禪林寶訓 3.62

3.62

Head Seat Yin said: “The ancient sages took the absence of disasters as a cause for fear, and thus said, ‘Could Heaven have abandoned me, the unworthy?’ Fan Wenzi said, ‘Only a sage can be without troubles both internally and externally; unless one is a sage, tranquility outside inevitably brings distress within.’ The worthies and eminences of past and present knew that this could not be avoided, and always guarded their beginnings to defend themselves. Therefore, if in human life there is slight anxiety and toil, it may not necessarily fail to be a lifelong blessing. Disasters, misfortunes, slander, and humiliation could not be escaped even by Yao and Shun; how much less by others? (Letter to Miaoxi).”