弘明集 9.84

9.84

難曰。形非即神也。神非即形也。是合而為用者也。而合非即矣。生則合而為用。死則形留而神逝也。何以言之。昔者趙簡子疾五日不知人。秦穆公七日乃寤。並神遊於帝所。帝賜之鈞天廣樂。此其形留而神遊者乎。若如論言形滅則神滅者。斯形之與神。應如影響之必俱也。然形既病焉則神亦病也。何以形不知人神獨遊帝。而欣歡於鈞天廣樂乎。斯其寐也魂交故。神遊於胡蝶。即形與神分也。其覺也形開。遽遽然周也。即形與神合也。神之與形有分有合。合則共為一體。分則形亡而神逝也。是以延陵喪子而言曰。骨肉歸復于土。而魂氣無不之也。斯即形止而神不止也。然經史明證灼灼也。如此寧是形止而神滅者乎。

[Cao Siwen] objected: The form is not identical to the spirit; the spirit is not identical to the form. They combine to produce function, but combining is not being identical. In life, they combine to produce function; in death, the form remains while the spirit departs. How do we know this? In ancient times, Zhao Jianzi was ill for five days and did not recognize people; Duke Mu of Qin awakened only after seven days. In both cases, their spirits roamed in the realm of the Lord on High, and the Lord bestowed upon them the vast music of the Jun Heaven. Was this not their forms remaining while their spirits roamed? If, as your treatise states, the spirit is extinguished when the form is extinguished, then form and spirit should inevitably accompany each other like form and shadow. However, when the form was ill, the spirit should also have been ill; why was the form unaware of people while the spirit alone roamed with the Lord on High, rejoicing in the vast music of the Jun Heaven? When one sleeps, the soul interacts [with dreams]; thus [Zhuangzi's] spirit roamed as a butterfly—this is the form and the spirit separating. When he awoke, the form opened up, and abruptly he was Zhou—this is the form and the spirit uniting. The spirit and the form have separation and union: when united, they form a single body; when separated, the form dies and the spirit departs. Therefore, when Yanling lost his son, he said, 'The flesh and bones return to the earth, but the soul and qi go everywhere.' This means that the form stops while the spirit does not stop. Thus the clear evidence of the classics and histories is brilliant and manifest! Being like this, how could it be that when the form stops, the spirit is extinguished?