TITLE:
The Construction of Yi Chuan’s Neo Confucianism from the Perspective of the Distinction between Confucianism and Buddhism
AUTHORS:
Lei Yi
KEYWORDS:
Neo Confucianism, Zen, Metaphysics, Nihilism
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.10 No.2,
May
21,
2020
ABSTRACT: The distinction between Confucianism and Buddhism (DCB) was a
topic that Yi Chuan and his apprentices often discussed. Criticizing the
Buddhism was an important content of Yi Chuan’s Neo
Confucianism (YNC). The Neo Confucianism of Song and
Ming Dynasties was the reaction of Buddhism, and Yi Chuan was one of the founders of the Neo Confucianism. Buddhism philosophy was based on the mind theory, which strengthened Yi Chuan’s
choice of another way—seeking objective heavenly principles—to build his own philosophy. Another profound
philosophical thought of the DCB in YNC
was that he tried to use metaphysics to criticize the nihilism
of Buddhism. In the process of philosophy transformation in Tang and Song
Dynasties (TSD), the YNC was an important weapon to resist the Buddhism
nihilism. Therefore, under the background of the transformation of philosophy in
TSD, it is necessary to use the method of comparative philosophy to research YNC
from the perspective of DCB, so as to further reveal its theoretical
construction logic and its philosophical significance.