Abstract

Generally, when it comes to Confucian meditation, people think of NeoConfucian quiet-sitting (jingzhuo 靜坐) or reverent attentiveness (jing 敬). Reverent attentiveness aims to cultivate one’s morality in daily life through a dynamic and harmonious interaction of quietude (jing 靜) and activity (dong 動), which is a clear Confucian characteristic. However, this paper argues that Neo-Confucian meditation could be made even more holistic through a method of meditation that incorporates insights from the Yijing 易經 (Book of Changes). That is, Yijing divination can be understood and used to practice a way of meditation through which one can encounter further aspects of the self that Neo-Confucian meditation does not typically address, for example, the subconscious. If Neo-Confucian reverent attentiveness accommodates Yijing meditation and extends itself to the depths of consciousness, Confucian meditation can become more vibrant by more fully encompassing both rationality and spirituality.