弘明集 11.16

11.16

夫以人心之不同猶若其貌。豈其容一而等其智乎。鑒有待之參差。足見情靈之乖舛矣。一得其志者。非言談之所盡。一背其途者。豈遊說之所翻。見君雖復言面委盡而不及此處者。良由彼我之見既異。幸可各保其方羌。無須搆是非橫起謗議耳。棲心入信者前良不無此志。今以効善之為樂。故挫憍凌以待物。君若以德越往賢聖逾前修。智超群類位極人貴者。自可逍遙世表。以道化物高尚其懷。無求自足而退倣前。良恐未能懸絕空秉兩途獨異勝法。若悠悠相期本不及言。意在不薄。為復示期懷耳。比面別一二。近聊有此釋滯兩卷。想於外已當見之。今送相示。若已覽者付反。幸無勞形目。脫未覩者為可一歷意。本不期他翻正。是自釋疑滯耳。君見之必當撫掌也。蕭子良疏。

Now, the differences among human minds are like those among their faces; how could they be uniform, and how could their wisdom be made equal? Observing the disparities among conditioned things, one can fully perceive how sentiments and souls diverge. One whose will is set cannot be fully described in words; one whose path has turned away cannot be overturned by persuasive discourse. I see that although your words were thorough and exhaustive in our meeting, you did not reach this point, truly because our views diverge. Fortunately, each may keep to his own direction; there is no need to fabricate right and wrong or cause slander and controversy to arise out of nowhere. Those who have settled their minds and entered into faith of old were indeed not without this intent. Nowadays, rejoicing in doing good, we curtail pride and arrogance to deal with others. If you, sir, have virtue surpassing the past sages, wisdom exceeding previous exemplars, intelligence transcending the multitude, and hold a position of supreme human nobility, then you may indeed wander beyond the world, transform things through the Dao, and hold noble aspirations in your heart; self-sufficient and without seeking, you might imitate those of old. But I fear you cannot maintain such an absolute gulf, vainly upholding two separate paths and singularly diverging from the superior Dharma. If we were merely casual acquaintances, these matters would never have been mentioned; it is because my regard for you is not slight that I reveal my inner thoughts. When we meet soon, I will elaborate further. Recently, I casually composed these two fascicles of 'Resolving Stagnations'; I presume you have already seen them outside. I now send them to show you. If you have already read them, please return them; do not tire your body and eyes. If perchance you have not seen them, you might glance through them once. I originally did not expect others to convert and be corrected; it was merely to resolve doubts and stagnations for myself. When you see it, you will surely clap your hands in amusement. Letter from Xiao Ziliang.