弘明集 5.25

5.25

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.'