禪林寶訓 3.16

3.16

Xuetang was benevolent, compassionate, loyal, and forgiving; he honored the worthy and respected the capable. Jests and vulgar speech rarely came from his mouth. He was neither precipitous nor prone to violent anger. As for accepting or declining [positions], he was exceedingly upright and pure. He once said: "When the ancients studied the Way, they were indifferent to external things and had no cravings, even to the point of forgetting status and position and casting aside sights and sounds; it seemed as if they could do so without effort. As for practitioners today, though they exhaust every contrivance, they still can do nothing about it. What is the reason for this? Their resolve is not steadfast, their focus is not singular, and they treat it as merely an ordinary matter." (Biographical Record)