The title of this paper is The Research of the Interpretation of the Analects by Ouit Zhixu and the Venerable Master Jig-Chang. It studies the connotation of their interpretation of the Analects through the integration between Confucianism and Buddhism. Both Ouit Zhixu and the Venerable Master Jig-Chang were in the era of the dramatic changes and degradation of Confucianism and Buddhism. Reluctant to see the decline of Buddhism, the two monks resolved to restore the Buddhist teachings. Both of them made special contributions to Confucianism and Buddhism. Ouit Zhixu interpreted The Analects through the integration between Confucianism and Buddhism, which brought a new aspect of the interpretation of Confucian classics. He strived to restore the discipline, proposing the present mind to fuse Xing School and Xiang School. During the late Ming Dynasty, he established a unified Buddhism. In addition, the Venerable Master Jig-Chang hoped to revitalize traditional Chinese culture to solve the current problems of culture and spirituality in the face of the Western influence on Chinese culture and the wrong situation of the overdevelopment of material world and the failure to enrich the spiritual one. He promoted spiritual growth with Confucian culture and Buddhism by reconstructing the traditional ethical structure and supplementing it with appropriate religious beliefs. Ouit Zhixu and the Venerable Master Jig-Chang interpreted The Analects through the integration between Confucianism and Buddhism, which can thus interpret and enrich each other. Among all the Confucian classics interpreted by the two monks, The Analects is the same. The important ideas of The Analects include ren, xiao, and li. From the perspectives of "connotation", "utility" and "practice", we can achieve the profound meaning of Confucianism from the theoretical and practical levels. From the interpretation of the two monks, it is evident that Confucianism is more profound and Buddhist dharma becomes more specific. Ouit Zhixu and the Venerable Master Jig-Chang inherited the context of the history of integrating Confucianism and Buddhism, both of whose thoughts have the value of “diachronicity”. Ouit Zhixu directly highlighted Buddhism with Confucianism, whereas the Venerable Master Jig-Chang indirectly merged Confucianism into Buddhism. Their explanation of Confucianism is consistent with the academic atmosphere of Confucianism during their time. Therefore, Buddhism can highlight the profound meaning of Confucianism without losing the true nature of Confucianism, which has the value of “synchronicity”. From the demonstration of the two monks, we can see that the life, filial and political thoughts in Confucianism accord with those in Buddhism. In conclusion, the spiritual connotation of Confucianism and Buddhism are consistent and interconnected.
