鐔津文集 2.11

2.11

Great faith is near; small faith is far. The near is turned into the far, and the far is turned into the near—this is because of the obscuration of feelings. Under heaven, nothing is nearer than the mind; under heaven, nothing is farther than external things. If humans do not believe in their own minds and instead believe in external things, is that not turning the near into the far and the far into the near? Is it not being deluded, erroneous, and topsy-turvy? The mind is the source of perception, brightness, sagacity, and wisdom. If one does not attain its source, can that which issues from it avoid error? This is why the sage wishes people to have faith in their own minds. If they have faith in their minds and rectify them, they become truly constant, truly good, truly filial, truly loyal, truly humane, truly compassionate, truly harmonious, truly compliant, and truly luminous. When they are truly luminous, they move Heaven and Earth, shake the ghosts and spirits, pass through life and death and transformations, and attain this alone. This is not merely moving Heaven and Earth and stirring the ghosts and spirits; it will furthermore lead to the Great Way of the sages. For this reason, the sage takes having faith in one's mind as the greatest thing. That the sage expounds it broadly, expounds it concisely, points it out directly, and points it out skillfully—all these are means to rectify the human mind and grant people faith. If humans do not believe the sage's words, they simply do not believe their own minds. They abandon themselves and delude themselves. How could they be called luminous? How could they be called worthy?