廣弘明集 5.34

5.34

Further, Zhuang Zhou says: 'Until the sage dies, great robbers will not cease.' He also says: 'Tian Chang stole benevolence and righteousness to seize the state of Qi.' Now, heaven and earth mold and forge, rearing both good and evil; each is endowed with its own nature, their principles having no relation to one another. Owls and poison-birds indulge their venom without needing to learn from phoenixes; jackals and tigers give free rein to harm without borrowing techniques from qilin. These are all natural endowments of heaven that require no external things. Why should cruel and stubborn men alone borrow benevolence and righteousness to further their villainy? When Modun murdered his father, or the Earl of Zheng usurped Kuai, did they first borrow the filial way to achieve their final harm? For Zhuang and Li to strike down and slaughter the roots and defame and contradict orthodox instruction—how is that different from hating thieves and melting down weapons, or choking on food and discarding fine grains? Although subsequent debaters have bent their interpretations to explain and resolve this, none fail to struggle at murdering the sage and to stumble at forgetting their kin.