弘明集 1.48

1.48

The questioner asked: I once traveled to the kingdom of Khotan, and frequently met with śramaṇas and practitioners of the Dao. When I challenged them with my matters, none could answer and they took their leave; many altered their intentions and shifted their views. Why are you alone so hard to change? Mouzi said: Light feathers aloft fly when they encounter the wind; fine pebbles in a ravine tumble when they meet the current. Only Mount Tai is not moved by a gale; only a boulder is not displaced by a rushing torrent. Plums and prunus trees shed their leaves when they encounter frost; only the pines and cypresses are hard to wither. The practitioners of the Dao whom you met must have been lacking in learning and narrow in view, which is why they bent and retreated. If even one as dull as I cannot be confounded, how much less could those who clearly understand the Dao! Rather than changing yourself, you wish to change others; I have never heard of Zhongni following Robber Zhi, or Tang and Wu modeling themselves on Jie and Zhou.