New Consciousness-Only Theory

Author: Xiong Shili
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-21
Features: This book is Xiong Shili's most important philosophical work, marking the complete maturity of his philosophical thought system. In the book, Xiong Shili both inherited and transformed the Yogacara school of Buddhism. In terms of metaphysics, he accepted the Yogacara school's idea of "all phenomena being mind," believing that "mind" or "the original mind" is the metaphysical substance and the root of all transformations in the universe. At the same time, based on his systematic refutation of the Yogacara school's concepts of alaya-vij?ana (store-consciousness) and bīja (seeds), Xiong Shili established his own metaphysics of "non-duality between substance and function" and, from this foundation, constructed a uniquely creative cosmology of "expansion and contraction creating change" and a theory of cognition of "distinctive nature and scope." These three logically constitute the theoretical framework of Xiong Shili's philosophical system of "Neo-Yogācāra," while also laying the foundation for his status as a "Neo-Confucian" scholar.