universe-Structure as a Whole. It holds together the
sublimely creative power of the Cosmos. From the perspective of Primordial Confucianism,
only by being able to penetrate forthrightly into the creativity of the Great
Flux and Transformation in the cosmic advance, and by taking the individual
life as a center of radiation wherefrom to interpenetrate with all the mystery
of mysteries [MM, notice here!] and all the
wonder of wonders of the cosmic life, can one become a truly creative thinker
in the Chinese sense.
(3) Four Traditions Poetically Epitomized
The Tang poet Sikong Tu
(837-908) was at most of the third class as far as his own art of poetical
compositions was concerned; but his discourse on poetical vision and horizon,
entitled Classified Characterization of
Poetry, ranked supreme as a work in poetical criticism and appreciation. It
comprised a total of twenty-four categories, each of which as a type has
reached the highest standard of the art of poetics. If we read carefully the
following categories such as #8, “the Vigorous and Forceful”; #1, “the Great
and Sublime”; #24, “the Fluid and Mobile”; and #3, “the Lofty and Antique,” we
will then be able to epitomize the spirit of Primordial Confucianism,
Primordial Daoism, Mahāyāna Buddhism and
Neo-Confucianism, respectively. For instance, Category #8, “the Vigorous and
Forceful” type, aptly catches the overtone of the metaphysical foundation of
the thought-system implied in The Book of
Creativity (of the Chou version) as developed by the Primordial Confucians:
Creative Spirit
prevails
As in the Great
Hollow;
Great force
prevails
As stretches
the rainbow.
Or, again, like
the clouds
Racing, as the
winds do,
Across the
lofty peak-sprouts
Of the Gorges
of Wu!
Drink of the
Spiritual!
And feed on the
Forceful!
Thus daily
nourish as usual
And keep the
Mean to the full.
An advance so
vigorous is a paradigm
To perpetuate
Greatness for all time:
Co-exist and
Co-work with Heaven and Earth,
In the same Flux
and Transformation Divine.
Identify in
everlasting worth
With all works
done beautiful and fine.
To the Genuine,
to the Authentic abide
Forever as they
rod and as thy guide.
This is a terse expression of the Creative Spirit as embodied in the
entire system of Confucian metaphysics.
In category #1, the “Great and Sublime,” is found the expression of the
Spirit of Life characteristic of the Primordial Daoist
philosophers Laozi and Zhuangzi:
The Great Force
tends to expand outwardly;
Authenticity
charges inwardly.
Reverse to
Vacuity, dwell in Fusion,
Strength thus
funded makes powerful expression.
Encompassing
myriad things in an embrace,
And sweeping
across the boundless space.
It moves like
clouds in fluidity,
Sustained by
the winds from Infinity.
Transcend all
objects, all forms all around,
Hold to the
Thus come forth
the Forceful spontaneously,
And the Sublime
inexhaustibly.
In the spirit of Chinese philosophy the Daoists
are the typical space-men. Unable to confine themselves to the tiny corner of
the Universe, they must transcend it by lifting their spirit up into infinitely
vast space wherein to take flight, free and full, alone and unafraid. Riding on
the Void by virtue of vacuity is typical of the Daoist
spirit but here, too, one must be sufficiently charged and energized for the
great take-off, that is, by self-cultivation through a fund of spiritual
energy. Even the great magic bird, the “big peng,”
has to be sufficiently air-borne by beating the powerful whirlwinds before it
can mount up to ever-ascending heights. [In other words, self-cultivation is a
prerequisite for self-transcendence.] On this very theme of “nourishing the
spiritual force and energy” both the Primordial Confucians and the Primordial Daoists concur!
[Likewise, the spirit of Mahāyāna
Buddhism can be epitomized as follows:]
“Like the
water-wheel that whirls;
Or, like the
ever-rolling pearls!”
How can the Way
be thus verbalized?
But a likeness
for the fool to surmise.
Lo, the Great
Axis of Earth!
And the Eternal
Pivot of Heaven!
Grasp its clue
of crucial worth,
And be
identified with it as One.
Ever upwards
lead the Divine Lights;
Ever recurs the
Dark Void circle-wise.
All thus come
and go in an Eternal Orbit.
Does this
suggest: “That’s it”?
-- Category
#24, “the Fluid and
Lo, the
Immortal, Spirituality-borne,
A lotus-flower
in hand as life reborn!
Crossing the
span of Eternity,
Vanishing
without trace into Infinity.
--
Category #3, “the Lofty and Antique”
Similarly, the Neo-Confucian sentiment can be summed up thus:
The more
deeply thus carried away,
The more vividly
one sees the Way.
Inexhaustible
quest is, alas, much ado,
Revive the Old
to make for the New!
--Category 3,
Ibid.
(4) Challenge and Response: Re-Discover and Re-Create
Buddhism in
Soon afterwards, therefore, men of high wisdom went westward in quest
of Indian thought through direct acquaintance, tracing its development from the
Hināyāna to the Mahāyāna,
in an effort to discover parallels with the high level of Chinese wisdom, with
an end towards synthesis. Thus, on the basis of Prajña
Philosophy, the Chinese mind was able to establish various sects and schools of
Mahāyāna Buddhism in the Shuei and Tang Periods following the Six Dynasties. As we
see, it would never do to receive something passively with only a “hollow,
flaccid” empty bag! One must have high wisdom oneself before one can truly
benefit from modeling oneself on the highest as paradigm, intellectually and culturally.
“The stones of two mountains can benefit each other from mutual grinding, and
in the end their respective merits can shine forth all the more,” as the
proverb goes. The entire course of the Daoist-Buddhist
synthesis is beyond the comprehension of the sloganizers
of wholesale westernization. If one is unable to learn the high wisdom of other
cultures, one can hardly expect to enrich one’s own philosophical wisdom and
vision.
Since its introduction into China Buddhism, having merged with Daoist wisdom on the highest level, was thereby furthered
in its development towards the Mahāyāna
tendency, until Chan Buddhism burst forth as a result of a concordance with the
Confucian spirit, exemplified in the doctrine of the intrinsic goodness of
human nature. What was originally a foreign religion was now completely
transformed into a typical Chinese philosophical wisdom.
From this historical example the simple-minded and shallow-headed
adherents of wholesale westernization have an important lesson to learn! What
do they know about Greek literature and philosophy, Hebrew religion, modern
scientific culture (beyond mere scientific materialism)?—Nothing but radical
misunderstanding! Because of our misunderstanding of ourselves, because of our
misunderstanding of the West, intellectually we have made little progress in
the last fifty years. Half a century is gone! Ours is a situation of the hollow
man paralleling an “hollow, flaccid” empty bag! What we have received from the
West in the past turns out to be but its worst parts, the surface aspects, such
as systems, institutions, fashions, and the like. This so-called “Westernization”
has degenerated into “communization” and consequently we have retreated to this
tiny
III. Approaches to Chinese
Philosophy
(1) The Motif
of Creative Humanism: “There is Man in Chinese Philosophy!”
Before we proceed to discuss formally the two schools of Primordial
Confucianism and Primordial Daoism, it is necessary that we understand the
philosophical viewpoint we adopt here.
It is typical of the development of Chinese philosophy that no matter
which direction it takes, there are always some general characteristics or
common denominators which account for its homogeneity. These characteristics do
not arise ex nihilo,
but out of the depths of philosophical minds. Of the major schools of Chinese
thought, what is the inward spirit of their representative figures? To answer
briefly, various spirits converge on one pivotal point: “Inquiring into the
depth of human nature so as to experience thereby human greatness in terms of
human nature itself and all its strivings and achievements.” This has its
beginning with the Confucian school, which emphasized especially “Illumination
of the greatness of human spiritual life firmly established in the world of perpetual
creativeness.” This point was carried further by the Daoist
and Buddhist schools as well. We may invert Socrates’ comment on Isocrates that “there is philosophy in the man” and declare
instead: “There is Man in Chinese philosophy.”—There is personality in it. The
true Chinese, whose life is constituted of noble humanity, exuberant sentiment,
and great rationality, is never but an icy-cold head as thinker. It is characteristic
of Chinese philosophy that all these three aspects be fully developed and well
integrated so as to form great systems of thought.
More specifically, what are the general characteristics of Chinese
philosophy? What are the distinctive features of the representatives of each
school?
As noted before, no philosophy can develop itself independently in any
culture. In the West it is virtually impossible for anyone to understand its
philosophy without appreciating the achievements of Greek poetry, sculpture,
and painting, etc. Had Greek philosophy been inspired only by the Apollonian
spirit, says Nietzsche, it should have withered long ago. Fortunately it had as
a source of inspiration the Dionysian spirit, too. Thus by combining the spirit
of art with philosophical wisdom the Greek genius made immortal contributions
to Western culture. The Medieval Age absorbed Greek philosophy, but not until
combining it with the sentiment of Hebrew religion had it created the highly
religious type of spiritual culture of the Middle Ages. As for
For Modern Europe the splendor of the Renaissance was made possible by
combining the spirit of art with philosophical imagination. The modern man of
the West had in spirit penetrated into Great Mother Nature with a view to
exploring her secrets. Lured, as it were, by the aesthetical spirit, he plunged
back again into the external world to show off his curiosity, or his sense of
wonder (or sense of power). Behind the progress in mathematics and physical
sciences there had always been lurking the spirit of art as a motive force that
made possible modern scientific culture. Therefore, a majority of great
thinkers in the seventeenth century were at the same time great scientists.
Evidently, no philosophy has developed along any single-track.
(2) Methodological Considerations
(A) Logical, Epistemological, and Legalist Approaches
In retrospect, Chinese philosophy in all ages has aimed to “comprehend
the Reason of all things in the light of cosmic beauty and sublimity” [as Zhuangzi stresses], that is, to develop philosophical
wisdom and establish systems of philosophical thought by virtue of aesthetic sentiments.
On the other hand, as we notice, Western philosophy in the modern age has
developed along the path stipulated by logical and scientific methods in order
to understand the subjective or objective worlds. But if we adopt as a method
the same approach to Chinese philosophy, we can only expect to understand the
School of Names (founded by Hui Shi and Kong-Sun Long)
and the Mohist School (and its variants) of the
Warring State Period. Such strains of thought have waned since the Han Dynasty.
I refrain, therefore, from adopting this logical and epistemological approach
for our present purpose. Besides, in the Chinese way of life the principle of
“rectification of virtue, benefaction of utility, and promotion of well-being”
have served as the guideposts for political ideals since the time of antiquity.
However, there were thinkers who knew only “benefaction of utility and
promotion of well-being” and forgot to start with “rectification of virtue”
which had unfortunately degenerated into the miserable state of “lack of
virtue!” For example, the tough-minded, relentless Legalists of the Later
Warring State Period belong to this category. Such a Legalist approach was not
approved by the Chinese. This is why the radical reform policy launched in the
later age by Wang Anshi of the Northern Song Dynasty
was doomed to failure. Hence, neither would I adopt such a Legalist approach to
discuss Chinese philosophy.
(B) Religious Approach
The religious approach adopted in the Medieval Age, good as it was,
does not fit in with the Chinese historical scene, which was marked by the
so-called “Chinese precocious culture.” Just like the brilliant sun arising
from the East, Chinese civilization had in early times dispersed all kinds of
cloudiness of the universe thus encountered, and had at one stroke, as it were,
transformed it into a world of the light of day. Usually, such a process of
evolution would take other cultures a long, long period of time for maturization, as was the case with
He was reverential, intelligent,
accomplished, and thoughtful—naturally without effort. He was sincerely courteous,
and capable of all compliance. The bright influence of these qualities was felt
through the four quarters of the land, and reached to heaven above earth
beneath.
He made the able and
virtuous distinguished, and thence proceeded to the love of all in the nine
classes of his kindred, who thus became harmonious. He also regulated and polished
the people of his domain, who all became brightly intelligent. Finally, he united
and harmonized the myriad states; and so the black-haired (young) people were
transformed. The result was universal concord.
Thus, as we see, even in the opening chapter of Chinese history there
seems to have emerged a Great Sun shining upon a world that was rationalized,
through and through! Works analogous to those of Homer and Hesiod
in
In
(C) The Metaphysical Approach
On the other hand, if we adopt the metaphysical, i.e., philosophical,
approach, those of the
(2) Three Types of
Metaphysics
(a)The Praeternatural;
(b) The Immanent; and (3) The Transcendental
First, we shall make it clear in what sense the term “metaphysics” is
being used here. There is a type of metaphysics known as “the praeternatural metaphysics” which, in Kantian terminology,
may be explained as “the transcendent metaphysics.” Kant himself sometimes used
“transcendent” and “transcendental” interchangeably. I disagree. The so-called
“transcendent” means “the praeternatural” as
mentioned above, whereas the “transcendental” signifies that which, though
starting from the world of experience and actualities, has philosophical
horizons not confined to experience and actuality alone. Moreover, it can break
through the limitations of the sphere of actualities by elevating itself to the
world of idealities, which is by no means a “kite with a broken thread.” From
both the Confucian and the Daoist viewpoints all the
worlds of idealities are made of the exalted values embodied in the highest
degree of reality. Such exalted values can be implemented in the human world of
actualities, thus gradually actualizing ideas. Once so actualized, they can
inspire new ideals. This is the ground whereupon I advance the term “Transcendental metaphysics.”
In other words, all those lofty ideals charged with transcendental
values are not something airy or ethereal, flowing, moving and fluctuating in
space; rather, they can be applied to the actual world, the actual society, and
the actual human existence in alignment with human nature such that they can be
actualized, step by step, through human creative efforts. Under such conditions
metaphysics is never disconnected from the physical or actual world, nor with
actual human existence; rather, it is actualized in and through that existence.
Thus, in light of ideal-realization or value-actualization, transcendental
metaphysics is transformed into immanent metaphysics, with all values immanent
in the process of actualization of the world and human existence.
My adoption of such a metaphysical approach to Chinese philosophy is
based on methodological considerations. We find that all philosophers in Greek
and modern systems of thought, as well as in certain religions, are gifted with
a capacity which may be illustrated by a story in Greek mythological
literature: As the story goes, a certain man, having been away from home too
long, had eventually returned; but he found every thing in his hometown split
in two—his house, his family, and the like. Completely at a loss, not knowing
which of the two he should approach, he was caught in what is called “the
dualistic mode of thought.” The dualists’ tour
de force is to see the world in a double image, rather than in light of a
holistic perspective, i.e., to perceive the world and life as an integrated
whole.
Analogously, Greek philosophers adopted the method of bifurcation: With
the Absolute Being assigned to one side and the Absolute Non-Being to the
other. One is the realm of perfect values; the other one is the realm of
illusory appearances. In this way the spirit of Greek philosophy was hopelessly
caught in dualism and encumbered with great difficulties, once it fell down to
the lower realm. For only with great struggle could the human soul ascend to
the higher realm by way of exaltation and looking at the actual world again,
would condemn it as filled with evils, unwilling therefore to come down. Thus, axiologically speaking, to borrow from Plato, the Greeks
have made a Chorismos,
a separation between the upper and lower realms. Exaltation into the spiritual
realm implies a great separation from the lower realm; living in the lower
realm means a separation from the world of value-ideals. Hence, the formation
of the systems of thought from Parmenides to Socrates and Plato. Despite the
effort of Aristotle for a solution, the separation-problem for these two realms
was not overcome. Finally, philosophy in
Dualism in the form of the upper vs. lower Chorismos created great
perplexity in Greek philosophy, insolvable even with the philosopher’s head
being worn out. Also, it has more or less influenced the Hebrew religion,
involving religious problems as well. In spite of the Christian ideal of the
On the other hand, as we noticed, there has been in Chinese thought no
such gulf separating the world of actualities from that of idealities. This
makes it difficult for us to adopt a metaphysical system of the praeternatural type. The metaphysical trends of though
prevalent among the Confucian, Daoist, and
Neo-Confucian systems are all of the transcendental type: It recognizes the
possibility of values in this world as emanating from the world of idealities,
forming thus a Great Chain of Becoming characterized
by interconnectedness through interpenetration. For this reason, axiological
neutrality is not possible in Chinese thought as it has been in the later phase
of modern scientific development in the West, which tends to wash away all
values by bleaching. Once scientific materialism is established, it would be
extremely difficult to rehabilitate therein both the religious and artistic
life.
In
For the Daoists, remarkable as they are in
self-transcendence, even those who have reached the summit of spiritual
eminence must take the Dao as a point of departure and descend downward from
there: “The Dao produces the One; the One produces the Two; the Two produces
the Three; the Three produces myriad things, ad infinitum.” The Daoist ideals also must penetrate into the actual world of
human existence. The Chinese are not sympathetic with the Hināyāna
Buddhists simply because the latter are escapists intending to eschew actual
life, darkness and sufferings. They are unlike the Mahāyānaists
who, on the basis of the eminence of the Prajñā-Spirit
(Wisdom-Spirit), can realize that the highest meaning of religion is not for
the complete satisfaction of individual happiness. Rather it consists of
seeking persistently the spiritual liberation and emancipation for all
humankind and the whole cosmic life as a whole.
The Chinese preference for Mahāyā na over Hināyāna is
grounded in the realization that religious wisdom serves for the salvation of
the whole world, rather than as a mere means of escape from all the problems
and ordeals in the actual world of human existence. To save the world with supreme
wisdom is the true spirit of all religion. For the sake of philosophical wisdom
various schools of thought have developed in
(3) Two Methodological
Traps:
Vicious Bifurcation and
Piecemeal Analysis
Transforming a transcendental metaphysics into an immanent one, by
conceiving value-ideals as immanent in human spirit and life, is what I mean by
the metaphysical approach and its viewpoint. Adopting this viewpoint, we shall
be able to avoid two kinds of pitfalls or traps: First, the method of
bifurcation—which, for the sake of mere expediency in the operation of thought,
tends to divide the integrative world and the integrative life into two
incompatible realms as disconnected and unbridgeable. Second, the method of
analysis—in contradistinction to which the Chinese mode of thought may appear
to be inferior or defective, since, never has, as it is often held, analysis
been emphasized in China as it has been in the modern West. In fact, this is
not true, because
(4)
All Exhaustive Analysis and Philosophy as an All Comprehensive and All-Penetrative System of Thought
This, as I take it, is what I call “Exhaustive Analysis” as a method:
First, it takes in the panorama of the whole universe and the whole spirit of
life, as presented before us, in a comprehensive perspective. Then it proceeds
to consummate itself by development into an All-Comprehensive Perspective of
All systems of Perspectives on the basis of the worlds of vision attained by a
set of the interpenetrative viewpoints in regards to all aspects of the Cosmos
and Life as spiritually transcended and exalted. Thus, we see that partial, or
half-way analysis as a method is fallacious by nature indeed. Only by way of
what is properly the exhaustive analysis can we grasp by intuition the Cosmos
and Life as an Integral Whole, surveyed in the full scope of its significance,
values, and realities. Only as conceived in such a sense, can philosophy be properly
called an “All-Comprehensive and All-Penetrative System of Thought” in terms of
range and depth.
4. Fundamental Differences
between Chinese and Western Philosophies
Before we proceed to discuss the four major traditions of Primordial
Confucianism, Primordial Daoism, Mahāyāna
Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism Philosophy of Reason and Philosophy of Mind in
the Song and Ming Periods), it is necessary to begin with a brief account in
highlights of their general characteristics and their distinctive features [as
outlined in the succeeding sections 5 - 7].
Of the many possible approaches, I have deliberately chosen the
metaphysical one. With this delimitation, we are able to concentrate on certain
important aspects, without spending much time on those schools of thought
which, relatively speaking, are found to be metaphysically weak, such as the
Legalist, the Yin-yangist, the Logicalist,
and even the Mohist Schools, etc. We shall then focus
our attention on the four major systems as mentioned above—namely, Primordial
Confucianism, Primordial Daoism, the various sects of Mahāyāna
Buddhism, and the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Periods.
(1) Trans-Dualistic System
In regard to metaphysics, we have noticed the Chinese position as distinct
from the transcendent or praeternatural type. Why
must this point be stressed time and again? Let us take a closer look at the
case in light of the world history of philosophy: Methodologically, the Greek,
the Medieval, and the Modern European traditions alike are analogous to the
Hebrew religion [in that they have all been caught in the dualistic mode of
thought]. Logically, it is the application [or misapplication] of “contrast” as
a method leading to the dichotomy of the integrative world and life. Or to put
it in Whiteheadian language, it is the fallacy of the
vicious bifurcation of Nature as a whole. In Greek philosophy, for instance,
the infra-physical world of matter is
set in contrast to—hence, separated from—the supra-physical world of forms, the latter being the realm of
values like truth, goodness, and beauty! Such a method of bifurcation involves
a big problem, the problem of Chorismos (Separation) of the upper from the lower realms,
which accounts for the biggest problem in Plato’s philosophy as the
insurmountable difficulty to bridge these two worlds: the infra-physical and
the supra-physical. Consequently, it is rendered extremely difficult for the
absolute values of truth, goodness, and beauty to be completely actualized in
the world of actualities.
This holds no less true of Ancient Greece than of Medieval Europe.
According to the Book of Revelations
for example, on the one hand there is the truly religious realm of the
To illustrate this point we may cite the words of Julian Huxley, the
British critic:
The western world today is
caught in an apparent dilemma between two conflicting modes of thought. The one
thinks in terms of absolutes—the absoluteness of truth, beauty, justice,
goodness, themselves all deriving from an Absolute absolute,
which is God. The natural world is complemented by the supernatural, the body
by the soul, the temporal by the eternal . . . The absolute Revelation and the absolute of pure
Reason will between them answer all the questions that can be answered. Man’s
place in the universe is a place of an eternal soul created by God, and working
out its destiny in terms of eternal values.[‡]
This sounds indeed like a “manifesto of the Praeternatural
Metaphysics.” In other words, our modern age is seen to be beset with a strong
opposition between religion on the one hand, that involves a praeternatural metaphysics, and science on the other, that
ascertains a natural world. It is only natural that apart from
Similarly, beginning with Descartes in Modern Europe another form of
bifurcation came to the foreground, that opposed the inner (subjective) world
of mind to the outer (objective)
world of matter. Thus, in addition to
the opposition of upper vs. lower, we notice another one in Modern European
philosophy, that of the inner vs. outer. Many perplexities resulted in
epistemology. Generally speaking, it is typical of the West that, beginning
with ancient Greece and continuing down to the medieval (partly) and modern
times, the integral world as a whole is chopped in two by using the same method
of bifurcation, involving serious problems in metaphysics, too, especially the
problem of [lack of] interconnection or
interpenetration.
But, from the viewpoint of Chinese philosophy, such a predicament can
be avoided. Although it is true that in Chinese philosophy the integrative
world can be differentiated into several realms for the sake of expediency,
there have always been some points of contact between and among them so that
they are conceived as a whole in terms of linkage and interconnection—instead
of opposition and isolation—[thus forming what may be called the Great Chain of Becoming].
(2) An All-Comprehensive System
Therefore, Chinese metaphysics is seen to be not a metaphysics of the praeternatural or transcendent type; at most, it may be
classified as of the transcendental type. Ontologically the cosmic reality can,
of course, be differentiated into various kinds of relative realities and the
totality thereof as underlying throughout—the Absolute Reality. But never is it
the case that the relative and the Absolute are severed by bifurcation. Rather,
all the relative realities make a configuration wherein is to be located a
unifying thread that can naturally comprehend and integrate all into a Supreme
Reality regarded as the Absolute. Taken in this sense, the Absolute is not set
in opposition against all such relative systems; rather, it is their consummate
unification! Again, axiologically, whether for artistic
value (beauty), for moral value (goodness), or for various kinds of knowledge
systems (truth), if viewed respectively under the aspect of art, morality, and
philosophy, each kind of value systems has its own proper realm or sphere [as
world-horizon], yet none of them is an isolated system. Rather, each must
develop upwards in connection with the values of beauty, goodness, and truth in
other spheres so as to form a hierarchy ranging from the bottom to the top,
wherein the values on any exalted plane penetrate into those on the lower ones
such that none is deserted in the process of value-actualization.
For example, those who understand the art of painting all know that in
the West in order to draw a painting one must adopt a certain viewpoint. That
is to say, the painter must adopt a particular viewpoint through which to form
a certain perspective before he can work out a vista on the canvas. But such
perspectives are all relative in character. Hence, different vistas are made
possible by different perspectives as viewing, say, from the left or the right
angles, from the close, the remote, or the middle distance, etc. Each of these
end-results is therefore relative to the particular viewpoint in question. But
in China the competent painter has such a special gift that he can paint the
big objects small, and the small objects big, simply because [by adopting a moving
focus, instead of the frozen one] he is not confined to any particular
viewpoint alone, with only one perspective world available to contemplate upon.
Rather, on the basis of a variety of horizons so far obtained from the
ground-level perspectives and by the wings of the soul, he can mount
spiritually to the most lofty-plane horizons to find therein a vantage-point as
“the Acme of the Celestial,” so to speak, whereupon he is enabled to survey the
world-all from height to height, from width to width, and from depth to depth,
thus producing an All-Comprehensive Perspective of all other systems of
perspective as relative in nature.
Seen under such a perspective, all the so-called divergences of philosophical
horizons on different levels and planes are primarily meant for the
Comprehensive Unity to be effected through interpenetration and interfusion, so
that all the obstructiveness between the upper and
lower realms, the inner and outer worlds, can be dissolved. This is transcendental
metaphysics worth the title! In establishing any system of philosophical
thought the human creative spirit is neither confined to the lower realm, nor
to the inner (subjective) world of mind, alone. Rather, by its power of
expansion it always strives to break through the inner, in order to reach the
outer, worlds; to break through the lower—and penetrate the intermediate, in
order to reach the upper, realms. Hence, living in the actual world as we are,
we can still attain to liberation and emancipation by virtue of spiritual exaltation
and self-transcendence. Just as, after take-off, the ascending airplane seems
to be severed from the ground but, surely, it will touch down for landing [or
for refueling if needed], so is the case with the ascending human spirit: after
attaining to the highest ideal-horizons it must touch down for landing, back to
the actual work [for refueling], for realization, back to the actual life [for
recharge], for complete fulfillment. This explains why the system of
transcendental metaphysics, once completed, must be transformed into an
immanent one: for the transcendental ideals must be completed and realized in
the actual work, here and now.
(3) Interpenetrative System
Chinese philosophy has never adopted the method of bifurcation which
involves a series of oppositions and contradictions. Instead, it always seeks
everywhere to effect interpenetration, vertically as well as horizontally, with
a view to constructing what may be called an “Interpenetrative System,” to
borrow a phrase from the Book of
Creativity in the Chou version. This is the point of greatest difference
that distinguishes the Chinese position from most others. Because of such a
difference, our thinkers as system-builders are analogous to architects working
on a blue-prints for a great building, with various kinds of structure-designs
and construction-materials to be integrated into an architectonic unity and
coherence. In the case of any building, however transcendental its ideal of
beauty may be, the construction-materials it uses are all taken from the
physical conditions here on earth, such as the clay, sand, timber, steel-frame,
concrete, etc. By putting all these together into the architectonic form, the
manifolds are at once transformed into symmetry and harmony, and finally all
thoroughly integrated as a finished work of art.
Nowadays many of our young scholars have been disciplined in Western
thought before they receive training in Chinese philosophy. There is nothing
wrong with Western training as such. It always provides us with some kind of
methodological procedure for each step of the progression of thought, which is
a very good training indeed. But, owing to the impact of science on philosophy,
it aims at solving one problem at one time, and has therefore adopted the
analytic method for many essential problems and important issues in philosophy.
The merit of such a method is freedom from ambiguity and vagueness, but it
implies a crisis, too. For, applying this method of analysis, one can only deal
with one problem at one time, hence one is unable to be comprehensive in vision
as to other problems relevant to the one under treatment. What is analytically
grasped tends to form an isolated system and our thought confined thereto is
not only unable to have a comprehensive view of all related problems in the
case but, more importantly, even of those factors relevant to the solution of
the given problem itself. An isolated system thus formed is likely to exclude
new possibilities beyond itself; and this will impoverish any system by
depriving it of richness and plentitude. Therefore, studying Western philosophy
one must be wise enough to learn its merits on the one hand while avoiding its
crises [pitfalls and limitations] on the other, such as involved in the
isolated system and the prejudices generated thereby.
(4) Organismic
System
In
Modern scientific materialism makes a good case in point. With regard
to Western philosophy and religion, it is evident that there are many spiritual
spheres in the universe, such as the moral, artistic, and religious worlds, of
which the chief constituent factors are all spiritual phenomena. But as viewed
by modern physical science, whose method is either that of mathematical
abstraction or that of physical experimentation, the fundamental conditions for
the cosmic structure are all reduced to quantitative phenomena which, again,
are further reduced to simple systems—for which new data must be provided
wherever the given ones are found to be insufficient. Through cold and rigid
experimentation it seeks new facts in addition to those old ones. In the newly
constituted facts it seeks new conditions—those that must be the physical facts
capable of being grasped by pointer-readings for the scientific mind, all
ending up in the prejudices of modern scientists -- as if the natural reason in
their grasp is the only valid over-riding supreme reason, the key to the
reality of all that is. Whatever cannot be so grasped must be considered
illusory. Thus, all qualities irreducible to quantitative terms are considered
illusory; thus, all values incapable of being treated by the modern scientific
method are considered illusory.
In this manner the modern scientific mode of thought, once reaching the
high degrees of abstraction and exactitude, issues in serious mistakes
intellectually—which are eulogized in the name of axiological neutrality! It
follows, therefore, that whatever cannot be reduced to quantitative conditions
is negated: Inasmuch as religion cannot be so reduced, it is negated. Inasmuch
as beauty in art (modern abstract art representing not all arts) cannot be
reduced to mere numerical terms, it is eschewed, and people recoil to their own
subjective states of mind or their abnormal psychology for refuge or for
endless, restless quests. Consequently, beauties in the natural as well as
supernatural worlds are all obliterated, all wiped out! In the field of ethics
many theorists have uprooted goodness as motivation in morality, reducing it to
a bundle of phenomena described in terms of analytic and neutral language;
moral phenomena thus described are no longer any goodness at all, but neutral
facts!
Under such circumstances the enormous strides made in modern science,
once applied to philosophy, imply that the method to be adopted for it is
partial analysis instead of exhaustive elucidation, abstract analysis in place
of concrete understanding. In addition, because of the erroneous attitude of
axiological neutralism adopted towards all values, such as the value of
holiness and those of truth, goodness, and beauty, apparently there remains
almost nothing to talk about in terms of values at all [as if ‘value’ itself
has already become a taboo for our modern philosophic speech]! Thus, with no
other alternatives except the path of a radical scientific materialism, it is
virtually impossible to create any new horizons in the world of thought.
(5) Value-Centric System
Now, if we adopt an organismic position in
metaphysics, first of all we must understand the universe as an organic whole,
in light of which we are supposed to discuss ontology as a theory of all the
cosmic realities contained therein in toto, before we
can further proceed to discuss the entire realm of Authentic Being as Reality
Itself. If, however, we think that in terms of art, religion, philosophy and science
the reality of the universe can be shown in all its artistic, moral, and
epistemic value-ideals, then we can readily effect an interpenetration between
the supreme standard of all values (truth, goodness and beauty, etc.) and the
ultimate reality of the entire universe. Thus, far from being impoverished, the
cosmos is transformed and transmuted into a unified whole combining within
itself a far more enriched system of reality with a far more amplified system
of a value. If we can establish our philosophy of life on the basis of such a
philosophical orientation as foundation, then the human way of life, far from
being an array of impoverished activities, will be capable of bringing about
the supreme unit of all values by virtue of interpenetration, so as to fulfill
what the Confucians in the Great Learning
have spoken of as the Categorical Imperative: “abide by the consummation of
perfections!” [With the Supreme Good looked upon as the Omega-Point in the
cosmic process of Creative Advance, to paraphrase Whitehead and Telhard de Chardin]. Only with
the complete actualization of all values will there be the consummate
perfection of the standard for the supreme unity of all ideals.
If we adopt this kind of metaphysical system of thought to describe the
universe, wherein all the plenitudes of value are unified through interpenetration,
then we at once realize that only on the basis of such an intellectual
orientation can we move forward to constitute our life-activities as a matter
of value-reconstruction, in light of which we can grasp beauty, goodness, and
truth as all-pervasive. For this reason Chinese thought will never become an
abstract system nor impoverished thereby, unlike the positions of Bertrand Russell
and G. E. Moore. They were unable to discuss a good many philosophical issues,
because these were already axiologically neutralized;
beauty they were unable to appreciate, because it had no place in their
[technical] philosophy; nor were they able to fulfill the ideal of goodness,
because their moral philosophy was just empty talk incapable of discussing
values at all. With regard to religion, people like Russell had no other choice
except to become atheistic [or agnostic], because the religious value of
holiness was already neutralized and excluded from their universe of discourse.
In the present situation many of our young students of contemporary
Western philosophy are unable to trace its enlivening development beginning
with Greek philosophy and Hebrew religion as its origio et fons and continuing through the
Middle Ages down to the first-rate thinkers of modern times. Ignorant of such a
historical background they know nothing except that modern philosophy has
become logical positivism or ordinary speech analysis. That’s all. So, they are
in fact facing the death of philosophy; it would be a great crisis for them to
follow along this tract. In this respect, by means of Chinese philosophy one
will be able to avoid blind accepting the crises in contemporary Western
thought. For there are so many issues of crucial importance in the field that
cannot be treated with the simplistic method of abstraction or isolated
systems, or explained away with the premise of axiological neutrality. We see
that it is not a mistake for the young generation to study philosophy using Western
methodology. The fault lies rather with their failure to pursue Western
philosophy, roots and branches, i.e., by tracing from its sources to its
streams, and vice versa, in order to gain a systematical and thoroughgoing
understanding. It is wrong to adopt such Western fads as presented in the form
of logical positivism, or mere techniques of symbolic logic, or mere ordinary
speech analysis. All these are crises resulting from the decadence of Western
thought in the course of its recent development. Without realizing such crises,
certainly we will have misunderstandings about Western philosophy and will not
be able to reconsider, in light of the Chinese mentality, the system of
philosophical thought that Chinese minds have created in the past, and the high
achievement in the wisdom of life they have exemplified. This is an important
lesson. If we want to be free, immune from the predicament of contemporary
Western thought, we must now turn to some salient points essential to the understanding
of the major systems of Chinese philosophy.
5. General Characteristics
Of various schools of thought in the Chinese philosophical tradition—such
as the Confucian, the Daoist, and the Mahayanist—none
is a simple and single system. Within each major school there are divergent
strains, too, as subordinate sects. But despite such divergences, some general
characteristics can still be noticed as common denominators in the context of
each school: namely, (1) the doctrine of pervasive unit, (2) the doctrine of Dao;
and (3) the doctrine of exaltation of personality.
(1) The
In the establishment of any system of thought Chinese philosophers, in
method and attitude, have always attempted to make it “broad, great, mellow,
and profound,” i.e., comprehensive and penetrating. In other words, they have
always aimed to transform any system of multidualistic
oppositions into a unified integral whole. In regard to Confucianism, we may
cite Confucius’ own words, “My doctrine is that of an all-pervasive
unity,”—meaning thereby that Confucian thoughts make a system of pervasive
unity. In order to properly appreciate such a typical Confucian spirit of
pervasive unity, we must first understand what Tzengtzu
has called “the way of empathy and sympathy.” It urges as an imperative that we
shall develop and spread our great sympathy and compassion. In our daily
experience of dealing with other people in the world we shall recognize that
each person has his/her own specific world horizon; as you have yours. Were you
to reject other people’s positions adopted in terms of their own
world-horizons, then at once prejudice would ensue!
The so-called “way of empathy and sympathy” means simply this: I am
situated in such and such a world-horizon, accordingly I adopt such and such a
viewpoint, also at the same time I must transfer my spirit to my world-horizon
and viewpoint, therefore I must needs have great sympathy before I can
empathize with your situation, to see things from your viewpoint, in your own
terms [i.e., to put myself in your shoes.] Thus this “way of empathy and sympathy”
is identical with what is called the “way of fair measure” in the Learning of Greatness.—Though easy to
say, it is by no means an easy thing to do; I mean, to put it into practice:
What you don’t like in those
above, do not for that reason apply to order those below; what you don’t like
in those below, do not for that reason apply to serve those above; what you
don’t like in those ahead, do not for that reason apply to lead those behind;
what you don’t like in those behind, do not apply to follow those ahead. What
you don’t like in those on the left, do not for that reason apply to deal with
those on the right; what you don’t like in those on the right, do not for that
reason apply to deal with those on the left.
[Or simply: “What you don’t
like in those above, do not for that reason treat those below with; and vice
versa. What you don’t like in those ahead, do not for that reason treat those behind
with; and vice versa. What you don’t like in those on the left, do not for that
reason treat those on the right with; and vice versa.]
You just try it! [as an elaboration of the platinum rule: “What you do
not want others to do to you, do not do to them.” This is exactly what the
Confucians call the “principle of reciprocity.”] Nowadays many young people like
to use the modern term “generation gap” in their family life. The Chinese never
talk about it. In Hsiao Ching, the Book
of Filial Piety, it has never been said that in the family system the
father is a despotic monster or a tyrant!
Suppose you find your father too strict towards you, wait until you
become a father with children of your own. What would you do, then? Spoil them?
Or, should you not think for their future, sympathetically? Then, you must
rectify so many mistakes they are making. In fact, with regard to the way of
empathy and sympathy, or fair measure, it is very difficult to have it well
performed. Once this ideal is realized, the whole family, the whole community,
the whole state, and even the whole cosmos will then be all transformed into the
realm of great and profound sympathy, where in each and every person can put
himself/herself into the position of others, and can feel sympathetic to other
people’s various kinds of problems in their own situations, so as to transmute
all the world-horizons into a unified system of interpenetration, both latitudinally and laterally.
In Primordial Confucianism the so-called doctrine of pervasive unity is
differentiated in the way of (1) heaven, (2) earth, and (3) humanity. It is
said, in the Book of Creativity, “The
way of heaven and earth is perseveringly visible; the way of sun and moon is
perseveringly illuminant.” Here, “visible” refers to “looking up to contemplate
the manifest in the heavens, and looking down to observe the orderly on earth,”
even down to the manifold phenomena of the plant world and the animal kingdom
(including the grasses and trees, the birds and beasts, the insects and fish,
etc.) with a view to form a systematical understanding of the cosmic life.
Thereby we can orient our human existence in respect of its value, meaning, and
status, before we can meaningfully discuss the human way. This point is clearly
stated in the Doctrine of Equilibrium and
Harmony:
It is only
those who, being most truthful and sincere in all the world, can completely
fulfill his life. Being able to fulfill his own life in a perfect way, he can,
then, completely fulfill the life of other men. Being able to completely fulfill
the life of other men, he can, furthermore, completely fulfill the life of all
creatures and things. Being able to completely help fulfill the life of all
creatures and things, he can participate in the process of cosmic creation.
Being able to participate in the cosmic process of creation, he is a co-creator
with heaven and earth. [Chapter 22, the author’s own translation.]
The above-quoted statement takes its origin in the Book of Creativity, wherein the ways of Qian
and Kun are interpreted in terms of creative origination and procreative
completion respectively. Indeed, these two principles are both symbols of
universal cosmic life. As the great power (virtue) of creative origination, the
former permeates the cosmic life throughout; as the great power (virtue) of
procreative completion, the latter embraces all forms of life-impulse on earth,
nourishing and sustaining all life-activities in nature. Taken together, these
two principles represent the spirit of universal life as a whole. This is the fundamentum of Confucianism. Such a spirit of creativity is
all-pervading throughout the entire universe of heaven, earth, and humanity.
The human’s place in the cosmos is such that as co-equal with heaven and earth,
each individual is an exemplification of the same spirit of universal life.
According to the Doctrine of
Equilibrium and Harmony, the spirit of universal life must be fully
developed towards consummation as the omega-point by those who are most
truthful and sincere—most authentic—in the world. The entire program ranges
from (1) fulfillment of the individual’s life-ideals, to (2) extension of
sympathy to help other fellow human beings fulfill theirs, and (3) further
extension of the same spirit of sympathy from humans to all forms of existence
in the cosmos, and helping them, in the spirit of equity, to fulfill their
lives as intimately observed in a sympathetic vision. As peer to heaven and
earth, humans can equally display the importance of the spirit of creative life
in the universe, thus participating in the same cosmic process of nourishing
transformation as co-creator with heaven and earth, eventually capable of
fulfilling the meaning and value of universal life. This, as I take it, is the gist of the Confucian doctrine of
pervasive unity.
(2) The
Next, the same doctrine of pervasive unity for the Daoists
is best represented in the sublime words of Zhuangzi:
“Heaven and earth and I concresce; all things and I
are one.” It emphasizes unity through interpenetration of the human and the
cosmic spirit as a whole; but its origin should be traced to Chapter One of Laozi’s work, Dao and
Its Virtues (The Way and Its Powers, known in the West as the Tao Te Ching):
The way
that can be
walked as a way,
Is not the
eternal Dao (Way);
The name
that can be
used to designate
Is not the
eternal name.
However,
We may adopt “wu” for Non-Being
To designate
the beginning of heaven and earth;
We may adopt “yu”
for Being
To
designate the mother of all beings in universe.
Therefore,
Under
the aspect of wu as Non-Being
We can contemplate its
wondrous subtleties;
Under the
aspect of yu as Being
We can
contemplate its infinite varieties.
These two, in
origin the same,
Only diverge in
name.
Both merge in
the Mysterious,
Forever
profounder,
Nay, the
Mysteriously Mysterious
Mystery as the
gate of myriad wonders!
Here, it is suggested that we should trace back and forth, from the
realm of Non-Being (Wu) to that of Being (Yu), and vice versa, to get to the
root (primordium) of heaven and earth as well as the
mother (matrix) of all things in the universe. Only with all these thus seen
through, can we reach the ultimate source of the cosmic life and its secrets,
which are summed up in one word by Laozi—”xuan” (“the Profoundly Mysterious”)! But that does not mean
all ends up here—once and for all—with one [aspect of] mystery only, just as no
secrets of the great ocean can be fully dug out—once and for all—with just one
dive into it at first sight! This kind of “going deep” is not a mere
one-dimensional operation. Rather, it is an endless searching into all the
cosmic realities from mysteries to mysteries, and from depths to depths, until
it gets to the bottom, so to speak. Only with the cosmic secrets all thus
plucked out and brought up [for a synoptic survey], can there be any true
understanding of Reality as a Whole. This typical Daoist
way of “pervasive unity” consists in the endless search after the “Mysteriously
Mysterious Mystery.” —A new coinage as it is, but philosophically not
ungrounded, for F. H. Bradley in his Appearance
and Reality (1893) has used the “Really Real Reality.” Studying philosophy
without such a tour de force, one
would end up in a skin-deep philosopher, very superficial, like those [popularized]
pragmatists in
As Laozi sees it, it is one thing to become a
well-learned person; but quite another, to become a philosopher! In the former
case, one needs simply to accumulate day and night all kinds of knowledge for
the sake of scholarship; but to become a philosopher one should, first and foremost,
grasp the doctrine of the pervasive unity of the universe. Or else, various
kinds of knowledge piled up mountain high are just as worthless as blank sheets
of paper! It is therefore asserted that “the development of knowledge is a
matter of daily increasing; whereas the cultivation of Dao is a matter of daily
diminishing.” [i.e., a process of refining.] All true philosophy stresses wisdom,
and prejudices and errors must all be rid of the appearances, step by step,
layer after layer. For Laozi, knowledge can be increased
through gradual affirmation, step by step, level after level. But to be a
thinker a philosopher, one must realize that “the fulfillment of Being leads to
eudaimonia;
whereas the attainment to Non-Being fulfills the performance of function.”
But how is one to apply the second approach? When facing a certain
phenomenon, take it as merely appearance; when gaining a certain truth, take it
as merely relative truth, and then proceed to probe into the inner essence of
Truth as Reality, which in Itself can be differentiated into a variety of aspects
that must be thoroughly surveyed from depths to depths, from mysteries to
mysteries, in the spirit of endless pursuit. It is only after all biases and
prejudices are thus dismantled—peeled, if you like— that Truth will manifest
Itself as in the light of day, and so spontaneously! Analogically, no camera
can catch the true spirit of a person since it conveys no more than his
resemblance; whereas a genius portrait painter can vividly express the quality
of the person in his inward spirit. Such is the case with our ways of
understanding the Cosmic Reality.
When I was young I was found of photography. Once, when I was visiting
Suppose we want to draw a painting of the moon. We first need to paint
the clouds as the background against which the moon will be shown,
suggestively, as by a magic touch. Certainly the clouds are not the moon; nor
does the finger point to itself, but to the moon [as the famous Chan saying has
put it]! And even the so-called moon is not the moon either, for the most
beautiful image of the moon is reflected in the moonlit waters. Truly
philosophical wisdom, therefore, must finally manifest itself as reflected in
the inward life of the philosopher’s personality that it tempered through the
supreme art of negation as nullification.
In light of the above discussion we may consider Chapter Two of Laozi’s work:
When people of
the world
Are all aware
of the beautiful
And its ground,
There emerges
[as its co-relative]
The
“unbeautiful!”
When people of
the world
Are all aware
of the good
And its ground,
There emerges
[as its co-relative]
The “no good!”
This means that we should penetrate into the realm of all relative
values and phenomena until ultimately we grasp the core of Value and Reality as
One. For the Daoists, philosophical discussion does
not proceed merely from Being to Non-Being, i.e., not merely from ontology, but
from me-ontology also. What appears as the world of Being does not count so
much as its inner essence, which deserves to be pursued persistently from
depths to depths. Philosophically speaking, the concept of “wu”
(Non-Being) is far more important than that of “yu”
(Being), the former referring to the me-ontological while the latter, to the
ontological realm. For the same reason, in the studies of Western philosophy
even the highest reality must be also suspended in the epochê:
From the Daoist viewpoint, the Greek ontological
conception of Absolute Being in light of Relative Being is found to be still
restricted within the realm of Being. In order to understand the Ultimate
Reality, we must disclose all its appearances through the method of negation as
nullification.
“Wu” (Non-Being), conceived in terms of profound subtleties and
unfathomable mysteries, is beyond any verbalization or linguistic description.
This is exactly what is meant by Laozi when he asserts:
“The fulfillment of Being leads to eudaimonia whereas the attainment to Non-Being fulfills the
performance of function.” The primal mystery of heaven and earth is not
affirmed as Being through ontology; rather, it is affirmed as Non-Being through
me-ontology, in light of which one can gain an insight into the Ultimate
Reality as hidden behind all its appearances [but manifested through function].
This is what the Daoists have called the Dao as the
Way.
(3) The
We now take a look at the case of Buddhism. After its introduction into
The so-called “Bodhi-Way” of salvation
consists in elucidating, in light of the Doctrine of Samskrita
Dharmas (what arise by relational or dependent
origination), all the constituent conditions that account for what is generally
accepted as the actual world. Then, we realize: If we cannot transcend this
sort of bondage, our life will be doomed to be caught in the endless wheel of
troubles and afflictions as a vicious circle. If, however, we can gain an
insight into the constituent conditions for all the life-phenomena in the
actual world, as well as the reason why human life is affixed thereto, we are
then no loner subject to this bondage because the network of causation, as we
see, is just a matter of hypothetical construction. Higher wisdom emerges only
with the liberation of thought.
As maintained in Seng Zhao’s “Treatise on Prajñā as No-Knowledge,” it is only by piercing into
the plausibility of all systems of knowledge that one is no longer bound by
them; hence, one is freed. Likewise, it is only by piercing into the
plausibility of the actual world as a world of appearance that one will no
longer plunge one’s life back again into the hot-water of the bitter sea of Samsara in human existence [the well of rebirth,
life-and-death]; hence, one is saved. Therefore, one is able to enter into the
spiritual realm of freedom, grasping assuredly the Doctrine of True Void (Sunyata). Only by applying the same method recommended by Laozi, “Cultivating the Dao by diminishing” (in the sense
of “reducing for refining”), and only by thus adopting the attitude of negation
or nullification to pierce all appearances of the universe, can one attain to
spiritual liberation and emancipation. One has then possessed such a spirit of
independence and autonomy that one can hold all the universe under his sway,
achieving thereby absolute spiritual freedom, undefiled by any darkness,
affliction, and perplexity whatever.
This is the true spiritual enlightenment or awakening, which is cultivated
bit by bit, drop by drop, until eventually all merge into the Wisdom-Ocean, not
as a matter of mere knowledge in the ordinary sense, but as the supreme wisdom
paralleling what Aristotle calls “noesis noemata,” “knowledge of knowledge.” It is developed out of
the philosopher’s inward spirituality, known as “the supreme wisdom by
self-witnessing from within” (in The
Lankª vatª ra-Sñ tra).
Hence, the Bodhi-Way is a great spiritual liberation,
a radical self-awakening, a true enligh-tenment.
In pursuit of Cosmic Reality and Value as One the Human individual
should first of all possess high degrees of spiritual development and achievement
before reaching the end-results. In other words, generally, ordinary knowledge
serves a decorative purpose whereas philosophical wisdom emerges only out of
inward spirituality which, as the sheer spiritual light illuminates oneself,
all humankind, all creatures and things in the universe, sentient and
non-sentient alike. This means the achievement of a “great, brilliant spiritual
personality.” Only by virtue of self-transcendence can the individual fully
develop his inward spiritual life as embodiment of all the potency of Cosmic
Reality and Value, bodying forth himself as a well-cultivated great
personality, solid and impregnable.
For the Confucians, this is called the ideal of sageliness;
for the Daoists, the ideal of perfect personality,
authentic and all-comprehensive; for the Buddhists, the ideal of Buddhahood. The attainment to Buddhahood
follows the program of [Sadhana in the form of] “Ten
Stages of Self-Transcendence” as telos, according to which one develops step by step, stage
after stage, from the ordinary person to the Junior Bodhisattva and Arāhat without lapse, advancing perseveringly upwards
to the Mahā-Bodhisattva and the Buddha, reaching
finally the supreme status as perfectly equitable with all the Buddhas past, present, and future. Then, by reversal of
direction one descends back to the mundane, human world being committed to the
cause of Universal Salvation by participation with all other creatures in it,
sentient and non-sentient alike. Only thus can the ideal of a great personality
be completely realized.
In the East, especially in
How is one to cultivate this type of spiritual atmosphere? It is possible
only by committing one’s individual life to the Great Flux of Universal Life in
confluence with all forms of life, cosmic and human, and transcending one’s own
spiritual potency in unison with all the spiritual values in the universe, into
the loft realms of value-ideals [oriented towards the omega-point as the consummation of perfection]. For this reason the
disciples of Wang Yangming in 16th to 17th
centuries
Chinese philosophy differs from the Western, in that it has adopted the
position of a transcendental metaphysics combining itself with a metaphysics of
the immanent type: Starting from cosmic realities and human existence as a
whole, it attempts to elevate the actual state of human life into the realm of
ideal-values to be applied back again to actual life, thus making an integral
system, through and through. From beginning to end, the whole process of
operation is an “organismic procedure.” In content
Chinese philosophy comprises three general characteristics, of which the first
one is what Confucius has called the “Doctrine of Pervasive Unity” emphasizing
the coherent system of Life as a whole—cosmic and human. Such is the Confucian
way, and so is the Daoist way, thus presented by Laozi,
Behold those
ancients holding to the One! --
By holding to
the One
Heaven was
clarified;
By holding to
the One
Earth was
stabilized;
By hold to the
One
The Divine was
spiritualized;
By holding to
the One
The Vacuous was
amplified;
By holding to
the One
All things were
vitalized;
By holding to
the One
The nobles were
edified
As Paradigm for
the World to Follow.
Hold to the
One, then,
As Model for
the world to follow,
Time and again!
—The Way and Its Power, Chapter 39.
This is the Daoist vindication of the
Doctrine of Pervasive Unity! But the Confucians differ from the Daoists in approach: The Confucians aim to transcend
upwards to grasp high ideals to be completely realized in the actual realm of
human life. Whereas the Daoists, like Laozi, distinguish the spirit of philosophy from that of
knowledge. Knowledge is accumulative in character, proceeding from Non-Being to
Being, and from being to evermore Being. To whatever extent our knowledge may
be thus accumulated, it still remains abstract and analytic in character, far
from being able to grasp the realities of cosmic life as a whole. The spirit of
philosophy, argues Laozi, shall not end up with
knowledge-seeking alone; nor shall it be concerned with matters of mere
learning; rather, it shall be concerned with the Dao. His statement “Reversion
is the opera-tion of the Dao” simply means this:
Living as we are in the world of actualities, yet dissatisfied with it, and
living as we are in the world of appearances, yet dissatisfied with it, we
shall do away with all actualities and appearances alike, in order to make room
for realities to manifest themselves!
Pursuit of the Dao differs from pursuit of mere knowledge. The former
aims at the disclosure of all appearances to grasp ultimate realities, so we
may become thereby better aware of the supreme values. It is therefore asserted
that “Cultivation of the Dao is a matter of daily reducing,” [in other words,
the process of nullification is a matter of daily refining.] To be is to be
nullified, i.e., to be refined. Only by peeling off, letting-go of all analytic
knowledge and all appearances thus involved, may we expect to grasp all
authentic values. Only by going through the full course from montology to meontolgy, may we
expect to obtain philosophical wisdom of the highest order. Of course, this
does not imply that a high level of spiritual achievement means separation from
the world of actualities, here and now. On the contrary, it emphasizes that we
shall cast our deep regard from the vantage point upon the lower realms down
below. “Uplift ourselves to the acme of the spiritual empyrean and cast our
gaze downwards upon the lower mundane worlds!” as Zhuangzi
urges. Reverse the order from ontology to cosmology and cosmogony, grasp the
secret of the Great Dao, treat it as the Acme of the Cosmic Life, and explicate
thereupon the whole cosmogenetic processes thus: “The
Dao produces the One; the One produces Two; the Two produces Three; and the
Three produces the myriad realm of things in nature.” Thus we see that
cosmology shall be treated last, and the ideal realm shall be transformed into
the actual. This, I take it, is the Daoist Doctrine
of Pervasive Unity.
It is by the method of De-Being -- by “nullification of Being into
Non-Being -- that the Daoists had succeeded in
extending backwards from ontology to meontology. We
may safely say that in the development of Chinese philosophy it would be
virtually impossible for Buddhism to be received, had the Daoist
system of thought not existed before [hence, preparing the path for it],
because Buddhist terms such as “śūnyatā”
were found to be so much at odds with the traditional Chinese thought in
general. In its early stage in
Eventually, however, a turning point came as a result of the attempts
made to grasp the spiritual import embodied in the Buddhist rituals in terms of
Laozi’s concept of “wu” as
“Non-Being.” With the Chinese translation of the Prajñā-Satra in Small Portions done in the Later Han
and Three Kingdoms Periods, the Daoist concept of “wu” as “Non-Being” was adopted as an equivalent for the
Buddhist concept “śūnyatā” [though
this is quite questionable]. Later in the Wei and
Chin Periods, the structure of Confucian society gradually collapsed and there
arose the School of Neo-Daoism. Buddhism, the new comer, immediately joined
itself with Neo-Daoism, the new school, in initiating a sort of trio of thought in the form of Three
Systems of Speculative Philosophy. This was made possible by adopting Daoism as
the fundamental basis, by absorbing Buddhism as a foreign element for
reinforcement, and finally by forging these two, far-fetchingly, into the
Confucianism embodied in the Chou version of the Book of Creativity. Thus, we see how Buddhism, originally a religion,
once philosophized, came to be well received by the Chinese mind and to take
root therein ever since. This point is likely to be oversimplified in words;
but, in fact, it came as a result of the long process of historical evolution.
New-comer to
As to the language for conveyance of Buddhist knowledge, be it Sanskrit
for the Mahāyā na
or Pali for the Hināyāna,
it is characteristically Indo-European in linguistic pattern and structure.
Basically, it claims that thought is not just a matter of mental or
psychological activities; rather, it is also under the predominant influence of
the Spirit of Logos. Hence, they say, only a language that is analytic in
nature is apt for the expression of philosophical thought in a way that is at
once abstract and subtle.
According to the Buddhist classification of knowledge [and wisdom], the
first kind is known as the aravaka and pratyeka-buddha knowledge, i.e., the general, systematic
knowledge explicative of the constitution of the kamadhātu (sensuous realm) on the lower realm as
well as the various areas of the rupadhātu (physical
world). It includes all knowledge-systems obtained from the visible world, and
belongs to the category of scientific knowledge, analytic in character. The
second kind is known as the Boddhisattva-knowledge:
formed on the basis of the illumination obtained through genuine knowledge and
great insight, by all those whose life is endowed with wisdom. Dissatisfied as
Buddhist practitioners must be with the natural knowledge either of the
sensuous realm or the physical world, they need, in addition, the moral,
spiritual knowledge essential for the exalted spiritual personality sought
after by all the Boddhisattvas before they can
finally reach the stage of Buddhahood. During this
period the aspirant is still human, not divine. One’s whole life is intent upon
the Perfect Truth to be obtained by way of synthesizing all forms of knowledge,
analytic as well as moral, into the sarvajñā and sarvajñāna
, i.e., the Buddha-wisdom and wisdom of all wisdom.
This third kind of wisdom, the wisdom of all wisdom, results from
merging by fusion all strands of discriminating knowledge in the world into a
boundless wisdom-ocean conducive to
the exalted spiritual personality of the Buddha, the Enlightened One. The whole
life will have become the sheer light by illuminating itself the Universe-All
and having all the troubles, evils, and darkness contained therein dissolved
clean. Thus, the threefold differentiated world, the kamadhātu, the rupadhātu
and the arupadhātu
-- (the sensuous, the physical and the invisible realms) form one great
integrated whole unified by perfect wisdom. This, as I take it, is the Buddhist
Doctrine of Pervasive Unity.
Whether from the viewpoint of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, or the
Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Periods, Chinese philosophers, as a rule,
are each endowed with an exalted personality. For example, the Confucian philosophical
ideal culminates ultimately in sageliness. Yet
Confucius himself has admitted frankly, “As for sageliness
and ren, oh! how dare I claim to be qualified?!”
Exalted in spirit as he is, Confucius never ventured to call himself a sage.
But he well deserves to be called a great man—undoubtedly! As we find it stated
in his own “Commentary on the first Hexagram of Qian
the Creative” in the Book of Creativity,
And, therefore, the great
man comes to be in full accord with the heaven and earth in the excellence of
virtue; with the sun and moon in the exuberance of light; with the four seasons
in the sequence of order; and with gods and spirits in the bearing of fortune
and misfortune.
Such a personality is truly a philosopher, a great Confucian indeed! To
be a Confucian in the proper sense of the term, it is necessary that one is
able to penetrate with all of his being into the Cosmic Life as a whole, to be
further enabled thereby in such a way that “when he acts in advance of heaven,
heaven will not contradict him; when he acts in observance of heaven, [even]
heaven will deem it fit in timeliness.” Only with such a broad and great
personality will one be able to help fulfill all forms of life in the Univese, as asserted in the Doctrine of the Mean: The Concentric Way and Its Power, by
“participating in the process of cosmic creation as co-worker with heaven and
earth.” The spirit of Confucianism consists, therefore, in striving to develop
the comprehensive spirit of life itself, covering
the full scope of the Universe All-in-All, and to understand it thoroughly,
with a view to keeping in order the value and destiny of human life. Hence, as
we see, the Confucian person is not a mere individual, but an exalted one!
So are the Daoists. In Laozi’s
work, Dao and Its Virtue, Part One
describes the Great Dao and its spirit. Part Two takes the sage and his way of
life as an exemplar for Dao’s (Dao’s) actualization consummated in the form of
the supreme virtue. Men of the supreme virtue make what the Toaists
call “the authentic men,” “the perfect men,” or even “the all-comprehensive authentic
men” in Zhuangzi’s work (Chapter 33, “Men of the
World”). How all-comprehensive?
The men of old were so
perfect and complete in their comprehension of Dao! They could cope with the
Divine; they were pure and perfect unto the likeness of heaven and earth; they
fulfilled life in essential connection with all creatures; they acted in
comprehensive harmony with the entire universe. Their beneficent influences
reached to all classes of the people. They understood all principles and
followed them out to the ultimate consequences. Throughout the universe, within
the frame of Space-Time and in the four quarters, the spirit of his life has an
all-pervasive presence, penetrating into all things, great and small, fine and
coarse. ...
Also,
To be centered on heaven; to
take root in excellence; to pursue the way of Dao, presaging all the processes
of change and transformation before they come out: all of this constitutes what
is called the sage.
Though devoid of the ritual forms for a religion, the Primordial Daoists are fully charged with the true religious spirit—in
terms of their “identification with the way of heaven as non-action” [spontaneity].
Only thus can one achieve the Daoist type of ideal
personality.
Therefore, Zhuangzi in the said chapter has
rated a good many philosophers after the Spring and Autumn and the Warring
States Periods as all falling short of the standard of “the all-comprehensive
authentic man”—being at most mere replicas in miniature. “The integral system
of Dao thus came to be torn in fragments by men of the world,” packaged into a
variety of brands such as the Confucian, the Daoist,
the Mohist, the Legalist, and the
Buddhism teaches the doctrine of relational origination (pratitya-samutpada)
that treats the vicious circle of pain, darkness (ignorance), and trouble as
such stuff as life is made of. If, however, we can make clear the constitution
of all the samskrita
dharmas of the relational origination—as stated in
the doctrine of samsara
and the doctrine of karmic bondage—and can, moreover, break away from this
wheel of samsara
and find out an exit for spiritual liberation, we will then be able to transcend
from the troublous world to the natural world. Thence we transcend to the
ideal-world, i.e., the world transcending all actual worlds, known in
philosophy as the value-world of truth, goodness and beauty, and finally from
such advantage point to look at the kamadhātu and rupadhātu (the sensuous and physical worlds) as seen in
an ideal regard. To be thus bondage-free is to be spiritually liberated.
The Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Periods stresses the
importance of the “charismatic aura of the sage for the ideal personality.” The
philosopher’s way of life, it maintains, should be such that it is not to be
disturbed by the lower realms of the physical or material world. Instead, it
should be “identified with the core of heaven and earth,” as “the center, the nucleus
of cosmic creation.” Philosophers should live for the fulfillment of the life
and destiny of all humankind [and all creatures alike.] Such is the great
premise upon which must be built all systems of thought; otherwise, frankly,
they are only built on petty-narrow-minded-ness.
This point will be at once made clear by contrasting the distinctive
features of Chinese philosophy to the Western tradition. Take, for example, the
case of Bacon and Descartes—fathers of modern European philosophy. What the former
advocated as science was not science proper, but scientism; what the latter
accomplished as father of rationalism, as he was acclaimed to be, was rather
low rated by Jacques Maritain, the French
philosopher, who said that the loss of wisdom began with the first thinker of
the modern age—Descartes! On the other hand, the medieval philosophers and
saints are many of them great personalities of religious sentiment with noble
spirit. And among the early Greek philosophers, philosophers of nature as they were,
Heraclitus did great deeds and made great
contributions to the people. Pythagoras, at the moment of discovery of any
truth, would be on his knees before the altar of religious worship for the sake
of spiritual transcendence by the ladder of scientific truths.
With Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, knowledge no longer ended up in the
sphere of nature alone. For example, Plato discovered the eminent realms of art
and morality, and elevated the absolute values of truth, goodness and beauty
into the realm of eternity for their ultimate, supreme unity. After Aristotle,
science expanded into enormous systems and philosophy developed into the
mysterious realm of theology. It is only the modern philosophers who have, as a
rule, indulged themselves in the perverted systems of thought of their own
making, such as Bacon’s scientism, which was even false scientism, and
Descartes’ natural reason, which was made so fragmentary and piecemeal as to
dominate the petty and narrow mind by pseudo-analytic knowledge. Hence, the
decline of human spirit and the loss of philosophical wisdom; hence, the
degeneration from great wisdom into analytic knowledge which, again, has been
pulled down to the level of the physical and empirical worlds, until philosophy
has lost its entire territory. This situation was caused by
petty-and-narrow-mindedness on the part of modern philosophers. Let us now turn
to the situation of Chinese philosophy for a glimpse. In its historical
development Chinese philosophy, too, has undergone several stages of decline,
-- three periods of decadence, I should say.
The first is the period of the Han Dynasty, (206 B. C. -- 220, A. D.),
following the downfall of the despotic rule of the Chin Dynasty. It is marked
simultaneously by political, military expansion and spiritual, cultural
decadence. This point was seen with peculiar perspicuity by Sima
Qian, the Grand Historian, who summed up the whole
situation most succinctly thus: “The Han had inherited the defects of the Qin.” For, throughout the entire period of the Han Dynasty
no single original thinker had been produced. The Han scholars were almost all syncretists, having indulged themselves in the “doctrine of
yin-yang and five agencies,” fabricating various sorts of arbitrary
misinterpretations of it, being incapable of doing anything remedially about
the after-effects of the previous era. Although the revolution was caused
thereby, the revolutionary success, nevertheless, was not followed up with
adequate political reforms. Thus, having failed to produce one single original
thinker, the Han Dynasty was indeed a period of spiritual decadence.
The second is the period of the Five Dynasties (907-960), at the end of
the Tang Dynasty, during which period of time not only had Primordial
Confucianism receded in its influence, even Buddhism could hardly maintain
itself. As vividly depicted by Ouyang Xiu in his New
History of the Five Dynasties, it was a time of great turmoil, marked by
the darkness of political corruption and the disintegration of social structures
until the renaissance in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126) culturally,
philosophically and religiously. But since the Ming and Qing
Periods (1368-1644, 1644-1912),
The third period begins with the Opium War (1842) until the present.
Beginning with the Opium War against
Under such tides of fashion there have appeared on the modern stage of
history various species of political monsters, armed each with his own wayward
beliefs to be further institutionalized as the tools for world domination. The
present day politics are all dark power politics.
Hopefully this Dark Age of ours will soon be over; and we will soon be
able to see the light again. Should this day come, it would indeed be a
blessing for the modern man. This is what was meant by Suntzu
when he said, “Being thrown unto a desperate situation, men will strive for
life; being caught in a critical situation, men will fight for survival.”
6. Distinctive Features
(A) The Combined Personality of Prophet, Poet
and Sage
These four major traditions of Chinese philosophy—Confucianism, Daoism,
Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism—have one great presupposition in com-mon: the conviction that philosophical wisdom is the expression of great spiritual personality.
On this point, Socrates in Plato’s Phaedrus (179 a) was reported to have said of his
contemporary Isocartes, “There is philosophy in the
man.” The Chinese philosophers, however, may just as well have this statement
reverted by saying, “There is man in Chinese philosophy.” For further
confirmation we may take a close look at the Principium Sapientiae by Professor F. M. Cornford of
The Prophet-type is one who, taking off from the present as a point of
departure, casts his gaze upon the future, intent upon the future and final
destiny of humankind as a whole. He is oriented towards the vista of the
future.
The poet-type is one who, by the free play of creative imagination,
projects the experience of the past onto the canvas of the future. In fact, it
is a reverted past reflecting the past experience of the golden age, inducing
thereby a sort of imaginative ideality such that human life can be properly
arranged in the stream of time.
The sage-type is one who, firmly established in the present frame of
space-time, is able to display the spirit of life and actualize life ideals
through practical actions to develop and accomplish a great personality.
The insight of philosophical wisdom is such that it always aims at
illuminating the future on the basis of the past, and is able to create all
ideals for the future on the basis of present life and actions. Only thus can
it constitute the so-called “combined personality of prophet, poet, and sage”.
Under such circumstances one’s spiritual insight can link itself with the past,
penetrate into the present, and speculate on the future. To borrow a phrase
from Sima Qian, the
philosopher should be “thoroughly conversant with the communion through
interplay of heaven and man so as to gain a penetrating insight into the
principles of changes in the process of historical development from the ancient
down to the present times.” Only a systematical knowledge thus accomplished can
help us in dealing with the world. That the philosopher should be able to recollect
the past, to penetrate into the present, and to create a blueprint for the
future, is no mere illusory fancy. Rather, it is a matter of how to produce
noble actions on the basis of a great personality and by virtue of the creative
spirit as fully displayed in the actual world, here and now.
For Chinese philosophers of various schools, development of such a
combined personality of course varies in their respective emphasis upon one
aspect or another. Buddhism is not merely a school of philosophy, but a
religion. As such, it is always concerned with the future and destiny of all
humankind as a whole. Naturally, in the expression of thought, Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhists should stress their capacity
as prophets.
The Daoists aim “to strive after the cosmic beauty
and sublimity in order to understand the reason of all things.” They belong to
the category of artists, endowed with the artistic capability and sensitivity.
As such, they are detached from the bondage of the actual world, capable of transcending
into the realm of spiritual freedom. It follows therefore that the Daoists should stress their capacity as poets. But at times
there seems to be a danger here, namely, once thus transcended and liberated,
they tend to look down upon the world with disdain. The Confucians, on the contrary,
have committed themselves to the fourfold guidepost of life: “Abide by Dao,
hold to virtue, rely upon ren (creativity), and be immersed in arts.” As such, they
have cherished lofty ideals on the one hand, yet are not supposed to remain for
long in the ideals of the value-world. They are obliged to actualize the
heavenly virtues by complete fulfillment of all human functions—as reflected in
the make-up of human body—thus realizing the lofty ideals in the actual world,
with a view to achieving the threefold purpose of life: “rectification of
virtue; benefaction of utility; and realization of eudaemonia”
as fulfillment of life in the fullest sense of the term. Only by fulfillment of
human life in the entire human community can one fulfill one’s life of
creativity (jen).
It follows therefore that the Confucians should stress their capacity as sages.
In Chinese thought it is primarily Confucianism that has played a
leading role in conducting the Chinese way of life throughout. It is true that
in moments of social corruption and collapse, e.g., in the Han Dynasty, Daoism
did come to its rescue by transforming actuality into ideality. But the real Daoists, the artists, tend rather to take this world as useless,
burdensome, something to forget about. After the Wei
and Jin Periods, Buddhist thought made its way into Chinese society, complementing
the deficiencies of Daoism. But with the Buddhists, even if a person has become
an arāhat by spiritual cultivation, it is only
his own business, having nothing to do with the rest of the world. Many a Mahā-Bodhisattva therefore would rather stay with, or
return to, this world for its salvation than enter once and for all into the
blissful realm of eternity. One must crack down the hardshell
of all sorts of problematic knowledge before one can be free from their
bondages and transcend oneself into the realm of spiritual freedom, that is, by
following the Doctrine of the True Voidness [śūnyatā],
or Laozi’s strategy of “daily nullification for the
cultivation of Dao.” This is the method of negation, of nullification, of “letting-go-of”
all sorts of illusory appearances, suffering, troubles, and darkness
(ignorance) in the universe. One can demonstrate one’s spiritual freedom by
reasserting spiritual supremacy over them. In the presence of such a freedom
there is nothing the latter can do any more. All forms of the highest wisdom
culminate in one great wisdom-ocean for the consummation of sarvajña—the wisdom of all
wisdom!
(B) The Time-Man and the Space-Man
Thus we see that such a combined personality is very precious indeed.
But the philosopher, after all, is human. Being a human, with differences in
attitude and temperament, he is always inclined towards one special aspect or
another in the combination. It follows therefore that the Buddhist is inclined
towards the prophet-religionist type; the Daoist, towards
the poet-artist type; and the Confucians, towards the sage type, At any rate,
however, we may say that real Chinese philosophers are none of them ordinary.
Distinguished spiritually, they may represent either the prophet, or the
artist, or the sage. In addition, we may observe their special characters from
another perspective.
(1) The Confucians as the Time-Men
The Confucian type is not merely a sage; he has other special capacities,
too. At this moment the British philosopher Bertrand Russell’s remark comes to
mind: “To realize the unimportance of time is the gate of wisdom.” I think his
statement is half-right; it should be supplemented by the saying, “to realize
the importance of time is the gate of wisdom” as well. For although the
Confucians had traditionally inherited as revelation the thought embodied in
the Book of History, and could well
place their spirit in the realm of eternity; yet, for them, the most important
classic still remains the Book of
Creativity, wherein all the secrets of the universe are exhibited in the
process of change and transformation in the mode of time [as matrix].
Evidently, had they been unable to grasp the secret of time, to exhibit thereby
the realities of the world and human existence, and to make of all this a
creative process, then the so-called Confucian spirit would have been
completely gone long ago. Therefore, I say that all the Confucians, from
Confucius himself to Mencius and Hsuntzu,
make the typical time-men.
(2) The Daoists as Space-Men
Next, we turn to Daoism, where the situation is quite different. Russell
spent one year in
(3) The Buddhists as Space-Time Men with an Alternative Sense of Forgetting
We may speak of the spirit of Mahāyāna
and Hināyāna Buddhism conjointly as the
typical “space-time man with an alternative sense of forgetting.” Assuming the Hināyāna position one would see human life as
cast into the actual world where all life-activities are nothing but the show
of whimsical illusions and wayward actions fostering therein greed, anger, and
attachment to make a great chain of bondage, known as the Wheel of Samsara.
Humankind can never be liberated, then. Considered under such a perspective,
the world for Hinª yª nists
is marked by impermanence, changes through time forever, wherein no final
destiny can be seen, except bondage, trouble, and suffering as all are caught
in the wheel of samsara. But the Mahāyāna
nists know how to trace the stream of human life
experience, first, by following the natural course of the Wheel of Samsara in order
to understand the structure of bondage during a certain passage of time (dureé). Then, by reversing the course of the stream of
time, i.e., contrariwise, we can transform the system of time and flux to that
of eternity and permanence. Having thus seen through the trap of the Wheel of Samsara,
Mahayanists are able to find another path leading from change and becoming back
to the realm of eternity and permanence. For this reason, in the Mahāparinirvāna-Sñtra change and impermanence in the world
are not cursed; on the contrary, the world it depicts is that of eternity.
Knowing only life in the stream of time where everything is caught in the Wheel
of Samsara,
Hinayanists of course stress “forgetting about
eternity.” But once having transcended into the Mahayanist world, they would
then stress “forgetting about becoming.” In one such instant the stream of time
is transmuted into the realm of eternal truth. Therefore, I say that the
Buddhists—with both Mahª yª nists
and the Hināyānists taken together—make the
“space-time men with an alternative sense of for-getting.”
(4) The Concurrent Space-Time Men: the Neo-Confucian Type
The Neo-Confucians of the Song and Ming Periods have inherited the
three traditions of (1) Confucianism, (2) Daoism, mixed with Daoisoism, and (3) Buddhism, mostly of the Chan Sect:
Naturally they advocate the alignment of life to the universe to make the cosmic
unity of heaven and earth an integrated whole. Such a Vision of the Whole implies
of course the notion of the “concurrent space-time” as a unified field.
Therefore, I say that the Neo-Confucians make the “concurrent space-time men.”
With the distinctive features of these four traditions thus understood
in multi- aspects as outlined above, we may now proceed to discuss
Confucianism.