After the disastrous collapse of the Míng dynasty and the establishment of the Qīng dynasty in the mid-sixteenth century, a significant change occurred in the traditional Confucian paradigm. The Yángmíng school of mind associated with Wáng Shǒurén lost popularity, and Zhū Xī’s school of principle began to regain the support of Confucian elites. A new intellectual trend resulted in numerous bibliographical studies of the classics. At the same time, strong emphasis was placed on the daily practice of Confucian moral norms and statecraft. As a result, some Confucian scholars gave up the ideal of sagehood.
Under these circumstances, the effects of quiet sitting came to be criticized more often than before, and, unlike their predecessors during previous dynasties, Confucian scholars of the eighteenth century onward did not actively engage in such practice, except under certain limited circumstances. Thus, in the late seventeenth century, discussions of the use of quiet sitting almost came to an end. The view prevailed that since quiet sitting was a dangerous approach, it should be used only sparingly.
Notes
1. Here I use the term “Neo-Confucianism” in a broad sense, referring not only to the school of principle (lǐxué) but also to another main stream of Confucianism during this period, the school of mind (xīnxué). For problems related to the usage of this terminology, see Tillman, “New Direction”; de Bary, “Uses of Neo-Confucianism”; and Tillman, “Uses of Neo-Confucianism.” Mayumi Yoshida translated my Japanese draft into English. This chapter is closely related to an article in Chinese on the same topic (Mabuchi, “Sòng-Míng shíqí Rúxué”).
2. Taylor, “Sudden/Gradual Paradigm,” discusses extensively the view of quiet sitting held by Confucian scholars from the Sòng through Míng dynasties (11th–17th century). Inspired by the Japanese scholar Okada Takehiko, Taylor has conducted extensive research on quiet sitting in premodern Chinese Confucianism, and he is considered the leading authority on this topic. However, the framework of sudden (dùn) and gradual (jiàn) used by Taylor does not fit quiet sitting well. Also, Taylor considers quiet sitting to be strongly related to the school of principle, but this is problematic.
3. Chén Lái, “Shénmì zhǔyì wèntí,” 359–84.
4. Lù Jiǔyuān jí, 471.
5. Zhào Bǎofēng jí, 19.
6. Chén Xiànzhāng jí, 145.
7. Luó Hóngxiān jí, 298.
8. See Mabuchi, “Kō Wan no shisō.” Huáng, however, later had a keen realization of the practice’s deficiency, and became critical of quiet sitting.
9. See Tomoeda, Shushi no shisō keisei, especially chapter 1, 1.
10. See Araki, Bukkyō to jukyō, 323–340.
11. On Zhū Xī and the issue of quiet sitting, see Róngjié Chén, “Zhūzǐ yǔ jìngzuò”; Azuma, “Seiza towa nanika”; Nakajima, “Shushi no seiza”; Taylor, “Chu Hsi and Meditation”; Yáng, “Sòngrú de jìngzuò shuō”; and Yáng, “Zhǔ jìng yǔ zhǔ jìng.” Azuma distinguishes Zhū Xī’s quiet sitting from that practiced by his master Lǐ Tóng and others to “seek inner awareness and self-awakening.” Azuma argues that Zhū Xī practiced quiet sitting only as a preparatory activity, to calm his mind before pursuing external issues. I am inclined to agree with Azuma, but I also believe that Zhū Xī was in an ambivalent position, in which he still retained some reminiscent influence of his master, and therefore also considered quiet sitting as nourishment of one’s true self. Tomoeda makes similar observations about the influence of Lǐ Tóng on Zhū Xī’s view of quiet sitting even during the later years of his life; cf. Tomoeda, Shushi no shisō keisei, 95ff.
12. Araki Kengo calls such a position as that taken by Zhū Xī “intermediary,” which I think is a precise description. Refer to Araki, Bukkyō to jukyō, 378–382.
13. Zhū Wéngōng wénjí, 24:3800.
14. Ibid., 23:2988.
15. See Azuma, “Seiza towa nanika.”
16. Wáng Yángmíng quánjí, 1230.
17. Ibid., 104f.
18. See Chén Lái, “Shénmì zhǔyì wèntí,” 272ff., for a summary of Wáng Shǒurén’s views on quiet sitting. See also Liǔ, “Wáng Yángmíng”; and Taylor, “Sudden/Gradual Paradigm.”
19. Wáng Yángmíng quánjí, 104f.
20. Appendix to Kǎogōng jí.
21. Xīyuán yíshū, 1:48.
22. Kǎogōng jí, 10:2.
23. Ibid., 9:20.
24. Xīyuán yíshū, 2:9f.
25. Ibid., 2:8, 11.
26. In Kǎogōng jí, 9:20, he explicitly states that he does not intend to ignore ordinary Confucian moral and ethics.
27. Xīyuán yíshū, 2:11.
28. It is well known that Wáng Shǒurén already had such tendencies. Araki Kengo has emphasized the importance of such views among late Míng intellectuals; cf. Araki, “Dèng Huòqú de chūxiàn.”
29. See Tomoeda, Shushi no shisō keisei, 59f.; and Azuma, “Shushigaku no shin kenkyū,” 438. According to Nakajima (“Shushi no seiza”) the term “quiet sitting” is found in the important sixth-century Chinese Buddhist text Móhē zhǐguān, and is given an important meaning in an official Confucian commentary to the Book of Changes, the Zhōuyì zhèngyì, in the seventh century. According to Nakajima, however, the term “quiet sitting” was not considered important in any of the three teachings until the eleventh century. Before the Táng period, however, both Daoists and Buddhists had often practiced sitting quietly to calm the mind while focusing on the inner self.
30. For Gāo Pānlóng’s opinion on quiet sitting, see Okada, Ō Yōmei, 426–430. See also Taylor, “Meditation in Ming Neo-Orthodoxy”; and Taylor, Cultivation of Sagehood.
31. Azuma, Shushigaku no shin kenkyū, 434ff.
32. Gāozǐ yíshū, 3:13–18. The original account is also quoted in Chén Lái, “Shénmì zhǔyì wèntí.”
33. Ibid., 8a:26.
34. Ibid., 8a:67f.
35. Ibid., 8a:30.
36. Tsurunari, “Kō Hanryō no kakubutsusetsu ni tsuite,” claims that the “investigation of things” (gé wù) practiced by Gāo Pānlóng was completely directed inward. However, this claim conflicts with Gāo’s emphasis on reading. I believe that in Gāo’s view, pursuing the principles of things by studying the classics should be seen as a process to confirm the concrete forms of the universal principle. See relevant discussions in Okada, Ō Yōmei, 416, 419f., 425, and 436.
37. Sānyútáng wénjí, 2:5f.
38. See Sōngyáng chāocún, 2:8–11.
39. See Sānyútáng shèngyán, 8:4. On this topic, see Chén Róngjié, “Bàn rì jìngzuò”; Qián Mù, “Zhūzǐ lùn jìng”; and Chén Jiànhuáng, “Bàn rì jìngzuò.”
40. We can say that “Tiáoxī zhēn” (Instructions for breathing regulation), written by Zhū Xī in the twelfth century, was the early onset of this later trend. See Miura Kunio, Shushi to ki to shintai, chapter 5.
41. I have discussed Wáng Jī’s use of regulated breathing in the context of inner alchemy in Mabuchi, “Jugaku no dokyō sesshu.”
42. Regarding Wáng Jī’s notion of “beyond good and evil,” see Shibata, “Ō Ryūkei no shisō.” On the philosophy of Wáng Jī, also see Péng, Liángzhīxué de zhǎnkāi.
43. Regarding these writings by Zhìyǐ, see Satō, Tendai daishi no kenkyū; and Ōno Hideto, Tendai shikan seiritsushi. For more details on Wáng Jī’s method, see his “Tiáoxīfǎ.”
44. Yán Jūn jí, 37. On the philosophy of Yán Jūn, see Zhōng Cǎijūn, “Yán Shānnóng.”
45. Yuán Huáng’s text is easily accessible, because a photocopy of its 1929 edition is included in the Dàozàng Jīnghuá, vol. 2, chap. 9. This version of the text must be a relatively faithful reproduction of the original work, since it is identical to the contents referred to in a correspondence between Yuán and a certain Mǎ Ruìhé regarding the text (included in Liǎngxíngzhāi jí, vol. 10). My examination of the text here is preliminary, leaving a detailed examination as a topic for future research. For a detailed account of the life, writings, and philosophy of Yuán Huáng, see
Sakai, Chūgoku zensho no kenkyū; and Okuzaki, Chūgoku kyōshin jinushi no kenkyū.
46. See Nakajima, “Shushi no seiza.”
47. Jìngzuò yàojué, 1f.
48. Ibid., 20–23.
49. Ibid.
50. Gāozǐ yíshū, vol. 3.
51. Wǔ Shǒuyáng, who was known as an accomplished practitioner of inner alchemy, considered himself to belong to the Lóngmén school of Daoism and developed clear and detailed descriptions of the skills of inner alchemy. His work is a clear expression of the trend for creating clearly written quiet sitting manuals, which became popular among members of the elite. A similar trend must have taken place in the world of Buddhism at the time.
Glossary
běnxìng 本性
Chán 禪
Chén Lái 陳來
Chén Lóngzhèng 陳龍正
Chén Xiànzhāng 陳獻章
Cìdì chánmén 次第禅門
dāntián 丹田
dùn 頓
Fù qī guī 復七規
Gāo Pānlóng 高攀龍
gé wù 格物
Guǎng’ài piān 廣愛篇
guān xǐ-nù-āi-lè wèi fā zhī zhōng 觀喜怒哀樂未發之中
Gù Xiànchéng 顧憲成
Huáng Wǎn 黄綰
jiàn 漸
jìng 靜
jìng 敬
jìngzuò 靜坐
Kùnxuéjì 困学記
Lǎozǐ 老子
lǐ 理
Liǎngxíngzhāi jí 兩行齋集
liángzhī 良知
Liǎofán 了凡
Lǐ Kědào 李可道
Lǐ Tóng 李侗
liúrù kūgǎo 流入枯槁
Liú Zōngzhōu 劉宗周
lǐxué 理學
Lóngmén 龍門
Lù Jiǔyuān 陸九淵
Lù Lǒngqí 陸隴其
Luó Hóngxiān 羅洪先
Miàofǎ 妙法
Míng 明 (dynasty)
Móhē zhǐguān 摩訶止観
nèidān 內丹
Niè Bào 聶豹
Okada Takehiko 岡田武彥
Qīng 清 (dynasty)
qī rì bìguān 七日閉關
qī rì lái-fù 七日來復
rén 仁
sì wúliàngxīn 四無量心
Sòng 宋 (dynasty)
Táng Shùnzhī 唐順之
tiān jí lǐ 天即理
Tiāntāi 天台
Tiáoxī zhēn 調息箴
Wáng Jī 王畿
Wáng Shǒurén 王守仁
wànwù yì tǐ 萬無一體
Wǔ Shǒuyáng 伍守陽
Xiǎo zhǐguān 小止観
xìng 性
xīng jí lǐ 性即理
xīnxué 心學
xuánjiě miàojué 玄解妙覺
Xuē Huì 薛蕙
Yán Jūn 顏鈞
Yáng Jiǎn 楊簡
Yángmíng 陽明
Yáng Shí 楊時
Yuán Huáng 袁黃
Yúngǔ 雲谷
Zhān Fùmín 詹阜民
Zhāng Shì 張栻
Zhào Xié 趙偕
Zhìyǐ 智顗
zhī xíng héyī 知行合一
Zhōuyì zhèngyì 周易正義
Zhū Xī 朱熹
Zōu Shǒuyì 鄒守益
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