Criticisms of Buddhism, Daoism, and the Learning of the Heart-Mind

Part of this chapter deals with Zhu Xi’s critique of Buddhism and Daoism: his distinction of the neo-Confucian concept of pattern-principle and virtuous governance from seemingly similar Buddhist and Daoist ideas, his concern with what he saw as both schools’ lack of social and political engagement and their rejection of ethical norms, and the practice of Buddhist meditation and Daoist quietism. Zhu had a certain respect for Zhuangzi, and believed Laozi and the later Daoists were “better than” Buddhists. He reserved a special disdain for the Song dynasty version of Chan and, in particular, for its interpretation of the heart-mind and practice of sudden enlightenment. Significantly, a large portion of his attacks against Chan focus on what he saw as its pernicious influence on scholars in the Learning of the Way and Learning of the Heart-Mind movements. These attacks are taken up in part two of the translation.