The sages and worthies of Buddhism are certainly Confucian gentlemen (junzi).

Confucian culture is the foundation of Buddhist studies; it teaches the way of being a person, the conduct of a noble person (junzi), restraining body and mind, purifying body, speech, and mind, and subduing greed, hatred, and delusion. It is precisely because of this Confucian cultural foundation that the Buddhadharma was able to spread from western India to China (Zhendan), take root there, and bring blessings to the Chinese nation. Buddhist cultivation takes Confucianism as its base, and in terms of thought, character, and moral cultivation, it should be even loftier than Confucianism—purer and more exalted than Confucianism, rising from the mud unstained.

Confucianism advocates the way of the noble person: words must be matched by deeds, speech and action must be consistent, the outer and inner self must be one, conduct must be open and upright, with the bearing of a true great man. The noble person is the benchmark established by Confucianism; the benchmark of Buddhism should be the sage, one who transcends the noble person. Therefore, a noble person is not necessarily a Buddhist sage, but a Buddhist sage must certainly be a Confucian noble person. One who is not a noble person is not a sage, nor a good spiritual teacher (kalyāṇamitra). If someone claims to be a sage or a good spiritual teacher, you should compare his bodily, verbal, and mental actions with the virtues of a noble person. If his conduct is not even up to the standard of a noble person, falling short of it, then you must be on guard, to prevent being defiled and assimilated by him, which would cover your own mind with dust. To test whether a person has realized the fruits, whether he has awakened to the true mind and seen his nature, you must first examine his character and moral cultivation. If he fails this test of character and mind-nature, then all his theories and such are merely lip service, without any genuine realization. For one who has true realization, the mind-nature must have transformed. As it is said, all dharmas are created by the mind alone; a mind with obvious defilements cannot create a sage.

Every Buddhist practitioner should also learn much from the conduct of the noble person, and study more of the traditional Chinese learning of Confucianism and Daoism, gradually perfecting his personal integrity and moral character. Once one possesses the moral cultivation needed to be a proper human being, and once the mind-nature has matured and been perfected, then in the study and practice of the Buddhadharma, effort will yield results as soon as it is applied. Only when theoretical skill (technique) advances in step with mind-nature, perfectly combined, is it possible to be reborn transformed—like a carp leaping over the dragon gate—becoming a true sage, a model for sentient beings, and only then is one qualified to lead sentient beings onto the path of liberation.

Many people have studied Buddhism for years yet cannot make progress in their practice. What is the reason? It is because cultivation is not merely a matter of technical effort in pursuing the Way; more important is the tempering and refinement of the mind-nature and the perfecting of one's character. If one is not even qualified as a human being, no matter how hard one strives, one cannot break through the prison of one's own mind to become a sage. The moral conduct of many Buddhists is not even up to that of ordinary worldly people; the more they learn, the heavier their afflictions become, lacking nothing of greed, hatred, and delusion, seeking much in worldly matters and painstakingly scheming for fame, reputation, and gain. Yet it is precisely such people who proclaim at every turn that they have become enlightened and attained sagehood, while those of better moral conduct are very careful and cautious, meticulously examining themselves, not daring to lightly pin such a grand label on themselves.