弘明集 10.67

10.67

You have condescended to inform and graciously show me the imperial decree replying to a subject's examination of the meaning of the extinction of the spirit. Respectfully reading it over and over, I chant and dance. Consciousness and deliberation are deep and hidden; the spiritual soul is dark and subtle. Close footsteps cannot overtake it; ordinary sentiments cannot measure it. The external sages knew it was like this, which is why they restrained themselves and did not discuss it. Hence, even when examining Confucius, he was still reserved regarding [spirits in] the classics; the Duke of Zhou had not yet brought it to light. Yet the mediocre sort recklessly rationalize and trust what they see, drawing with an awl and peering through a tube, their deviant views rising like sword-points. Merely courting the reputation of departing from the virtuous, they end up lost regarding the reality of snow and frost. For foolish delusions to reach this point is deeply pitiable and lamentable. Our Sovereign's Dao covers the dark and the manifest; his brilliance exceeds the sun and moon. He exhausts the extremities of Heaven and Earth, and plumbs the secrets of the beginning and the end. Hating that foul weeds and purple might impair the true red hue, or that common stone and pheasants might confuse jade and the phoenix, he thereupon issued this from his sagacious breast, sending down these elegant principles. They are truly sufficient to glorify wondrous awakening and rescue those sunk in the mire. Nearby, they illuminate the utmost reach of nature and soul; afar, they clarify the root of filial virtue. Truly, they make deviant teachings sever their heterodox intentions, and those who face the right direction intensify their longing admiration. Through good fortune, I have mistakenly participated in receiving the potters' wheel of transformation; bathed in beneficence and drinking harmony, I have redoubled rejoicing. That this circulation has reached me so thoroughly leaves me ever more deeply indebted. Sima Jun bows in reverence.