集古今佛道論衡 3.12

3.12

[The Daoist] replied, "Above heaven and below heaven, only the Dao is ultimate and paramount; it is the greatest, and none is greater than the Dao."
[Huicheng] challenged him, saying, "If the Dao is ultimate and paramount, the greatest with none greater than the Dao, might one also say that the Dao is the ultimate principle, and no principle models itself on the Dao?"
[The Daoist] replied, "The Dao is the ultimate principle, and no principle models itself on the Dao."
[Huicheng] challenged him, saying, "The scripture of Lao[zi] itself states: 'Man models himself on Earth; Earth models itself on Heaven; Heaven models itself on the Dao; the Dao models itself on Naturalness.' For what reason do you contradict your own school, then asserting that no principle models itself on the Dao? If the Dao is the ultimate principle, yet there is further a principle upon which the Dao models itself, why then should the principle of the Dao be the greatest, and there can be none greater than the Dao?"
[The Daoist] replied, "The Dao is simply Naturalness, and Naturalness is precisely the Dao. Therefore there is no separate principle that can model itself on the Dao."
[Huicheng] challenged him, saying, "If 'the Dao models itself on Naturalness' and 'Naturalness is precisely the Dao,' then can Naturalness in turn model itself on the Dao, or not?"
[The Daoist] replied, "The Dao models itself on Naturalness, but Naturalness does not model itself on the Dao."
[Huicheng] challenged him, saying, "If the Dao models itself on Naturalness, but Naturalness does not model itself on the Dao, then it must also be that though the Dao models itself on Naturalness, Naturalness is not identical to the Dao."
[The Daoist] replied, "The Dao models itself on Naturalness, and Naturalness is precisely the Dao; thus they do not model themselves on one another."
[Huicheng] challenged him, saying, "If 'the Dao models itself on Naturalness' and 'Naturalness is precisely the Dao,' then might Earth also model itself on Heaven, and Heaven be precisely Earth? Yet Earth models itself on Heaven, while Heaven is not Earth. Therefore one knows that though the Dao models itself on Naturalness, Naturalness is not identical to the Dao. If Naturalness were precisely the Dao, then Heaven ought to be precisely Earth!"