禪林寶訓 4.53

4.53

瞎堂曰。學道之士要先正其心。然後可以正己正物。其心既正則萬物定矣。未聞心治而身亂者。佛祖之教由內及外。自近至遠。聲色惑於外。四肢之疾也。妄情發於內。心腹之疾也。未見心正而不能治物。身正而不能化人。蓋一心為根本。萬物為枝葉。根本壯實枝葉榮茂。根本枯悴枝葉夭折。善學道者先治內以敵外。不貪外以害內。故導物要在清心。正人固先正己。心正己立。而萬物不從化者。未之有也（與顏侍郎書）。

Xiatang said: 'A gentleman who studies the Way must first rectify his mind; only after that can he rectify himself and rectify others. Once his mind is rectified, the myriad things will be settled. Never has it been heard that when the mind is well-ordered the person falls into disorder. The teaching of the buddhas and patriarchs proceeds from the internal to the external, from the near to the far. When sounds and sights delude from without, this is a sickness of the four limbs; when delusive passions arise from within, this is a sickness of the heart and abdomen. Never has it been seen that one whose mind is rectified cannot bring order to things, or that one whose person is rectified cannot transform others. The one mind is the root, and the myriad things are the branches and leaves. When the root is sturdy and solid, the branches and leaves will flourish; when the root withers and languishes, the branches and leaves will snap. Those who are skilled in studying the Way first order what is within to withstand what is without; they do not covet what is without so as to harm what is within. Therefore, in guiding things the essential thing lies in purifying the mind; in rectifying others, one certainly rectifies oneself first. When the mind is rectified and the self is established, that the myriad things should not follow and be transformed has never happened.' (Letter to Vice-minister Yan).