肇論疏 2.73

2.73

Third, the general conclusion. At the end of his previous letter he said: 'Master Yuan also comprehends it well; the marked stages seem each to have their own basis, or perhaps they do not necessarily align completely in principle.' He also said: 'Among the various people there are those who beat time in admiration.' Now in concluding his purport, he explains the reason for not beating time with them. As for 'words and traces', the 'Movements of Heaven' chapter in the Outer Chapters of Zhuangzi says: 'Lao Dan said to Kong Qiu: "Are not the Six Classics the stale traces of the former kings? How could they be that which made the traces? Now what you speak of is also like traces. Traces are produced by shoes, but how could traces be the shoes?"' This means that words are to the mind as traces are to shoes. Words are that which illustrates; traces are that which can illustrate. Furthermore, words are taken directly as traces; hence he says 'words and traces'. Whenever there are words and traces, differing views arise from them. 'Yet words leave something unsaid' and so on: words only express what can be expressed. What cannot be expressed, words cannot speak of. Traces only trace what can be traced. What cannot be traced, traces cannot trace. 'Therefore one who is good at speaking of words' and so on: one who is good at speaking to the mind with words speaks to the place where words do not speak. One who is good at tracing shoes with traces traces the place where traces do not trace. 'The ultimate principle is empty and profound; to orient the mind toward it is already an error, how much more so to have words?': the principle is inherently cut off from the mind; when the mind schemes it has already lost it, how much less can one grasp the principle through words? This clarifies that what I understand cannot be sought through words. 'I fear that what is pointed out will turn increasingly distant': what is indicated will become even more distant. That is to say, the letter of inquiry was already far from the treatise; if there are further questions and answers, it will be even more distant. 'I hope that the gentleman of penetrating mind' and so on: this means Duke Liu's mind is awakened to the profound principle, hence he is called 'of penetrating mind'. Seek each other beyond the text, and do not cling to the text to raise difficulties. As for saying 'gentleman' (junzi), the Baihu tong says: 'One who can be a ruler of men and can treat the myriad people as his children (zi) is therefore called a gentleman (junzi).' Here it refers to a great person who can be a lord and leader, hence named a gentleman. Zi is a common appellation for men, like a regional inspector being called an envoy gentleman (shijun). When the sovereign employs a person to be a gentleman to the common people, this is the meaning of lord and leader. If treating the myriad people as children is taken as a gentleman, that would be the title for the single ruler, not something matching other people.