philosophy from just such mistranslations as this one. In the beginning of
Section VI it says that in order to develop the capacity to undergo the
experience of the golden flower awakening responsibly it is necessary to
will the liberation of all beings; so the very idea of "purposelessness" is
incompatible with this practice. Although Wilhelm translates that part
somewhat clumsily, nevertheless the meaning does come through there;
apparently it slipped his mind when he came to this section. The term wuxin
(unminding) is a common Chan Buddhist expression.
38. "Contemplating emptiness, the conditional, and the center" is a
fundamental meditative exercise of Tiantai (Tien-t'ai) Buddhism. Again
Wilhelm shows virtually complete ignorance of Buddhism in any context
but standard Western cliché, translating "the conditional" as "delusion " In
reality, the conditional per se is not delusion; delusion means to mistake the
conditional for a fixed or independent reality in itself.
1.
39.-43. Paragraphs 39 to 43 present what may be the simplest and most
concise statement of this Tiantai Buddhist practice to be found
anywhere: the point is to achieve a state of centered mental poise
wherein both the fluidity and {actuality of phenomena are evident to the
mind without either exerting an overwhelming influence toward bias.
According to this way of meditation, by realization of fluidity the
mind transcends attachment to conditional things; by realization of
