The preceding views are shared, in broad outline, by all Neo–Confucian philosophers.  The primary issue they debated was the proper method of ethical cultivation.  In other words, how is it possible for us to consistently and reliably access and act on our innate ethical knowledge?  Other disagreements among them (on seemingly recondite issues of metaphysics and the interpretation of the Confucian classics) can often be traced to more fundamental disagreements over ethical cultivation.  For Zhu Xi, almost all humans are born with qi that is so turbid that it is impossible for them to consistently know what is virtuous and act accordingly without external assistance.  The remedy is carefully studying the classics written by the ancient sages, ideally under the guidance of a wise teacher.  Although the classics were written in response to concrete historical situations, their words allow us to grasp the Pattern at a certain level of abstraction from its instantiations.  However, Zhu Xi states that merely understanding the Pattern is insufficient for the exercise of virtue.  One must achieve Sincerity (chéng), a continual awareness of moral knowledge in the face of  temptations.[5] 