法苑珠林 4.78

4.78

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.'