왕양명의 심상 체인 이론의 특징과 의의

Abstract

The purpose of this paper examined the theory of embodied cognitive study by Wang Yang-Ming. He criticized the perspectives that scholars at the time separated the original mind and study, according to dichotomous categories such as inside and outside, front and back, silent and moving; and argued that the original mind and its study have unity. In addition, he criticized the study methods of grasping the Tao based on linguistic understanding and discussion, such as the study of recitation, the study of poetry and prose, exegetics, and discussion. He additionally emphasized the study method of recognizing the original mind directly through the practice of mind and body. In this context, Wang Yang-Ming suggested ‘the study in the original mind(Bentigongfu)’ as the most representative embodied cognitive method. It is a study that fundamentally unifies the unity of the original body and study. This study takes as the essence of the experience of manifestation, self-sufficiency, and fullness which the original mind has. In addition, in this course, the action agent can experience a sort of in-depth normativeness and its unique subjective activity that takes the universal principle and laws as the essence, not as a psychological phenomenon or a psychological effect arising from the emptiness and brightness of mind. For this reason, the more the embodied mind study is completed, the more the subject becomes transparently aware of the self-awakening activities of his original mind. And these processes and results consequently increase the ability to be able to recognize and control the nature and characteristics of his mind and body. In conclusion, embodied cognitive study is a self-directed and self-recurrent study method, and its ultimate purpose is to fully recognize and realize the true self.