高僧傳 6.16

6.16

司徒王謐、護軍王默等，並欽慕風德，遙致師敬。謐修書曰：「年始四十，而衰同耳順。」遠答曰：「古人不愛尺璧，而重寸陰，觀其所存，似不在長年耳。檀越既履順而遊性，乘佛理以御心，因此而推，復何羨於遐齡？聊想斯理，久已得之，為復酬來信耳。」

The Minister over the Masses Wang Mi, the Army Protector Wang Mo, and others all admired his moral character and paid their respects to him as a master from afar. Mi wrote a letter saying: 'I am only forty years of age, yet my decay is already equal to sixty.' Huiyuan replied, saying: 'The ancients did not cherish a foot-wide disc of jade, but valued an inch of time; observing where their care lay, it seems it was not in longevity. Since the dānapati treads in accordance with nature and lets his spirit wander, riding the principles of the Buddha to rein in his mind, if one deduces from this, why envy a long lifespan? I imagine you have long possessed this principle; I write merely to reply to your incoming letter.'