Xiong Shili on the Nature, the Mind and the Origin of Badness as Evidenced in Ming Xin Pian 明心篇 (Explaining the Mind )
La Trobe University May 2, 2018 John Makeham
A core problem in New Confucian philosopher Xiong Shili's later work is the origin of moral badness. Xiong uses the concepts of nature (xing) and mind (xin) to explain it, asserting that Buddhists never addressed the origin of ignorance and delusion, which lead to suffering and wrongdoing. He sets out to redress this failure. The author argues that the conceptual structure of Xiong's approach is isomorphic with that of Zhu Xi, suggesting Xiong consciously drew on Zhu Xi and/or the Buddhist models that Zhu drew on. Evidence shows that even as late as 1959, despite his criticisms of Buddhism, Xiong continued to draw on key concepts from Buddhist philosophy of mind.