 This view of self-cultivation inherits the Buddhist claim that, since everyone possesses Buddha-nature (fo xing), everyone is already enlightened, but merges it with Mengzi’s claim that human nature (xing) is good. Unlike Mengzi, the process of self-cultivation is not a process of extension but rather of removing the obstacles that keep us from being what we already are. Phillip J. Ivanhoe has nicely captured this point by contrasting the views of self-cultivation for Mengzi and Wang Yangming as the difference between a model of development and a model of discovery (Ivanhoe 2002). As in Buddhism, what needs to be removed are selfish and biased desires. Unlike Buddhism, and in line with Mengzi, this enlightened state does not lead to a calm state free of desires and negative emotions. Instead, the li within us is expressed as spontaneous and appropriate desires and emotions, including negative emotions like grief for a dying parent or concern for a child in danger.