佛祖歷代通載 20.120

20.120

屏山曰。明道之說。出於未能事人焉能事鬼。橫渠之說。出於精氣為物游魂為變。是故知鬼神之情狀。上蔡之說。出於盛哉鬼神之德洋洋乎如在其上在其左右。三子各得聖人之一偏耳。竟墮於或有或無若有若無之間。不各鶻突。予觀聖人之言。各有所主。大抵有生有死。或異或同。無生無死。非同非異。人即有形之鬼。鬼即無形之人。有心即有。無心即無耳。聖人復生不易吾言矣。

Pingshan said: "Mingdao's theory stems from: 'When you are not yet able to serve humans, how can you serve ghosts?' Hengqu's theory stems from: 'The refined essence and vital energy form things; the wandering soul forms change. Therefore one knows the conditions of ghosts and spirits.' Shangcai's theory stems from: 'How abundant is the virtue of the ghosts and spirits! Vast and overflowing, they seem to be right above and to the left and right.' The three masters each attained only one biased aspect of the sages, ultimately falling into the trap of either existing or not existing, appearing to exist or appearing not to exist—are they not each muddled? In my view, the words of the sages each have their own focal point: generally speaking, where there is birth and death, they may be different or identical; where there is neither birth nor death, they are neither identical nor different. A human is a ghost with form; a ghost is a human without form. If there is mind, then they exist; if there is no mind, then they do not exist. Even if the sage were reborn, he would not change my words."