e defended and
illustrated the doctrine of Lu Chin-Yuan, namely that truth can be
obtained by meditation. To express intuitive knowledge, he used the
expression _Liang Chih_[698] (taken from Mencius). _Liang Chih_ is
inherent in all human minds, but in different degrees, and can be
developed or allowed to atrophy. To develop it should be man's
constant object, and in its light when pure all things are understood
and peace is obtained. The phrases of the Great Learning "to complete
knowledge," "investigate things," and "rest in the highest
excellence," are explained as referring to the _Liang Chih_ and the
contemplation of the mind by itself. We cannot here shut our eyes to
the influence of Bodhidharma and his school, however fervently Wang
Yang Ming may have appealed to the Chinese Classics.

The reign of Wu-tsung (1506-21) was favourable to Buddhism. In 1507
40,000 men became monks, either Buddhist or Taoist. The Emperor is
said to have been learned in Buddhist literature and to have known
Sanskrit[699] as well as Mongol and Arabic, but he was in the hands of
a band of eunuchs, who were known as the eight tigers. In 1515 he sent
an embassy to Tibet with the object of inducing the Grand Lama to
visit Peking, but the invitation was refused and the Tibetans expelled
the mission with force. The next Emperor, Shih-T'sung (1522-66),
inclined to Taoism rather than Buddhism. He ordered the images of
Buddha in the Forbidden City to be destroyed, but still appears to
have taken part in Buddhist ceremonies at different periods of his
reign. Wan Li (1573-1620), celebrated in the annals of porcelain
manufacture, showed some favour to Buddhism. He repaired many
buildings at P'u-t'o and distributed copies of the Tripitaka to the
monasteries of his Empire. In his edicts occurs the saying that
Confucianism and Buddhism are like the two wings of a bird: each
requires the co-operation of the other.

European missionaries first arrived during the sixteenth century, and,
had the Catholic Church been more flexible, China might perhaps have
recognized Christianity, not as the only true religion but as standing
on the same footing as Buddhism and Taoism. The polemics of the early
missionaries imply that they regarded Buddhism as their chief rival.
Thus Ricci had a public controversy with a bonze at Hang-Chou, and his
principal pupil Hsu Kuang-Ch'i[700] wrote a tract entitled "The errors
of the Buddhists exposed." Replies to these attacks ar