Confucian contemplation, particularly quiet-sitting meditation, has been historically overlooked in contemplative studies. This is despite its deep integration in Confucian traditions, where figures like Cheng Yi and Yang Shi viewed it as crucial for moral self-cultivation and active engagement with the world. Zhu Xi's evolving stance further illuminated its philosophical depth. The underrepresentation is partly due to the practice's societal integration, the absence of texts with detailed techniques, and the scholarly necessity to reinterpret and recontextualize these traditions after their decline in modern times.The papers session advocates for including the Ruist perspective in global research, noting its potential relevance to modern professionals akin to ancient Ru scholars. It includes papers exploring early Chinese ritual fasting, the philosophical dimensions of quiet-sitting in the lineage of pattern-principle learning, Zhu Xi's meditation interpreted through a Chinese Catholic lens, and the efficacy of Confucian practices in contemporary pedagogy of liberal arts.
“Fasting” 齋 was central to early Chinese ritual practice, whether in preparation for sacrificing to the spirits or other occasions of ritual significance. In this paper, I propose to examine the practices that gather about this imperative to “fast” (often written with the allograph 齊). Ritual fasting involved not only the proscription of various activities (social engagement and other sources of pleasure and distraction) but also contemplative elements that have not drawn as much scholarly attention. Drawing primarily on the Liji 禮記, I will discuss the details and practical logic of ritual fasting as well as its relationship to contemporaneous practices of inner cultivation.
Confucian philosophers within the lineage of pattern-principle learning perceived quiet-sitting meditation as a pivotal philosophical exercise in the broader pursuit of self-cultivation. Cheng Yi considered quiet-sitting among various contemplative practices that fostered reverence, a virtue crucial for discerning and engaging with the pattern-principles inherent in the world. Yang Shi underscored quiet-sitting as a foundational and primary step in self-cultivation, attributing significant philosophical importance to this practice. Zhu Xi aimed to amalgamate the perspectives of Cheng and Yang, elucidating his understanding of quiet-sitting through three stages of his philosophical journey: initially dismissing its significance, later valuing it as the fundamental practice of reverence, and eventually regarding it on par with other contemplative practices, reverting to Cheng Yi’s stance. As the practice and its broader implications were deeply intertwined with ongoing intellectual dialogues concerning virtuous human existence within the pattern-principle tradition, the act of Confucian quiet-sitting inherently embodies philosophical dimensions.
With a focus on the quiet-sitting meditation of major Neo-Confucian figure Zhu Xi (1130-1200), this paper aims to shed new light on Zhu’s contemplative practice by adopting a comparative theological method. More specifically, it follows the interpretations of Zhu’s quiet-sitting put forth by Chinese Jesuit theologian Hu Guozhen (1948-) in his work to “inculturate” Christian prayer for fellow Chinese Catholics. Whether simply through oversight or because his study of Zhu on this topic was motivated by different concerns than those of most scholars, Hu’s reading of Zhu Xi has not been noted in contemporary scholarship; however, this paper argues his novel approach can help us think in fresh ways about Zhu’s quiet-sitting practice—especially its flexible approach to cultivating “reverence” as opposed to pursuing mental tranquility through strict techniques, and its relation to other practices like reading.
This talk will share some of the findings from research I conducted in two upper-level seminars that I recently taught at two different Midwestern liberal arts colleges in which I included Confucian contemplative practices as modes of experiential learning. These seminars surveyed and analyzed contemplative practices primarily from an array of Asian traditions, but I also included case studies of both religions and modern, secular, and hybridized traditions in the West. An aim of this IRB-approved research is to assess the pedagogical effectiveness of using contemplative pedagogy as a form of experiential learning. The two Confucian contemplative techniques that I included as components of contemplative pedagogy in these seminars were quiet-sitting meditation and self-examination/self-monitoring. I will report on aspects of what students accomplished both inside and outside the classroom relating to these Confucian practices, on the data I collected and analyzed from students, and on the preliminary findings concerning their effectiveness, as types of experiential learning, in enhancing student learning.
| Jea Sophia Oh | joh@wcupa.edu | View |