Fanqi Aided Confucianism In The Study Of Buddhism

Fan Qi is known as "the first master of early Ming dynasty",and undergoes the dynasty replacement from Yuan to Ming.During this period,on the one hand,the process of Buddhism secularization accelerates,and it is normal for monks to enter society.On the other hand,the rulers attach more importance to Confucianism day by day,and the climate of monks with Confucianism and becoming ministers has risen.Influenced by Confucianism and secularism,it is an inevitable choice for Buddhism to assist Confucianism into Buddhism under the trend of "three religions in one".In the course of integrating practice and ideology,Fan Qi makes a visit to the north and exchanges ideas with the followers of three religions and people at home and abroad,thus forming his unique ideas of assisting Confucianism into Buddhism and the theory of retreating from and engaging in the world.His ideas of assisting Confucianism into Buddhism come from not only the Confucian thoughts he has learned but also his engagement in the world and social contact,which further shows that his ideas are also embodied in the concrete practice of the Buddhism and the Buddhism,engagement in world activities as well as principles of agricultural economy and monarchy,which are brought by the abovementioned practice.Ideologically,Fan Qi will integrate the understanding of Confucianism into the theory of mind,showing the state of mingling with Confucianism and Buddhism.In the theory of Buddha’s nature,firstly,he inherits the theory of Buddha nature in the Wei-Jin period,combines with the Confucian theory of heavenly nature,and emphasizes the ontological significance of Buddha’s nature.He intends to alert his disciples that "The birth and the death are both serious matters,but they occur at random and rapidly" so after knowing their own "unreal person" and going through the abyss of misery,the root of monk can be found.Secondly,he assimilates the principles and rules in Confucian daily life into the practice of monks and he gives daily objects the Buddha-nature to make monks easier to discern themselves.In the end,the body of Fan Qi features the impalpable Buddha nature and Dharmata and relies on the idea of "one is immeasurable and immeasurable is one" which is similar to the implication of moon in the water,reflecting his ideas’ inseparability characteristics.Based on the mind study,he has the same ideological structure with Lu Jiuyuan and admits that everyone in this heart is natural and sacred,and invents this method of thinking which has a path from the inside to the outside.In consequence,it can be found that both Fan Qi and Lu Jiuyuan are in favor of heart-centered cardiology.At the same time,Fan QI’s ideology of"unreasonable thing,nothing reasonable,nothing outside of heart,and no heart outside thing" is derived from the influence of the "Song of the Sangha" and "no heart theory,"and Lu Jiuyuan’s opinion of "one’s heart is the universe".Meanwhile,Fan Qi’s ideas also have the enlightenment function to Wang Shouren’s study of the mind.Besides,Fan Qi’s theory of mind only draws lessons from Confucianism in terms of methodology,and its ontology is still pure and self-cleaning,which demonstrates that assisting Confucianism into Buddhism is considered as a means of surpassing life and death.Therefore,from a standpoint of Buddhism,Fan Qi assists Confucianism into Buddhism.Based on such an ideological guidance,Fan Qi’s retreating from and engaging in the world presents a harmonious and harmonious performance.He plays not only a social role dedicated to the care of the accession to the world and a prosperous and enterprising world,but also a religious role that retreats from the world and worships the pure land.He realizes personal "freedom" and "self-consciousness".Fan Qi thinks that "retreating from and engaging in the world are two channels",which shows the characteristics of taking into account both the real world and the pure land world.Therefore,the idea of assimilating Buddhism into Buddhism can be attributed to the two categories of truth.In the real world,Fan Qi expects a peaceful and prosperous period that approximates the Confucian "community" and aspiration for the Pure Land from the standpoint of generations.These two kinds of ideas are complementary and interact as cause and effect.Therefore,there is an inner linkage between Fan Qi’s pure land thought and his assistance Confucianism into Buddhism.