Normality today is to be enslaved by the material world to the point where individual happiness has not kept pace with increasing material prosperity. Have we lost our original nature in the pursuit of the external material world? Wang Yangming’s School of Mind of nearly 500 years ago teaches us how to overcome external circumstances and seek the source of the great strength that lies in our innermost being. Wang Yangming’s School of Mind is a gathering together of the achievements of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. It is one of the most representative and influential strands of Chinese philosophical thought and proposes that “conscience” is a cosmic prime principle innate in man that transcends all living things. The lifelong realization and practice of conscience is the only path towards self-fulfillment and perfection of character. This book uses Wang Yangming’s principles of “Mind is Principle,” “the unity of knowledge and action,” and “the exercise of conscience” to describe the School of Mind in simple terms to enable you to understand your own original self and go on a journey of self-cultivation that will gain you a kind of inner freedom and strength.

Wang Jueren is a researcher of Chinese history and traditional culture. His publications include Three Hundred Years—The Rise and Fall of the Tang Dynasty and Lessons in the Wisdom of the Diamond Sutra. Tony Blishen is a retired British diplomat with service in China, Japan, and Mongolia. He studied Chinese and Japanese at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and at the Deng Zhi’ang College of Chinese in Hong Kong. His nearly 20 translations for the Shanghai Press include everything from modern fiction and children’s fiction to Zen poetry and classic literature.

Preface: Take the Road to Spiritual Independence Part I This Is How Sages Are Refined The Skepticism of the Child Prodigy: Is Common Sense Reliable? The Path Towards Sagehood Do Not Waver, Maintain Your Inner Freedom The Cheng-Zhu School of Reason and the Lu-Wang School of Mind Enlightenment at Longchang: the Birth of the Yangming School of Mind Part II Mind is Reason: The Road to Self-Realization Lies in the Mind Chapter 1 Trees and Flowers Amongst the Rocks: Wang Yangming’s Worldview Chapter 2 Creating a Secret Chamber for Your Soul Chapter 3 Personality Is the Source of Happiness Chapter 4 Knowing One’s Original Self Chapter 5 Retrieve the Joy of Mind Part III The Unity of Knowledge and Action: Knowledge Is the Beginning of Action and Action Is the Culmination of Knowledge Chapter 6 Constructing One’s Own World of Meaning Chapter 7 Work Is Self-Cultivation Chapter 8 Constructing an Innermost Being Impervious to Both Adoration and Insult Chapter 9 Transcending Suffering Part IV Exercise Conscience: Investigate for Knowledge, Act with Virtue and Eradicate Evil Chapter 10 Characteristics of the Four Great Values of Conscience Chapter 11 The Journey Towards Self-Cultivation Chapter 12 Realizing Spiritual Transcendence in the Mundane World Chapter 13 The Key to the World of the Mind: The Four Rules of Conscience Chapter 14 Establishing the Will to Achieve Sagehood