Abstract
In this essay, the author examines the importance of mystical experience (shenmi tiyan) in the ethical cultivation and philosophy of Song and Ming Neo-Confucian thinkers. Drawing on scholarship in comparative religion, the author views mystical experience in Confucianism as one manifestation of an experience seen in many world religions. The experience of oneness with the universe and the experience of the “original heart” are two modes of mystical experience found within the Confucian tradition. The essay will show that for many thinkers in the “Learning of the Heart” (xinxue) tradition, mystical experiences served to verify the teachings of the sages and silent meditation was a central part of their everyday practice of cultivation. While nominally part of a lineage that placed particular importance on mystical experience and silent meditation, Zhu Xi made important departures from this mode of practice. Zhu Xi’s criticisms of mystical experience and those of his followers in the Song and Ming are also examined in this essay. Consideration is also given to the relevance of mystical experience in the future development of Confucianism.
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