Mencius  view that human nature  is good: "The nature endowed
in us by Heaven  is pure  and perfect.  The fact  that  it is
intelligent, clear, and  not  beclouded  is evidence  of  the
emanation  and revelation  of the highest  good."(26) So some
ask  whether  or a not  Wang's  theory  of human  nature  was
influenced by the Buddhist view.
　　 Wang's criticism  of the Buddhist  theory of human nature
is helpful

P.436　　　　　　　　　　

for our understanding of Sot'aesan's position. Wang taught:

　　 in nourishing the mind, we Confucians have never departed
　　 from things and events.  By merely following the natural
　　 principles of things we accomplish our task. On the other
　　 hand, the Buddhists  insist on getting  away from things
　　 and events  completely  and view the mind as an illusion,
　　 gradually entering into a life of emptiness and silence,
　　 and seem  to have nothing  to do with  the world  at all.
　　 This is why they are incapable of governing the World.
　　 (27)

Wang's  criticism  was  based  on  his  observations  of  the
Buddhist  monks of his time;on theoretical  grounds it missed
the point of Hua-yen and Ch'an Buddhist tenets.(28)
　　 Wang's criticism had no force on Sot'aesan's way of moral
perfection since the latter intended for one to make the best
use of the Buddha dharma  in order to be an active member  of
society.  Sot'aesan  took as the fundamental  cause  of human
predicament  the  three  evil  tendencies  of  disturbedness,
foolishness, and evil arising in trying situations. Hence the
moral  discipline  was  to let  samadhi, prajna, and sila  of
one's  original  nature  manifest  in trying  situations  (K.
59-60). Here Sot'aesan reflected Huineng's view of the triple
disciplines.(29) Sot'aesan's originality lay in his statement
of the criteria of moral perfection  with regard to the three
aspects of the original nature. He set out three criteria for
each  of the  three  aspects  and  summarized  the  truth  of
Dharmakaya  or Irwonsang  in terms of these criteria, namely,
k'ung(ae)[void], yuan(af)[perfect], and cheng(ag)[right]  (K.
129-130):

　　 In nourishing  the nature  [yang hsing(ah)]: (l) the void
　　 lies in one's  intuition  of the realm  which  transcends
　　 being and non- being;  (2) the mind in which nothing goes
　　 or comes is perfect;and (3)the mind which does not decline
　　 to or lean on anything is right.

In seeing  [awakening  to] the nature  [chien-hsing(ai)]: (1)
the

P.437

　　 void lies in one's knowledge  of the ineffable state with
　　 no  trace  of  mind's  whereabouts;   (2)  the  limitless
　　 capacity  of intelligence  of mind  is perfect;  and  (3)
　　 one's seeing and judging  all things  correctly  owing to
　　 true  knowledge  of  reality.

　　 In following  the nature  [shuai-hsing(aj)]: (1) the void
　　 lies  in  one's   doing   all  things   with  no  thought
　　 [wu-nien(ak) ] (2) doing  all things  with  no attachment
　　 [wu-cho(al)] is perfect;  and  (3) doing  all  things  in
　　 accordance with the Mean [chung-tao(am)] is right.

In  the   last   paragraph,  the  ideals   of  Buddhism   and
Confucianism, namely, no thought from the Vajracchedika Sutra
and the Mean from the Chung- yung, function as integral parts
of moral perfection in Won Buddhism.  These moral perfections
are  all  to  be  realized  in  personal, family, social, and
national affairs as set for in the Ta Hsueh.

V.   SYNTHESIS OF MORAL DUTIES

　　 Sat'aesan's  synthesis of moral duties is best understood
as the grafting of Confucian moral duties to the Dharmakaya
Buddha  or Irwonsang, the object  of Won  Buddhist  religious