佛祖歷代通載 20.119

20.119

上蔡曰。人死時氣盡也。予問明道。有鬼神否。明道曰。道無爾怎生信。道有爾但去尋討看。橫渠云。這箇是天地間妙用。這裏有妙理。於若有若無之間。須斷直得去。不是鶻突。自家要有便有。要無便無始得。鬼神在虛空中辟塞滿。觸目皆是。為他是天地間妙用。祖考精神便是自家精神。

Shangcai said: "When a person dies, their vital energy is exhausted. I asked Mingdao: 'Do ghosts and spirits exist?' Mingdao said: 'If I say they do not exist, how would you believe it? If I say they do exist, just go and search for them.' Hengqu said: 'This is the wondrous function between heaven and earth; here there is a wondrous principle. Between existing and not existing, one must be resolute and decisive, not muddled. Only when one can have them if one wants them to exist, and not have them if one wants them not to exist, will it work. Ghosts and spirits densely fill the void; wherever the eye reaches, there they are. This is because they are the wondrous function between heaven and earth. The spiritual energy of the ancestors is simply one's own spiritual energy.'"