Temporal Experience in Wang Yangming's Doctrine "Liangzhi Xianzai"

Abstract: Wang Yangming's saying " liangzhi xianzai " has been widely misread to suggest that liangzhi is already complete and perfect, need not and cannot be developed. I argue that "xianzai" means "to be still present" and connotes that something still remains and needs protection. " Liangzhi xianzai " is a dictum instructing learners to engage in moral actions according to liangzhi here and now, and to cut off the calculative mindset about the past and future. Liangzhi is not a timeless substance. It has a special mode of temporality. Yangming's military activities, calligraphy, and philosophical sayings together show that he appreciates the esthetic, moral, and spiritual exercise of immersing oneself in the present moment. Daoism and Chan Buddhism challenged Confucianism by offering a mystical experience of time. In response, Yangming transformed Chan Buddhist "nothought" to explore a Confucian approach to temporal consciousness. This observation changes the conventional narrative about how Chan Buddhism influenced Yangming.