杨简肯定孟子性善论,他称引孟子最多的一句话是“仁,人心也”,对“道一而已”“良知良能”“徐行后长”等说法也非常赞赏。与孟子论人心多强调其本有之道德性、伦理性不同,杨简更多从本体论、境界论的角度,突出至善人心之虚明神妙、广大无际、贯通一切,心即道,一切皆一。杨简虽然肯定孟子“勿忘勿助”的工夫论,但反复批评孟子“源泉混混”、不断扩充的修养工夫,也反对孟子“浩然之气”“配义与道”“存心养性”等对后世影响巨大甚至被视为至理名言的工夫论主张。与陆九渊全面肯定孟子不同,杨简对孟子的系列批评,也表明他与陆九渊乃至程朱、阳明等主流理学家的思想都有很大的不同。这在很大程度上是因为杨简之学有较强的禅学精神。但禅自有其高明处,与儒学也并非绝然对立,不可相融。杨简之学是禅学与儒学的一种独特融合,在儒学发展史上有其独特价值和思想魅力。

Yang Jian affirmed Mencius’s theory of the original goodness of human nature. He held that Mencius’s most frequently quoted sentence is “Benevolence lies in the human mind,” and he also appreciated the statements such as “There is only one Tao,” “Innate knowledge and Inborn ability,” and “Walk slowly and Let the Elders Walk Ahead.” Different from Mencius, who emphasized the inherent morality and ethics of the human mind, Yang Jian emphasized from the perspective of ontology and realm theory that the good mind is empty and mysterious, vast and penetrating and that the mind is the Tao and everything is the One. Although Yang Jian approved of Mencius’s Gongfu theory of “No Forgetting and No Encouraging”, he repeatedly criticized Mencius’s Gongfu theory of “The Spring Rolls from the Source” and “Keep Expanding.” He also opposed Mencius’s ideas of “Noble spirit,” “Cooperate with righteousness and the Tao,” and “Self-cultivation,” which had a great influence on later generations and were regarded as words of wisdom. Unlike Lu Jiuyuan, who fully affirmed Mencius, Yang Jian’s series of criticisms of Mencius indicated that his thoughts were greatly different from those of Lu Jiuyuan and even mainstream Neo-Confucianists such as Cheng-Zhu and Wang Yangming. This was largely due to the strong Zen spirit of Yang Jian’s thought. However, Zen had its brilliance. It was not opposed to Confucianism and could not be integrated. Yang Jianzhi’s study was a fusion of Zen and Confucianism, a unique form of Zen-Confucianism that had its unique value and ideological charm in the history of Confucianism.