Abstract

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Keywords:: Sixth Patriarch Huineng; ontology; xin; self-nature; psychology; meta-theory

Abstract:: Huineng, the sixth patriarch of Chinese Chan（aka Zen）, proposed the thought of Xin’s（literally heart） ontology, which is able to be summed up as two theses: that Xin creates the world where people live, and that Xin is empty. The former statement means that “the world where people live and everything in it are created by their own Xin.” It does not mean that people’s Xin creates the universe, but produces the world in which they live or the universe in their mind. The second thesis means that Xin is not any entity and instead it is just like the void that is formless and boundless, not born and unable to be destroyed. Huineng’s thought of Xin’s ontology has very important theoretical value for psychological studies, which provides a unique horizon for people to examine or reflect on the psychological essence and other basic theoretical issues of psychology, and brings about a new horizon and methodology for psychological research.