Tianquan Enlightenment is also called "Tianquan Enlightenment". It indicates that Wang Shouren had a conversation with his disciples Qian Dehong and Wang Ji on the Tianquan Bridge in Kuaiji, Zhejiang Province on the "Four Sentences" master-disciple dialogue. Shouren once summarized the purpose of his studies as "the absence of good and evil is the essence of the heart, the existence of good and evil is the movement of the mind, knowing good and evil is conscience, and doing good and eliminating evil is the investigation of things" (Part 2 of "Zhuanxilu").
Wang Ji believes: "If the mind is said to be neither good nor evil, the mind is also the intention to be neither good nor evil, the knowledge is also the knowledge to be neither good nor evil, and the things are also neither good nor evil. Things are nothing. If there is good and evil in the mind, after all, there is still good and evil in the mind.” From his remarks, it is not difficult to see that Wang Ji’s focus lies in what Mr. Yang Ming once said: “What comes from the heart is what happens.” Meaning, the essence of meaning is knowledge, and the location of meaning is matter."
Since the heart, mind, knowledge, and things are all different states of the same thing, then since the essence of the heart is neither good nor evil, how can mind, knowledge, and things be said to be good or evil? , know good and know evil? From this point of view, the Four Sentences teaching itself seems to contradict other views of Xinxue.
As a result, it can be seen from the academic views of Wang Ji, a branch of Yangming School in later generations. Although Wang Ji never denied Mr. Yangming’s views on the Four Sentences, he believed that the Four Sentences There are some inaccuracies in the textual expression, so he did not stick to the original four-sentence teaching, and put forward his own theory of the Four Nothings: "The heart without intention hides the secret, the meaning without intention should be perfect, and the knowledge without knowledge makes the body silent." "When there is nothing, use God." Extended information
In September 1527, Mr. Yangming was reinstated after the period of filial piety and was ordered to go to Guangxi to fight against the rebellion. Before the expedition, he pointed out the differences between the two major disciples Qian Dehong and Wang Ji on the "Four Sentences", once again clarified the true meaning of the Four Sentences, and further established the status of the Four Sentences in the Yangming School's purpose of establishing education. .
Historically known as "Tianquan Enlightenment".
There is no good or evil body, and there are good and bad actions. Knowing good and evil is liangzhi, doing good and eliminating evil is qingwu. The first reading of the Four Sentences Teaching is not as obscure as the concepts in ancient sacred books. It seems to start from the nature of the mind itself, which is neither good nor evil, and progressively discusses the levels of thoughts and behaviors, and then elaborates on a way to become a saint. direction and method.
But this is only a superficial understanding. If you think about it carefully, many problems will arise. The occurrence of Tianquan's enlightenment was caused by Wang Ji and Qian Dehong's different understandings of the Four Sentences.
In fact, from the perspective of learning and inheritance, the debate between Wang Ji and Qian Dehong contributed to the revelation of the original meaning of the Four Sentences.