弘明集 5.25

5.25

答曰。子責其始有是言矣。夫理無始終玄極無崖。既生既化。罪福往復自然所生耳。所謂聰明誠由耳目。耳目之本非聰明也。所謂賢愚誠應有始。既為賢愚無始可知矣。夫有物也則不能管物。唯無物然後能為物所歸。若有始也則不能為終。唯無始也然後終始無窮。此自是理所不然。不可徵事之有始而責神同於事。神道玄遠至理無言。髣髴其宗相與為悟。而自末徵本動失其統。所以守此一觀庶階其峯。若肆辯競辭。余知其息矣。

I answered: 'You hold its beginning accountable, and you have these words. Principle has neither beginning nor end; the profound ultimate is boundless. Once born and once transformed, sin and merit alternate, naturally produced. What is called hearing and seeing indeed derives from ears and eyes, yet the root of ears and eyes is not hearing and seeing. What is called worthiness and foolishness indeed ought to have a beginning, yet once they become worthiness and foolishness, their beginninglessness can be known. That which has thinghood cannot govern things; only that which is without thinghood can become that to which things return. If it had a beginning, it could not be the end; only by having no beginning can ending and beginning be endless. This is inherently not what principle allows; one cannot cite things having a beginning and demand that spirit be identical to things. The Dao of the spirit is profound and distant; the ultimate principle is beyond words. We approximate its essential tenets to awaken together, but citing the root from the branches constantly loses its overarching thread. Therefore, holding to this single perspective, I hope to scale its peak. If you unleash debate and dispute words, I know it will never cease.'