鐔津文集 2.24

2.24

有形出無形。無形出有形。故至神之道不可以有尋。不可以無測。不可以動失。不可以靜得。聖人之道空乎。則生生奚來。聖人之道不空乎。則生孰不泯。善體乎空不空。於聖人之道其庶幾乎。夫驗空莫若審有形。審有形莫若知無形。知無形則可以窺神明。窺神明始可以語道也。道也者神之蘊也。識之所自出也。識也者大患之源也。謂聖人之道空。此乃溺乎混茫之空也。病益病矣。天下其孰能治之乎哉。

Form emerges from the formless; the formless emerges from form. Therefore, the most wondrous Way cannot be sought through being, nor can it be measured through nonbeing; it cannot be lost through motion, nor can it be attained through stillness. If the Way of the Sage were empty, whence would continuous life come? If the Way of the Sage were not empty, what living being would not perish? Those who skillfully embody the empty and the non-empty are close to the Way of the Sage. Now, to verify emptiness, nothing is better than examining form; to examine form, nothing is better than knowing the formless. Knowing the formless, one can then peer into spiritual illumination; peering into spiritual illumination, one can begin to speak of the Way. The Way is the storehouse of the spirit, that from which consciousness arises. Consciousness is the source of great calamity. To say that the Way of the Sage is empty is to drown in the emptiness of chaos and confusion. The illness becomes ever more severe; who in the world can cure it?