法苑珠林 4.78

4.78

列子曰。夫有形者生於無形。則天地安從生（張䖍注曰。天地無所從生。而自然生）故有太易有太初有太始有太素。變而為一。一變而為七。七變而為九。九者變之究也。乃復變而為一。一者形變之始也。清輕者上為天。濁重者下為地。沖和氣者為人。故天地含精萬物化生也。故易上繫曰。易有太極。是生兩儀。兩儀生四象。四象生八卦。八卦定其吉凶也。

The Liezi says: 'That which has form is born from the formless; from where, then, did heaven and earth arise?' (Zhang Qian's commentary says: 'Heaven and earth do not arise from anywhere; they are born naturally of themselves.') 'Hence, there is the Great Simplicity, the Great Beginning, the Great Origin, and the Great Substance. It changes and becomes One; the One changes and becomes Seven; the Seven changes and becomes Nine. Nine is the ultimate of change; then it changes back and becomes One. The One is the beginning of physical transformation. That which is clear and light ascends to become heaven; that which is turbid and heavy descends to become earth; that which is harmonized qi becomes human beings. Therefore, heaven and earth contain the essence, and the ten thousand things are transformed and born.' Hence, the Appended Remarks (Xici) of the Yijing says: 'In the Changes there is the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji), which generates the Two Modes. The Two Modes generate the Four Emblems, and the Four Emblems generate the Eight Trigrams. The Eight Trigrams determine good and ill fortune.'