Guan Yin Zi (關尹子) · Volume 2
曰：人之善琴者。有悲心。則聲悽悽然。有思心。則聲遲遲然。有怨心。則聲回回然。有慕心。則聲裴裴然。所以悲思怨慕者。非手非竹非絲非桐。得之心。符之手。得之手。符之物。人之有道者。莫不中道。
It is said: one who plays the zither well, when he has sorrow in his heart, his sound is mournful; when he has thought in his heart, his sound is slow; when he has resentment in his heart, his sound is winding; when he has longing in his heart, his sound is lingering. So what is sorrow, thought, resentment and longing is not the hand, not the bamboo, not the silk, not the paulownia wood: it is obtained in the heart and answered by the hand; it is obtained by the hand and answered by things. A person who has the Way will never fail to hit the mark of the Way.
曰：聖人以有言有為有思者。所以同乎人。未嘗言未嘗為未嘗思者。所以異乎人。
It is said: the sage uses the side of him that speaks, acts and thinks to be the same as others; he uses the side of him that has never spoken, never acted and never thought to be different from others.
曰：利害心愈明。則親不睦。賢愚心愈明。則友不交。是非心愈明。則事不成。好醜心愈明。則物不契。是以聖人渾之。
It is said: the more clearly the mind of profit and harm is distinguished, the less harmonious one's kin become; the more clearly the mind of worthy and foolish is distinguished, the less friends associate; the more clearly the mind of right and wrong is distinguished, the less affairs get done; the more clearly the mind of beautiful and ugly is distinguished, the less things fit together. So the sage blends them all into one.
曰：世之愚拙者妄援。聖人之愚拙自解。殊不知聖人時愚時明。時拙時巧。
It is said: foolish people in the world recklessly cite the sage's foolishness to excuse their own, not knowing that the sage is sometimes foolish and sometimes clear, sometimes clumsy and sometimes skillful.
曰：以聖師聖者。賢人。以賢師聖者。聖人。蓋以聖師聖者。徇跡而忘道。以賢師聖者。反跡而合道。
It is said: one who takes the sage as his model for the sage is a worthy; one who takes the worthy as his model for the sage is truly a sage. For one who takes the sage as his model for the sage follows the traces and forgets the Way; one who takes the worthy as his model for the sage turns back from the traces and instead accords with the Way.
曰：賢人趨上而不見下。眾人趨下而不見上。聖人通乎上下。惟其宜之。豈曰離賢人眾人。別有聖人也哉。
It is said: the worthy strives upward and does not see what is below; ordinary people strive downward and do not see what is above. The sage penetrates both above and below and looks only at what is fitting. Could it be said that apart from the worthy and the ordinary people there is yet another sage?
曰：天下之理。夫者倡。婦者隨。牡者馳。牝者逐。雄者鳴。雌者應。是以聖人制言行。而賢人拘之。
It is said: the principle of the world is that the husband leads and the wife follows; the male runs and the female chases; the cock crows and the hen answers. So the sage sets down words and deeds, and the worthy holds to them.
曰：聖人道雖虎變。事則鱉行。道雖絲分。事則棋佈。
It is said: although the sage's Way changes like a tiger, his affairs move like a turtle; although the Way divides like threads of silk, his affairs are laid out like pieces on a chessboard.
曰：所謂聖人之道者。胡然孑孑爾。胡然徹徹爾。胡然堂堂爾。胡然臧臧爾。惟其能遍偶萬物。而無一物能偶之。故能貴萬物。
It is said: as for what is called the Way of the sage, why is it so singularly independent, why so transparent, why so majestic, why so rich and splendid? Only because it can match all things everywhere, while no single thing can match it, so it is able to make all things precious.
曰：雲之卷舒。禽之飛翔。皆在虛空中。所以變化不窮。聖人之道則然。
It is said: the rolling and unrolling of clouds, the flying of birds, all take place in empty space, and so their changes never end. The Way of the sage is like this.
四符符者精神魂魄也
The Four Tallies: the tallies are essence, spirit, hun soul and po soul.
關尹子曰：水可析可合。精無人也。火因膏因薪神。無我也。故耳蔽前後皆可聞。無人。智崇無人。一奇無人。冬凋秋物無人。黑不可變。無人。北壽無人。皆精。舌即齒。牙成言。無我。禮卑無我。二偶無我。夏因春物。無我。赤可變。無我。南天無我。皆神。以精無人。故米去殼則精存。以神無我。故鬼憑物則神見。全精者忘是非。忘得失。在此者非彼。抱神者時晦明時強弱。在彼者非此。
Guan Yinzi said: water can be divided and can be joined, and essence is without other persons; fire depends on grease and on fuel, and spirit is without self. So when the ear is covered, one can still hear before and behind: this is the absence of other persons; wisdom is lofty: absence of other persons; one is an odd number: absence of other persons; winter withers the things of autumn: absence of other persons; black cannot be changed: absence of other persons; the north governs long life: absence of other persons; all of these belong to essence. The tongue rests against the teeth, and the teeth complete speech: this is the absence of self; ritual is humble: absence of self; two is an even number: absence of self; summer follows the things of spring: absence of self; red can be changed: absence of self; the south governs early death (the base text reads "south heaven," set against "north long life"; one view holds that it should read "early death"): absence of self; all of these belong to spirit. Because essence is without other persons, when rice has its husk removed the essence remains; because spirit is without self, ghosts rely on things and spirit then appears. One who is whole in essence forgets right and wrong, forgets gain and loss, and what is here is not there; one who embraces spirit is sometimes dim and sometimes bright, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, and what is there is not here.
曰：精神。水火也。五行互生滅之。其來無首。其往無尾。則吾之精一滴無存亡爾。吾之神一欻無起滅爾。惟無我無人。無首無尾。所以與天地冥。
It is said: essence and spirit are water and fire. The five phases give rise to and extinguish one another; coming, they have no beginning; going, they have no end; so my essence is only a single drop, with no existence or loss; my spirit is only a single flash, with no arising or ceasing. Precisely because there is no self and no other, no head and no tail, it merges in the dark with heaven and earth.
曰：精者水。魄者金。神者火。魂者木。精主水。魄主金。金生水。故精者魄藏之。神主火。魂主木。木生火。故神者魂藏之。惟水之為物。能藏金而息之。能滋木而榮之。所以析魂魄。惟火之為物。能鎔金而銷之。能燔木而燒之。所以冥魂魄。惟精。在天為寒。在地為水。在人為精。神。在天為熱。在地為火。在人為神。魄。在天為燥。在地為金。在人為魄。魂。在天為風。在地為木。在人為魂。惟以我之精。合天地萬物之精。譬如萬水可合為一水。以我之神。合天地萬物之神。譬如萬火可合為一火。以我之魄。合天地萬物之魄。譬如金之為物。可合異金而鎔之為一金。以我之魂。合天地萬物之魂。譬如木之為物。可接異木而生之為一木。則天地萬物。皆吾精吾神吾魄吾魂。何者死。何者生。
It is said: essence is water, the po soul is metal, spirit is fire, the hun soul is wood. Essence governs water, the po soul governs metal; metal gives birth to water, so essence is stored by the po soul. Spirit governs fire, the hun soul governs wood; wood gives birth to fire, so spirit is stored by the hun soul. Water as a thing can store metal and let it rest, and can nourish wood and make it flourish, and so it can separate the hun and po souls. Fire as a thing can melt and consume metal and burn wood, and so it can unite the hun and po souls in the dark. Essence is cold in heaven, water on earth and essence in man; spirit is heat in heaven, fire on earth and spirit in man; the po soul is dryness in heaven, metal on earth and the po soul in man; the hun soul is wind in heaven, wood on earth and the hun soul in man. To join my essence with the essence of all things of heaven and earth is like ten thousand waters becoming one water; to join my spirit with the spirit of all things of heaven and earth is like ten thousand fires becoming one fire; to join my po soul with the po soul of all things of heaven and earth is like metal as a thing, which can melt different metals into one metal; to join my hun soul with the hun soul of all things of heaven and earth is like wood as a thing, which can graft different woods so they grow into one tree. Then all things of heaven and earth are my essence, my spirit, my po soul and my hun soul; which is dead and which is alive?
曰：五行之運。因精有魂。因魂有神。因神有意。因意有魄。因魄有精。五行迴環不已。所以我之偽心流轉造化。幾億萬歲。未有窮極。然核芽相生。不知其幾萬株。天地雖大。不能芽空中之核。雌卵相生。不知其幾萬禽。陰陽雖妙。不能卵無雄之雌。惟其來於我者。皆攝之以一息。則變物為我。無物非我。所謂五行者。孰能變之。
It is said: in the movement of the five phases, from essence there comes the hun soul, from the hun soul spirit, from spirit intention, from intention the po soul, and from the po soul essence, so the five phases circle without stopping. So my false mind flows in creation and transformation for hundreds of millions of ages without end. Yet the seed and the sprout give birth to each other, no one knows how many tens of thousands of plants, and though heaven and earth are great, they cannot make a seed sprout in empty air; the hen and the egg give birth to each other, no one knows how many tens of thousands of birds, and though yin and yang are wondrous, they cannot make a hen with no cock lay an egg. Only what comes to me, I draw in with a single breath and so turn things into myself, and there is no thing that is not me. As for the so-called five phases, who can still change them?
曰：眾人以魄攝魂者。金有餘則木不足也。眾人以魂攝魄者。木有餘則金不足也。蓋魄之藏魂俱之。魂之遊魄因之。魂晝寓目。魄夜舍肝。寓目能見。舍肝能夢。見者魂無分別析之者。分別析之曰天地者。魂狃習也。夢者魄無分別析之者。分別析之曰彼我者。魄狃習也。火生土。故神生意。土生金。故意生魄。神之所動。不名神。名意。意之所動。不名意。名魄。惟聖人知我無我。知物無物。皆因思慮計之而有。是以萬物之來。我皆對之以性。而不對之以心。性者。心未萌也。無心則無意矣。蓋無火則無土。無意則無魄矣。蓋無土則無金。一者不存。五者皆廢。既能渾天地萬物以為魂。斯能渾天地萬物以為魄。凡造化所妙皆吾魂。凡造化所有皆吾魄。則無有一物可役我者。舍肝當作舍肺。
It is said: when ordinary people use the po soul to draw in the hun soul, metal is in excess and wood is lacking; when ordinary people use the hun soul to draw in the po soul, wood is in excess and metal is lacking. When the po soul is stored, the hun soul follows; when the hun soul roams, the po soul depends on it. The hun soul lodges in the eyes by day, and the po soul dwells in the liver by night. Lodged in the eyes, one can see; dwelling in the liver, one can dream. When seeing, the hun soul originally makes no distinctions; to analyze what is seen and call it heaven and earth is the hun soul being bound by habit. When dreaming, the po soul originally makes no distinctions; to analyze the dream and call it self and other is the po soul being bound by habit. Fire gives birth to earth, so spirit produces intention; earth gives birth to metal, so intention produces the po soul. Once spirit stirs, it is no longer called spirit but intention; once intention stirs, it is no longer called intention but the po soul. Only the sage knows that the self was originally without self and things were originally without things, and that all exist only because of thought and calculation. So when the ten thousand things arrive, I answer them all with nature and not with the mind. Nature is the mind before it has sprouted. With no mind there is no intention: without fire there is no earth; with no intention there is no po soul: without earth there is no metal. If one is absent, all five are abandoned. Once one can blend all things of heaven and earth into the hun soul, one can blend all things of heaven and earth into the po soul. Whatever creation finds wondrous is my hun soul, and whatever creation possesses is my po soul, and then there is no single thing that can command me. (The last sentence of the base text, "the liver should be the lung," is a proofreader's marginal note that crept into the text.)
曰：鬼云為魂。鬼白為魄。於文則然。鬼者。人死所變。雲者風。風者木。白者氣。氣者金。風散故輕清。輕清者上天。金堅故重濁。重濁者入地。輕清者。魄從魂升。重濁者。魂從魄降。有以仁升者。為木星佐。有以義升者。為金星佐。有以禮升者。為火星佐。有以智升者。為水星佐。有以信升者。為土星佐。有以不仁沉者。木賊之。不義沉者。金賊之。不禮沉者。火賊之。不智沉者。水賊之。不信沉者。土賊之。魂魄半之。則在人間。升魂為貴。降魄為賤。靈魂為賢。厲魄為愚。輕魂為明。重魄為暗。揚魂為羽。鈍魄為毛。明魂為神。幽魄為鬼。其形其居。其識其好。皆以五行契之。惟五之數。參差不一。所以萬物之多。盈天地間。猶未已也。以五事歸五行。以五行作五蟲。可勝言哉。譬猶兆龜數蓍。至誠自契。五行應之。誠苟不至。兆之數之。無一應者。聖人假物以遊世。五行不得不對。
It is said: the character for hun soul is ghost plus cloud, and for po soul ghost plus white; so it appears from the written forms. A ghost is what a person becomes when he dies; cloud is wind, and wind is wood; white is qi, and qi is metal. Wind disperses and so is light and clear, and what is light and clear rises to heaven; metal is firm and so heavy and turbid, and what is heavy and turbid enters the earth. With the light and clear, the po soul rises with the hun soul; with the heavy and turbid, the hun soul sinks with the po soul. Some rise by benevolence and become aides to the Wood Star; those who rise by righteousness become aides to the Metal Star; those who rise by propriety become aides to the Fire Star; those who rise by wisdom become aides to the Water Star; those who rise by trustworthiness become aides to the Earth Star. Some sink through lack of benevolence, and wood comes to harm them; through lack of righteousness, and metal comes to harm them; through lack of propriety, and fire comes to harm them; through lack of wisdom, and water comes to harm them; through lack of trustworthiness, and earth comes to harm them. When the hun and po souls are half and half, they remain in the human world. The rising hun soul is noble and the sinking po soul is lowly; the numinous hun soul is worthy and the fierce po soul is foolish; the light hun soul is bright and the heavy po soul is dark; the soaring hun soul becomes the feathered kind, and the sluggish po soul becomes the furred kind; the bright hun soul becomes a spirit and the dim po soul becomes a ghost. Their forms, their dwellings, their knowledge and their likes are all matched with the five phases. But the number five is uneven and irregular, so the multitude of things fills the space between heaven and earth and is not yet exhausted. Take the five affairs and assign them to the five phases, take the five phases and make the five kinds of creatures from them: could it ever be told in full? It is like using a turtle shell for omens and milfoil stalks for counting: perfect sincerity naturally matches, and the five phases respond; if sincerity does not reach, then in omens and counting not one place responds. The sage roams the world by borrowing from things, and the five phases cannot but face him.
曰：五者具有魂。魂者識。目者精。色者神。見之者為魂。耳目口鼻心之類在此生者。愛為精。為彼生父本。觀為神。為彼生母本。愛觀雖異。皆同識生。彼生生本在彼生者。一為父。故受氣於父。氣為水。二為母。故受血於母。血為火。有父有母。彼生生矣。惟其愛之無識。如鎖之交。觀之無識。如燈之照。吾識不萌。吾生何有。
It is said: all five possess the hun soul. The hun soul is consciousness; the eye is essence, color is spirit, and what sees is the hun soul. Ears, eyes, mouth, nose and mind, those born here in this way: love is essence, the root of the father of that life; observation is spirit, the root of the mother of that life. Though love and observation differ, both are born from the same consciousness. The root of that life lies in that life: first, the father, so from the father it receives qi, and qi is water; second, the mother, so from the mother it receives blood, and blood is fire. With a father and a mother, that life is born. With love but no consciousness, it is like locks joining; with observation but no consciousness, it is like a lamp shining. If my consciousness does not sprout, what is left of my life?
曰：如桴扣鼓。鼓之形者。我之有也。鼓之聲者。我之感也。桴已往矣。餘聲尚在。終亦不存而已矣。鼓之形如我之精。鼓之聲如我之神。其餘聲者。猶之魂魄。知夫倏往倏來。則五行之氣。我何有焉。
It is said: it is like a drumstick striking a drum. The form of the drum is what I have; the sound of the drum is what I feel. When the stick has passed, the remaining sound is still there, but in the end it does not remain. The form of the drum is like my essence, the sound of the drum is like my spirit, and the remaining sound is like the hun and po souls. Knowing how it suddenly goes and suddenly comes, what then does the qi of the five phases have to do with me?
曰：夫果之有核。必待水火土三者具矣。然後相生不窮。三者不具。如大旱大潦大塊。皆不足以生物。夫精水神火意土。三者本不交。惟人以根合之。故能於其中橫見有事。猶如術祝者。能於至無中見多有事。
It is said: a fruit has a seed, and only when water, fire and earth are all present can they give birth to one another without end. If the three are not all present, such as great drought, great flood or great clods of earth, none of them is enough to give birth to things. Essence is water, spirit is fire, and intention is earth; the three originally do not meet, and only a person joins them with his roots, and so within them he can bring forth affairs of all kinds. It is like a magician who recites spells, who can see many things that exist in the midst of utter non-existence.
曰：魂者木也。木根於冬水而華於夏火。故人之魂藏於夜精。而見於晝神。合乎精。故所見我獨。蓋精未嘗有人。合乎神。故所見人同。蓋神未嘗有我。
It is said: the hun soul is wood. Wood takes root in the winter water and blossoms in the summer fire, so a person's hun soul is stored in the essence of the night and appears in the spirit of the day. When joined to essence, what one sees is only oneself, because essence has never had other persons; when joined to spirit, what one sees is the same as others, because spirit has never had a self.
曰：知夫此身。如夢中身。隨情所見者。可以飛神作我而遊太清。知夫此物。如夢中物。隨情所見者。可以凝精作物而駕八荒。是道也。能見精神而久生。能忘精神而超生。吸氣以養精。如金生水。吸風以養神。如木生火。所以假外以延精神。漱水以養精。精之所以不窮。摩火以養神。神之所以不窮。所以假內以延精神。若夫忘精神而超生者。吾嘗言之矣。
It is said: know that this body is like a body in a dream, following what the feelings see, and you can raise up spirit to make a self and roam in the Great Clarity; know that these things are like things in a dream, following what the feelings see, and you can condense essence to make things and ride the eight wildernesses. This Way can see essence and spirit and live long, and can forget essence and spirit and transcend life. Breathing in qi to nourish essence is like metal giving birth to water; breathing in wind to nourish spirit is like wood giving birth to fire: this is borrowing from outside things to lengthen essence and spirit. Rinsing the mouth with water to nourish essence, and so essence is not exhausted; rubbing to make fire to nourish spirit, and so spirit is not exhausted: this is borrowing from within to lengthen essence and spirit. As for forgetting essence and spirit and transcending life, I have already spoken of it.
曰：人勤於禮者。神不外馳。可以集神。人勤於智者。精不外移。可以攝精。仁則陽而明。可以輕魂。義則陰而冥。可以御魄。
It is said: a person diligent in ritual does not let spirit gallop outward, and can gather spirit; a person diligent in wisdom does not let essence drift outward, and can draw in essence. Benevolence belongs to yang and brightness, and can lighten the hun soul; righteousness belongs to yin and darkness, and can rein in the po soul.
曰：蜣螂轉丸。丸成而精思之。而有蠕白者存丸中。俄去殼而蟬。彼蜣不思。彼蠕奚白。曰：庖人羹蟹。遺一足几上。蟹已羹。而遺足尚動。是生死者。一氣聚散爾。不生不死。而人橫計曰生死。
It is said: the dung beetle rolls a ball of dung, and when the ball is finished it thinks on it intently, and then a white grub exists in the ball, and before long sheds its shell and becomes a cicada. If the beetle did not think of it, how would the grub be white? It is also said: a cook made crab soup, and one leg was left behind on the table. The crab had already been made into soup, but the leg left behind was still moving. Thus life and death are only the gathering and dispersing of one qi. Originally there is no such thing as life or death, but people recklessly calculate and call it life and death.
曰：有死立者。有死坐者。有死臥者。有死病者。有死藥者。等死。無甲乙之殊。若知道之士。不見生。故不見死。
It is said: some die standing, some die sitting, some die lying, some die of illness, some die of medicine. All are death alike, and there is no first or second among them. A scholar who knows the Way does not see life, and so does not see death either.
曰：人之厭生死超生死者。皆是大患也。譬如化人。若有厭生死心。超生死心。止名為妖。不名為道。
It is said: those who loathe life and death and those who try to transcend life and death all suffer great trouble. It is like a person made by illusion: if he had a mind to loathe life and death or to transcend life and death, he would only be called a demon, not the Way.
曰：計生死者。或曰死己有。或曰死己無。或曰死己亦有亦無。或曰死己不有不無。或曰當喜者。或曰當懼者。或曰當任者。或曰當超者。愈變識情。馳騖不已。殊不知我之生死。如馬之手。如牛之翼。本無有。復無無。譬如水火雖犯水火。不能燒之。不能溺之。
It is said: among those who calculate about life and death, some say that after death there already is something, some say that after death there already is nothing, some say that after death there is both something and nothing, and some say that after death there is neither something nor nothing; some say one should rejoice, some say one should fear, some say one should let it be, and some say one should transcend it. They shift and change in consciousness and feeling, galloping without rest. They do not know that my life and death are like the hands of a horse or the wings of an ox, and originally there is no "is" and no "is not." It is like water and fire: even if one offends against water and fire, they cannot burn it, nor drown it.
五鑑鑑者心也
The Five Mirrors: the mirror is the mind.
關尹子曰：心蔽吉凶者。靈鬼攝之。心蔽男女者。淫鬼攝之。心蔽幽憂者。沈鬼攝之。心蔽放逸者。狂鬼攝之。心蔽盟詛者。奇鬼攝之。心蔽藥餌者。物鬼攝之。如是之鬼。或以陰為身。或以幽為身。或以風為身。或以氣為身。或以土偶為身。或以彩畫為身。或以老畜為身。或以敗器為身。彼以其精。此以其精。兩精相搏。則神應之。為鬼所攝者。或解奇事。或解異事。或解瑞事。其人傲然。不曰鬼於躬。惟曰道於躬。久之。或死木。或死金。或死繩。或死井。惟聖人能神神而不神於神。役萬物而執其機。可以會之。可以散之。可以御之。日應萬物。其心寂然。
Guan Yinzi said: one whose mind is covered by good and bad fortune is seized by a numinous ghost; one whose mind is covered by men and women is seized by a lewd ghost; one whose mind is covered by dark worry is seized by a sinking ghost; one whose mind is covered by indulgence is seized by a mad ghost; one whose mind is covered by oaths and curses is seized by a strange ghost; one whose mind is covered by medicines and tonics is seized by a thing ghost. Such ghosts take shadow as their body, or darkness as their body, or wind as their body, or qi as their body, or clay figures as their body, or painted pictures as their body, or old animals as their body, or broken vessels as their body. They use their essence over there, and he uses his essence over here, and when the two essences strike against each other, the spirit responds. One seized by a ghost may be able to explain strange affairs, or unusual affairs, or auspicious affairs, and the person is proud and pleased with himself; he does not say that the ghost is in him, he only says that the Way is in him. After a long time he dies by wood, or by metal, or by a rope, or in a well. Only the sage can be spiritual in spirit without being made spirit-ridden by spirit, command the ten thousand things while holding on to their pivot, can join and can scatter, can rein them in, and every day responds to the ten thousand things while his mind remains still.
曰：無一心。五識並馳。心不可一。無虛心。五行皆具。心不可虛。無靜心。萬化密移。心不可靜。借能一。則二偶之。借能虛。則實滿之。借能靜。則動搖之。惟聖人能斂萬有於一息。無有一物可役我之明徹。散一息於萬有。無有一物可間吾之云為。
It is said: without a mind that is single, the five consciousnesses gallop together, and the mind cannot be single; without a mind that is empty, the five phases are all present, and the mind cannot be empty; without a mind that is still, the ten thousand transformations shift in the dark, and the mind cannot be still. Even if it can be single, two will come to match it; even if it can be empty, fullness will come to fill it; even if it can be still, motion will come to shake it. Only the sage can gather the ten thousand things into one breath so that no single thing can command my clarity; and scatter one breath into the ten thousand things so that no single thing can come between my words and actions.
曰：火千年俄可滅。識千年俄可去。
It is said: a fire that has burned for a thousand years can be put out in a moment; consciousness that has stayed for a thousand years can be removed in a moment.
曰：流者舟也。所以流之者是水非舟。運者車也。所以運之者是牛非車。思者心也。所以思之者是意非心。不知所以然而然。惟不知所以然而然。故其來無從。其往無在。其來無從。其往無在。故能與天地本原。不古不今。
It is said: what moves is the boat, but what makes it move is the water, not the boat; what turns is the cart, but what makes it turn is the ox, not the cart; what thinks is the mind, but what makes it think is intention, not the mind. One does not know why it is so, yet it is so. Precisely because one does not know why it is so, yet it is so, what comes has no place it comes from and what goes has no place it stays. Because what comes has no place it comes from and what goes has no place it stays, it is able to be with the origin of heaven and earth, neither ancient nor modern.
曰：知心無物。則知物無物。知物無物。則知道無物。知道無物。故不遵卓絕之行。不驚微妙之言。
It is said: know that the mind has no thing, and you know that things have no thing; know that things have no thing, and you know that the Way has no thing. Knowing that the Way has no thing, one does not follow outstanding conduct and is not astonished at subtle words.
曰：物我交。心生。兩木摩。火生。不可謂之在我。不可謂之在彼。不可謂之非我。不可謂之非彼。執而彼我之則愚。
It is said: when a thing meets me, the mind arises; when two pieces of wood rub together, fire arises. One cannot say it is in me, one cannot say it is in that, one cannot say it is not me, one cannot say it is not that. To cling to the distinction between that and me is foolishness.
曰：無恃爾所謂利害是非。爾所謂利害是非者。果得利害是非之乎。聖人方且不識不知。而況於爾。
It is said: do not rely on what you call profit and harm, right and wrong. Have what you call profit and harm, right and wrong really been obtained? The sage himself neither recognizes nor knows them, how much less you.
曰：夜之所夢。或長於夜。心無時生於齊者。心之所見皆齊國也。既而之宋之楚之晉之梁。心之所存各異心無方。
It is said: some dreams one has at night are longer than the night itself: the mind has no fixed time. A person born in Qi has in his mind only what he sees in Qi; later he goes to Song, to Chu, to Jin, to Liang, and what his mind holds is different in each: the mind has no fixed place.
曰：善弓者師弓不師羿。善舟者師舟不師○。善心者師心不師聖。
It is said: one who is good at archery takes the bow as his model, not Yi; one who is good at handling a boat takes the boat as his model, not (a character missing in the base text); one who is good at using the mind takes the mind as his model, not the sage.
曰：是非好醜。成敗盈虛。造物者運矣。皆因私識執之而有。於是以無遣之猶存。以非有非無遣之猶存。無曰莫莫爾。無曰渾渾爾猶存。譬猶昔遊再到。記憶宛然。此不可忘不可遣。善去識者。變識為智。變識為智之說。汝知之乎。
It is said: right and wrong, good and ugly, success and failure, fullness and emptiness, all that creation sets turning exists only because of clinging by private consciousness. Then use "nothing" to dismiss it, and it is still there; use "neither something nor nothing" to dismiss it, and it is still there; say "vast and indistinct," say "all blended," and it is still there. It is like going back to a place one once visited, where memory is vivid: this cannot be forgotten and cannot be dismissed. One who is good at removing consciousness turns consciousness into wisdom. Do you know the teaching of turning consciousness into wisdom?
曰：想如思鬼。心栗思盜。心怖曰識。如認黍為稷。認玉為石者。浮游罔象。無所底止。譬睹奇物。生奇物想。生奇物識。此想此識。根不在我。譬如今日。今日而已。至於來日想識殊未可卜。及至來日。紛紛想識。皆緣有生。曰想曰識。
It is said: thought is like this: when you think of a ghost the heart trembles, when you think of a thief the heart is afraid. What is called consciousness is like mistaking broomcorn millet for panicled millet, or jade for stone, floating and drifting, with nothing to settle on. It is like seeing a strange thing, and so producing the thought of a strange thing, and producing the consciousness of a strange thing. This thought and this consciousness have no root in me. It is like today: it is only today, and as for tomorrow, thought and consciousness cannot yet be divined at all; when tomorrow comes, the swarming thoughts and consciousnesses all come following the fact of being alive. This is what is called thought and what is called consciousness.
曰：譬如犀牛望月。月形入角。特因識生。始有月形。而彼真月。初不在角。胸中之天地萬物亦然。知此說者。外不見物。內不見情。
It is said: it is like a rhinoceros gazing at the moon, where the shape of the moon enters its horn; only because consciousness arises is there the shape of the moon, while the real moon was never in the horn. The heaven, earth and ten thousand things in the chest are like this too. One who understands this teaching, outwardly sees no things and inwardly sees no feelings.
曰：物生於土。終變於土。事生於意。終變於意。知夫惟意。則俄是之。俄非之。俄善之。俄惡之。意有變。心無變。意有覺。心無覺。惟一我心。則意者。塵往來爾。事者。欻起滅爾。吾心有大常者存。
It is said: things are born from earth and in the end turn back into earth; affairs are born from intention and in the end turn back into intention. Know that it is only intention, and one will think for a moment it is right, for a moment it is wrong, for a moment it is good, for a moment it is bad. Intention changes, but the mind does not change; intention has awareness, but the mind has no awareness. So long as my mind is single, intention is only dust coming and going, and affairs are only things suddenly arising and ceasing. In my mind that Great Constant remains.
曰：情生於心。心生於性。情波也。心流也。性水也。來幹我者。如石火頃。以性受之。則心不生物浮浮然。
It is said: feeling is born from the mind, and the mind is born from nature. Feeling is the wave, the mind is the current, and nature is the water. What comes to attack me is like the spark struck from a stone, lasting only a moment. Receive it with nature, and the mind does not give rise to things, and things are only drifting.
曰：賢愚真偽。有識者。有不識者。彼雖有賢愚。彼雖有真偽。而謂之賢愚真偽者。系我之識。知夫皆識所成。故雖真者。亦偽之。
It is said: worthy and foolish, true and false, some one can recognize and some one cannot. Although over there there are the worthy and the foolish, although over there there are the true and the false, what calls them worthy and foolish, true and false is tied to my consciousness. Knowing that all are accomplished by consciousness, one treats even what is true as false.
曰：心感物。不生心生情。物交心。不生物生識。物尚非真。何況於識。識尚非真。何況於情。而彼妄人。於至無中。執以為有。於至變中。執以為常。一情認之。積為萬情。萬情認之。積為萬物。物來無窮。我心有際。故我之良心受制於情。我之本情受制於物。可使之去。可使之來。而彼去來。初不在我。造化役之。固無休息。殊不知天地雖大。能役有形。而不能役無形。陰陽雖妙。能役有氣。而不能役無氣。心之所之。則氣從之。氣之所之。則形應之。猶如太虛於一碗中變成萬物。而彼一碗不名太虛。我之一心。能變為氣，能變為形。而我之心無氣無形。知夫我之一心無氣無形。則天地陰陽不能役之。
It is said: when the mind feels a thing, it does not give rise to mind but gives rise to feeling; when a thing meets the mind, it does not give rise to a thing but gives rise to consciousness. Things themselves are not real, how much less consciousness? Consciousness itself is not real, how much less feeling? Yet those deluded people cling in utter non-existence and take it to be existence, and cling in utmost change and take it to be constant. One feeling goes to recognize, and it accumulates into ten thousand feelings; ten thousand feelings go to recognize, and they accumulate into ten thousand things. Things come without end, while my mind has limits, so my good heart is held in check by feeling, and my original feeling is held in check by things; one can let it go and let it come, but the going and coming were never in my hands, and creation drives them without rest. Little do they know that heaven and earth, though great, can command what has form but cannot command what has no form; yin and yang, though wondrous, can command what has qi but cannot command what has no qi. Where the mind goes, qi follows; where qi goes, form responds. It is like the Great Void becoming ten thousand things within a single bowl, and yet that bowl is not called the Great Void. This one mind of mine can turn into qi and can turn into form, and my mind has no qi and no form. Know that this one mind of mine has no qi and no form, and heaven, earth, yin and yang cannot command it.
曰：人之平日。目忽見非常之物者。皆精有所結而使之然。人之病日。目忽見非常之物者。皆心有所歉而使之然。苟知吾心能於無中示有。則知吾心能於有中示無。但不信之。自然不神。或曰厥識既昏。孰能不信。我應之曰：如捕蛇師。心不怖蛇。彼雖夢蛇。而不怖畏。黃帝曰：道無鬼神。獨往獨來。
It is said: when a person is in ordinary days and his eyes suddenly see an extraordinary thing, it is because his essence has formed a knot that makes him so; when a person is sick and his eyes suddenly see an extraordinary thing, it is because his mind has some shortcoming that makes him so. If one knows that my mind can show existence within non-existence, one knows that my mind can show non-existence within existence. So long as one does not believe it, it naturally is not spiritual. Someone says: that consciousness is already dim, who can still not believe it? I answer: like a master snake catcher whose heart does not fear snakes, even if he dreams of a snake he is not afraid. The Yellow Emperor said: the Way has no ghosts or spirits, and goes alone and comes alone.
曰：我之思慮日變。有使之者。非我也。命也。苟知惟命。外不見我。內不見心。
It is said: my thoughts change day by day, and what makes them so is not me but fate. If one knows it is only fate, outwardly one does not see a self, and inwardly one does not see a mind.
曰：譬如兩目。能見天地萬物。暫時回光。一時不見。
It is said: it is like two eyes that can see the heaven, earth and ten thousand things; when they turn their light back for a moment, for that moment they see nothing at all.
曰：目視雕琢者明愈傷。耳聞交響者聰愈傷。心思元妙者心愈傷。
It is said: when the eyes gaze on what is carved and ornamented, clear sight is hurt all the more; when the ears listen to what is a clamor of sounds, sharp hearing is hurt all the more; when the mind ponders the mysterious (the base text reads "original and wondrous," where "original" stands for "mysterious," meaning deep and unfathomable), the mind is hurt all the more.
曰：勿以我心揆彼。當以彼心揆彼。知此說者可以周事。可以行德。可以貫道。可以交人。可以忘我。
It is said: do not use my mind to measure him; you should use his mind to measure him. One who understands this teaching can handle affairs completely, can practice virtue, can penetrate the Way, can associate with others, and can forget the self.
曰：天下之理。小不制而至於大。大不制而至於不可制。故能制一情者。可以成德。能忘一情者。可以契道。
It is said: the principle of the world is that the small, if not checked, will grow to the great, and the great, if not checked, will grow to what cannot be checked. So one who can check a single feeling can complete virtue; one who can forget a single feeling can accord with the Way.
六匕匕者食也食者形也
The Six Spoons: the spoon is food; food is form.
關尹子曰：世之人。以我思異彼思彼思異我思分人我者。殊不知夢中人亦我思異彼思。彼思異我思。孰為我。孰為人。世之人。以我痛異彼痛彼痛異我痛分人我者。殊不知夢中人亦我痛異彼痛。彼痛異我痛。孰為我。孰為人。爪發不痛。手足不思。亦我也。豈可以思痛異之。世之人。以獨見者為夢。同見者為覺。殊不知精之所結。亦有一人獨見於晝者。神之所合。亦有兩
Guan Yinzi said: people of the world, because my thought differs from his thought and his thought differs from my thought, divide self from other. Little do they know that the people in a dream also have my thought differing from his thought and his thought differing from my thought: which is the self and which is the other? People of the world, because my pain differs from his pain and his pain differs from my pain, divide self from other. Little do they know that the people in a dream also have my pain differing from his pain and his pain differing from my pain: which is the self and which is the other? The nails and hair feel no pain, the hands and feet do not think, and they are also me; could one exclude them because thought and pain differ? People of the world call what is seen alone a dream and what is seen together being awake. Little do they know that where essence congeals, there is also one person who sees alone in the daytime; where spirit gathers, there are also two
人同夢於夜者。二者皆我精神。孰為夢。孰為覺。世之人以暫見者為夢。久見者為覺。殊不知暫之所見者陰陽之碗。久之所見者亦陰陽之碗。二者皆我陰陽。孰為夢。孰為覺。
(Guan Yinzi continued:) people who dream together at night. Both are my essence and spirit: which is the dream and which is waking? People of the world call what is seen briefly a dream and what is seen for long being awake. Little do they know that what is seen briefly is the bowl of yin and yang, and what is seen for long is also the bowl of yin and yang. Both are my yin and yang: which is the dream and which is waking?
曰：好仁者多夢松柏桃李。好義者多夢兵刀金鐵。好禮者多夢簠簋籩豆。好智者多夢江湖川澤。好信者多夢山嶽原野。役於五行。未有不然者。然夢中或聞某事。或思某事。夢亦隨變。五行不可拘。聖人御物以心。攝心以性。則心同造化。五行亦不可拘。
It is said: those who love benevolence often dream of pines, cypresses, peach and plum trees; those who love righteousness often dream of soldiers, blades, gold and iron; those who love propriety often dream of ritual vessels; those who love wisdom often dream of rivers, lakes, streams and marshes; those who love trustworthiness often dream of mountains, peaks, plains and wilds. Commanded by the five phases, none is otherwise. Yet in a dream, if one hears of some matter or recalls some matter, the dream also changes with it, and then the five phases cannot hold one. The sage uses things but commands them with the mind, uses the mind but gathers it in with nature, and then the mind is the same as creation, and the five phases cannot hold him.
曰：汝見蛇首人身者。牛臂魚鱗者。鬼形禽翼者。汝勿怪。此怪不及夢。夢怪不及覺。有耳有目有手有臂。怪尤矣。大言不能言。大智不能思。
It is said: when you see a snake-headed human body, an ox-armed fish-scaled figure, or a ghost-shaped bird-winged one, do not find it strange. These oddities do not compare with dreams, and the oddities of dreams do not compare with waking. To have ears, eyes, hands and arms is the greater oddity. Great speech cannot be spoken, and great wisdom cannot be thought.
曰：有人問於我曰：爾何族。何氏。何名。何字。何食。何衣。何友。何僕。何琴。何書。何古。何今。我時默然。不對一字。或人扣之不已。我不得已而應之曰：尚自不見我。將何為我所。
It is said: someone asked me: what clan are you, what family, what name, what style, what do you eat, what do you wear, what friends do you make, what servants do you use, what zither do you play, what books do you read, what of the ancient and what of the modern is on your body? At the time I was silent and answered not one word. The person kept asking without end, and only when I had no choice did I answer: I cannot even see myself, so what would I take as mine?
曰：形可分可合。可延可隱。一夫一婦。可生二子。形可分。一夫一婦。二人成一子。形可合。食巨勝則壽。形可延。夜無月火。人不見我。形可隱。以一碗生萬物。猶棄發可換。所以分形。以一碗合萬物。猶破唇可補。所以合形。以神存碗。以碗存形。所以延形。合形於神。合神於無。所以隱形。汝欲知之乎。汝欲為之乎。
It is said: form can be divided and can be joined, can be lengthened and can be hidden. A husband and wife can give birth to two children, and form can be divided; a husband and wife, two persons, become one child, and form can be joined. Eating sesame seed brings long life, and form can be lengthened; at night when there is no moon and no fire, people cannot see me, and form can be hidden. To produce ten thousand things from one bowl is like discarded hair that can be replaced, and so one can divide form; to join ten thousand things in one bowl is like a split lip that can be mended, and so one can join form. Preserve the bowl with spirit and preserve form with the bowl, and so one can lengthen form; join form to spirit and join spirit to nothingness, and so one can hide form. Do you want to know it? Do you want to do it?
曰：無有一物不可見。則無一物非吾之見。無有一物不可聞。則無一物非吾之聞。五物可以養形。無一物非吾之形。五味可以養氣。無一物非吾之氣。是故吾之形氣。天地萬物。
It is said: there is not one thing that cannot be seen, so there is not one thing that is not my seeing; there is not one thing that cannot be heard, so there is not one thing that is not my hearing. Five kinds of things can nourish form, and there is not one that is not my form; five flavors can nourish qi, and there is not one that is not my qi. So my form and qi are the heaven, earth and ten thousand things.
曰：耕夫習牛則獷。獵夫習虎則勇。漁夫習水則沈。戰夫習馬則健。萬物可為我。我之一身。內變蟯蛔。外烝蝨蚤。瘕則龜魚。○則鼠蟻。我可為萬物。
It is said: one who tills the fields, being familiar with oxen, becomes rough; one who hunts, being familiar with tigers, becomes fierce; one who fishes, being familiar with water, becomes able to sink; one who fights, being familiar with horses, becomes strong. The ten thousand things can become me. This one body of mine, inside turns into pinworms and roundworms, and outside steams out lice and fleas; lumps in the belly turn into turtles and fish, and (a character missing in the base text) turn into rats and ants. I can become the ten thousand things.
曰：我之為我。如灰中金。而不若礦砂之金。破礦得金。淘沙得金。揚灰終身。無得金者。
It is said: what makes me me is like gold in ashes, but not as good as gold in ore. Break the ore and one gets gold, wash the sand and one gets gold, but toss the ashes all one's life and one never gets any gold.