折疑論 4.143

4.143

得黑灰。問東方朔。朔曰。此非臣能知。陛下可問西域胡僧。必能知之。帝遂遣人往問。僧曰。乃劫壞時所積灰耳。此先知之六也。若子獨於諸說而不知之者乎。且孔子生於東周。佛則生於西域。相去綿遠。其玄會默識驗若親覿。非同聲相應。其孰能懸知如此之遠者乎（周易乾卦文言。九五飛龍在天。利見大人。何謂也。子曰。同聲相應。同氣相求）。

They unearthed black ash and asked Dongfang Shuo about it. Shuo said: 'This is not something your servant can know. Your Majesty may ask the barbarian monks from the Western Regions; they will surely know.' The Emperor then dispatched someone to inquire of them, and a monk said: 'It is merely the ash accumulated at the time of the kalpa's destruction.' This is the sixth instance of foreknowledge. Could you alone be unaware of these various accounts? Moreover, Confucius was born in the Eastern Zhou, while the Buddha was born in the Western Regions; separated by vast distance, their subtle accord and silent recognition was as verified as meeting face to face. Were it not that identical sounds resonate with each other, who could have known in advance across such distance? (The *Commentary on the Words of the Text* for the Qian hexagram in the *Book of Changes* on 'Nine in the fifth place: The flying dragon is in the heavens; it is advantageous to see the great man. What does this mean?' The Master said: 'Identical sounds resonate with each other; identical energies seek each other out').