"All the People Say You Are a Zenist": Lu Jiuyuan and Zen

Lu Jiuyuan, who was very familiar with Buddhism, had close contact with Zen Buddhists. His ideological system was characterized by a clear presence of Zen. Opposing the blessing-praying function of Buddhism, he proposed that academic learning should be clear and direct, which he imparted into his teaching. He borrowed the ideas of Zen, and the edge and style of Zen Buddhists to develop his own ideological philosophy. He pushed forward the development of Confucianism by putting forward academic thoughts and methods different from the Chen and Zhu schools of Confucianism. It is necessary to analyze the elements in Lu’s ideology and explore the function of Zen in his ideological development so as not to fall into the trap of simple and arbitrary judgment.