Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, the imperial court had fallen into disorder, and social crises were intensifying. In the intellectual sphere, Wang Yangming sought to revitalize Confucianism by drawing upon Chan Buddhist notions of the mind-nature to remedy the shortcomings of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which in turn prompted a shift in the mindset of the scholar-official class. Many of Wang’s later followers withdrew into Chan practice, leading to an unprecedented height of Confucian-Buddhist integration and the gradual emergence of the “Mad Chan” (kuangchan) intellectual trend. The Mad Chan trend was characteristically manifested in the critique of established moral norms and the questioning of ritual propriety. Nevertheless, it played a certain positive role in the intellectual climate of the time by revitalizing Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism—an aspect that has been the primary focus of previous intellectual-historical research. However, the interaction between the Mad Chan trend and Buddhism itself has been largely overlooked. The Mad Chan trend, in further conjunction with the Southern School Chan principle of “not relying on words and letters,” its de-emphasis on gradual cultivation, and its valorization of sudden enlightenment, produced considerable upheaval within the late Ming Buddhist sangha. Its negative manifestations included moral laxity and unrestrained behavior, yet objectively, it broke the stagnant situation that had characterized Ming Buddhism. In response to this crisis, eminent monastic figures actively engaged in corrective efforts, primarily through Confucian-Buddhist syncretism, the integration of Chan, doctrinal study, precepts, and Pure Land practice, as well as the fusion of worldly and transcendent Dharma, all aimed at rectifying the excesses of the Mad Chan tendency. On the practical level, the approach centered on syncretic cultivation and realization: balancing Chan meditation with precept observance, shifting from Chan meditation to Pure Land recitation, and combining Chan meditation with animal-release rituals. These measures charted a path for the development of Buddhism toward greater world-engagement, simplification, and popularization. Through this study, we may also gain insight into the developmental ecology of late Ming Buddhism under the Mad Chan trend, its relationship with the secular world, and the distinctive characteristics of lay Buddhist practice during this period.