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廣弘明集 8.41

廣弘明集 8.41

Language
Classical Chinese

8.41

答曰。孔語生知。學言積習。向者論儒。未云釋也。上智下愚本不隨化。中庸之類乃順化遷。聖可為狂則非上智。狂可為聖復非下愚。書辨狂聖。皆中庸也。老子曰。絕聖棄智民利百倍。此蓋中才之聖。非上智也。

I reply: Confucius spoke of being born with knowledge; learning refers to accumulated habit. Just now I was discussing Confucianism, not Buddhism. The highest wisdom and the lowest stupidity fundamentally do not change with transformation; it is the mediocre sorts that shift and change in accordance with transformation. If a sage can become a madman, he is not of the highest wisdom; if a madman can become a sage, he is not of the lowest stupidity. When the Book of Documents distinguishes between madman and sage, both are of the mediocre sort. Laozi says: 'Banish sageliness and discard wisdom, and the people will benefit a hundredfold.' This is the sageliness of middling talent, not the highest wisdom.

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