孝宗=Emperor Xiaozong; 三教合一=combination of the three religions into one; 融會諸宗=mergence of the various Buddhist sects; 朱熹理學=Zhu Xi s idealist philosophy; 援佛入儒=adoption of Buddhism in Confucianism
The main historical data available of Emperor Xiaozong s worship of Buddhism in the Southern Song Dynasty are Apology for the Origin of the Way, General Records of Lin an County in the Reign of Emperor Duzong, Collected Texts of the Administrative Statues of the Song Dynasty etc. And after an analysis of the above - mentioned data, Emperor Xiaozong s Buddhist thoughts can be generalized as "the combination of the three religions into one, the mergence of the various Buddhist sects, attaching importance to Buddhist service to protect Buddhist monks and nuns". His above thoughts make a direct impact upon Zhu Xi’ s Confucian school of idealist philosophy of the Song Dynasty.
