Chuan Xi Lu (傳習錄) · Volume 3

○言語無序，亦足以見心之不存。

When speech has no order, that is enough to show that the mind is not kept in place.

○尚謙問，「孟子之不動心與告子異」。先生曰，「告子是硬把捉著此心，要他不動。孟子卻是集義到自然不動」。又曰，「心之本體原自不動。心之本體即是性。性即是理。性元不動。理元不動。集義是復其心之本體」。

Xue Kan (courtesy name Shangqian) asked: "Mencius's unmoved mind differs from Gaozi's." The Master said: "Gaozi forcibly grasps this mind and wants it not to move. Mencius accumulates righteousness until it is naturally unmoved." He also said: "The original substance of the mind is itself unmoving. The original substance of the mind is nature. Nature is principle. Nature is originally unmoving and principle is originally unmoving. Accumulating righteousness is restoring the original substance of the mind."

○萬象森然時亦沖漠無朕沖漠無朕，即萬象森然。沖漠無朕者一之父。萬象森然者精之母。一中有精。精中有一。

When the myriad phenomena stand in array, it is also void and without trace; being void and without trace is the myriad phenomena standing in array. Void and without trace is the father of the One, and the myriad phenomena standing in array is the mother of the refined. In the One there is the refined, and in the refined there is the One.

○心外無物。如吾心發一念孝親，即孝親便是物。

Outside the mind there is no thing. For instance, when my mind gives rise to a thought of serving my parents, then serving my parents is the thing.

○先生曰，「今為吾所謂格物之學者，尚多流於口耳。況為口耳之學者，能反於此乎？天理人慾，其精微必時時用力省察克治，方日漸有見。如今一說話之間，雖只講天理。不知心中倏忽之間，已有多少私慾。蓋有竊發而不知者。雖用力察之，尚不易見。況徒口講而可得盡知乎？今只管講天理來頓放著不循，講人慾來頓放著不去，豈格物致知之學？後世之學，其極至，只做得個義襲而取的工夫」。

The Master said: "Those who now practice what I call the learning of the investigation of things still mostly drift into mouth-and-ear learning. How then can those who practice only mouth-and-ear learning turn back to this? In the subtlety of heavenly principle and human desire, one must at all times apply effort to examine and conquer oneself in order to see gradually more each day. Now even as we speak, though only discussing heavenly principle, we do not know how many private desires have already arisen in the mind in a flash. Some arise secretly without one knowing. Even when applying effort to examine them, they are not easy to see; how much less can one know them all merely by lecturing? Now to go on lecturing about heavenly principle and leave it aside without following it, to lecture about human desire and leave it aside without removing it, is that the learning of investigating things and extending knowledge? At its utmost, the later learning only accomplishes the work of acquiring righteousness by borrowing."

○問，「知止者，知至善只在吾心，元不在外也，而後志定」。曰，「然」。

Asked: "Knowing where to rest means knowing that the highest good is only in my own mind and was originally not outside, and only then is the aim settled." The Master said: "Right."

○問格物。先生曰，「格者，正也。正其不正，以歸於正也」。

Asked about the investigation of things. The Master said: "To investigate is to rectify. It is to rectify what is not correct so as to return to correctness."

○問，「格物於動處用功否」？先生曰，「格物無間動靜。靜亦物也。孟子謂『必有事焉』。是動靜皆有事」。

Asked: "Is the investigation of things done in movement?" The Master said: "The investigation of things does not depend on movement or stillness. Stillness is also a thing. When Mencius says 'one must be at work on it,' it means there is work in both movement and stillness."

○工夫難處，全在格物致知上。此即誠意之事。意既誠，大段心亦自正，身亦自修。但正心修身工夫，亦各有用力處。修身是日發邊。正心是未發邊。心正則中。身修則和。

The hard part of the work lies entirely in the investigation of things and extension of knowledge. This is the matter of making the will sincere. When the will is sincere, in general the mind is naturally rectified and the person naturally cultivated. But the work of rectifying the mind and cultivating the person also each have their own place for effort. Cultivating the person is on the side of the manifested, and rectifying the mind is on the side of the unmanifested. A rectified mind is the center, and a cultivated person is harmony.

○自格物致知至平天下，只是一個明明德。雖親民亦明德事也。明德是此心之德，即是仁。「仁者以天地萬物為一體」。使有一物失所，便是吾仁有未盡處。

From the investigation of things and extension of knowledge to bringing peace to the world, it is only one thing, making bright the bright virtue. Even loving the people is a matter of bright virtue. Bright virtue is the virtue of this mind, which is benevolence (ren; the vital impulse by which people and things are mutually responsive, which the term "benevolent love" cannot replace). "The benevolent take heaven, earth and the myriad things as one body." If one thing fails to find its place, then there is something in my benevolence that is not yet complete.

○只說明明德而不說親民，便似老佛。

To speak only of making bright virtue bright and not of loving the people is like Laozi, Zhuangzi and the Buddhists.

○至善者性。性元無一毫之惡，故曰至善。止之，是復其本然而已。

The highest good is nature ([character lost in transcription]). Nature originally has not a hair of evil, so it is called the highest good. To rest in it is only to return to its original state.

○問，「知至善即吾性。吾性具吾心。吾心乃至善所止之地。則不為向時之紛然外求，而定則不擾，不擾而靜。靜而不妄動則安。安則一心一意只在此處。千思萬想，務求必得此至善。是能慮而得矣。如此說是否」？先生曰，「大略亦是」。

Asked: "When one knows that the highest good is my own nature, that my nature is complete in my mind, and that my mind is the place where the highest good rests, then one no longer seeks outward in a muddle as before, and when settled one is not disturbed, not being disturbed one is still, being still and not moving rashly one is at ease, and being at ease one's whole mind is only here, thinking a thousand times and ten thousand times, striving to obtain this highest good; this is being able to deliberate and attain. Is this right?" The Master said: "Roughly so."

○問，「程子云，『仁者以天地萬物為一體』。何墨氏兼愛，反不得謂之仁」？先生曰，「此亦甚難言。須是諸君自體認出來始得。仁是造化生生不息之理。雖瀰漫周遍，無處不是。然其流行發生，亦只有個漸。所以生生不息。如冬至一陽生。必自一陽生，而後漸漸至於六陽，若無一陽之生，豈有六陽？陰亦然。惟有漸，所以便有個發端處。惟其有個發端處，所以生。惟其生，所以不息。譬之木。其始抽芽，便是木之生意發端處。抽芽然後發乾。發乾然後生枝生葉。然後是生生不息。若無芽，何以有幹有枝葉？能抽芽，必是下面有個根在。有根方生。無根便死。無根何從抽芽？父子兄弟之愛，便是人心生意發端處。如木之抽芽。自此而仁民，而愛物。便是發乾生枝生葉。墨氏兼愛無苦等。將自家父子兄弟與途人一般看。便自沒了發端處。不抽芽，便知得他無根。便不是生生不息。安得謂之仁？孝弟為仁之本。卻是仁理從裡面發生出來」。

Asked: "Master Cheng said 'the benevolent take heaven, earth and the myriad things as one body.' Why is it that Mo Zi's universal love cannot be called benevolence?" The Master said: "This is also hard to explain. You gentlemen must recognize it yourselves. Benevolence is the principle of creative life that never ceases. Though it pervades everywhere and there is no place it is not, its flowing and arising also has gradualness. So it is unceasing. As with the one yang that arises at the winter solstice: it must begin with one yang and then gradually reach six yangs; without the arising of one yang, where would the six yangs come from? Yin is the same. Precisely because there is gradualness, there is a place of beginning. Precisely because there is a place of beginning, there is arising. Precisely because there is arising, it is unceasing. Take a tree: when it begins to sprout, that is the place where the tree's vital impulse begins. After sprouting it puts out a trunk, after the trunk it puts out branches and leaves, and then there is unceasing growth. If there were no sprout, how could there be trunk, branches and leaves? To be able to sprout there must be a root below. With a root it lives; without a root it dies. Without a root, where would it sprout? The love between father and son and brothers is the place where the vital impulse of the human heart begins, like the sprouting of a tree. From here one extends to loving the people and cherishing things, which is putting out the trunk, branches and leaves. Mo Zi's universal love makes no distinctions, treating his own father, son and brothers like passers-by, and so he has no place of beginning. If it does not sprout, one knows he has no root, and it is not unceasing growth; how can it be called benevolence? Filial piety and brotherly respect are the root of benevolence, yet it is the principle of benevolence that arises from within."

○問，「延平云，『當理而無私心』。當理與無私心，如何分別」？先生曰，「心即理也。無私心，即是當理。未當理，便是私心。若析心與理言之，恐亦未善」。又問，「釋氏於世間一切情慾之私，都不染著。似無私心。但外棄人倫。卻是未當理」。曰，「亦只是一統事。都只是成就他一個私己的心」。

Asked: "Yanping said 'accord with principle and have no private mind.' How do accord with principle and no private mind differ?" The Master said: "Mind is principle. To have no private mind is to accord with principle. Not yet according with principle is having a private mind. If one separates mind and principle and discusses them apart, probably that is also not appropriate." Asked again: "The Buddhists are not attached to any of the private worldly feelings and desires, and seem to have no private mind. But they abandon human relationships outwardly, which is not yet according with principle." The Master said: "It is also one and the same thing, all only fulfilling a private self-regarding mind."

○侃問，「持志如心痛。一心在痛人安有工夫說閒語，管閒事」？先生曰，「初學工夫如此用亦好。但要使知『出入無時，莫知其鄉』。心之神明，原是如此。工伕力有著落。若只死死守著著，恐於工夫上又發病」。

Xue Kan asked: "Holding to one's aim is like a heart pain. With the whole mind in the pain, where is the time to speak idly or to meddle in idle matters?" The Master said: "For a beginner's work, applying it this way is good. But one must also let people know that 'it goes out and comes in at no fixed time, and no one knows its abode.' The spiritual brightness of the mind is originally like this. Then the work has a place to settle. If one only clings to it rigidly, I fear the work will again get sick."

○侃問，「專涵養而不務講求，將認欲作理。則如之何」？先生曰，「人須是知學講求，亦只是涵養。不講求，只是涵養之志不切」。曰，「何謂知學」？曰，「且道為何而學？學個甚」？曰，「嘗聞先生教。學是學存天理。心之本體，即是天理。體認天理，只要自心地無私意」。曰，「如此則只須克去私意便是。又愁甚理欲不明」？曰，「正恐這些私意認不真」？曰，「總是志未切。志切，目視耳聽皆在此。安有認不真的道理？是非之心，人皆有之。不假外求。講求亦只是體當自心所見。不成去心外別有個見」。

Xue Kan asked: "If one focuses on nourishing and does not work at study and discussion, one will mistake desire for principle; what then?" The Master said: "A person must know what learning is. Study and discussion too are only nourishing. If one does not discuss, it is only that the aim of nourishing is not earnest." Asked: "What is knowing learning?" The Master said: "Say, what do you learn for? What do you learn?" He said: "I have heard the Master teach that learning is learning to preserve heavenly principle. The original substance of the mind is heavenly principle. To recognize heavenly principle, one need only have no private will in one's mind." The Master said: "In that case one need only remove private will, and why worry about not clearly seeing principle and desire?" He said: "I fear that I cannot identify these private wills accurately." The Master said: "It is all that the aim is not yet earnest. When the aim is earnest, what the eyes see and the ears hear are all here; how could one fail to identify them accurately? The sense of right and wrong is in everyone and is not sought from outside. Study and discussion too are only embodying what one sees in one's own mind; is there some other seeing outside the mind?"

○先生問在坐之友，此來工夫何似？一友舉虛明意思。先生曰，「此是說光景」。一友敘今昔異同。先生曰，「此是說效驗」。二友惘然。請是。先生曰，「吾翡今日用功，只是要為善之心真切。此心真切，見善即遷，有過即改，力是真切工夫。如此則人慾日消，天理日明。若只管求光景，說效驗，卻是助長外馳病痛，不是工夫」。

The Master asked the friends present how their work was lately. One friend raised the idea of emptiness and brightness. The Master said: "This is speaking of scenery." Another friend described the differences between past and present. The Master said: "This is speaking of effects." The two friends were at a loss and asked what the right way was. The Master said: "Our work today is only that the mind to do good be sincere. When this mind is sincere, on seeing good one moves toward it and on having a fault one corrects it; this is truly sincere work. Then human desire diminishes day by day and heavenly principle brightens day by day. If one only seeks scenery and speaks of effects, that is aiding the illness of racing outward, and is not work."

○朋友觀書，多有摘議晦庵者。先生曰，「是有心求異，即不是。吾說與晦庵時有不同者，為入門下手處有毫釐千里之分。不得不辯。然吾之心與晦庵之心，未嘗異也。若其餘文羲解得明當處，如何動得一字」？

Friends reading books often pointed out and criticized Zhu Xi (Huian). The Master said: "This is deliberately seeking difference and is wrong. What I say sometimes differs from Huian because at the point of entering and starting there is a difference of a hair's breadth that becomes a thousand li, and I cannot but argue it. Yet my mind and Huian's mind have never differed. Where he explained the meaning of texts clearly and appropriately, how could one change a single character?"

○希淵問，「聖人可學而至。然伯夷伊尹於孔子，才力終不同。其同謂之聖者安在」？先生曰，聖人之所以為聖，只是其心純乎天理，而無人慾之雜。猶精金之所以為精，但以其成色足而無銅鉛之雜也。人到純乎天理方是聖。金到足色方是精。然聖人之才力，亦有大小不同。猶金之分兩有輕重。堯舜猶萬鎰。文王孔子猶九千鎰。禹湯武王猶七八千鎰。伯夷伊尹猶四五千鎰。才力不同，而純乎天理則同。皆可謂之聖人。猶分兩雖不同，而足色則同。皆可謂之精金。以五千鎰者而人於萬鎰之中，其足色同也。以夷尹而廁之堯孔之間。其純乎天理同也。蓋所以為精金者，在足角，而不在分兩。所以為聖者，在純乎天理，而不在才力也。故雖凡人。而肯為學，使此心純乎天理，則亦可為聖人。猶一兩之金，此之萬鎰。分兩雖懸絕，而其到足色處，可以無愧。故曰『人皆可以為堯舜』者以此。學者學聖人，不過是去人慾而存天理耳。猶鍊金而求其足色。金之成色，所爭不多，則煅煉之工省，而功易成。成色愈下，則煅煉愈難。人之氣質，清濁粹駁。有中人以上，中人以下。其於道，有生知安行，學知利行，其下者，必須人一己百，人十己千。及其成功則一。後世不知作聖之本是純乎天理。卻專去知識才能上求聖人。以為聖人無所不知，無所不能。我須是將聖人許多知識才能，逐一理會始得。故不務去天理上看工夫。徒弊精竭力。從冊子上鑽研，名物上考索，形逃上此擬。知識愈廣而人慾愈滋。才力愈多而天理愈蔽。正如見人有萬鎰精金，不務煅煉成色，求無愧於彼之精純。而乃妄希分兩，務同彼之萬鎰。錫鉛銅鐵，雜然而投。分兩愈增，而成色愈下。既其梢末，無復有金矣」。時曰仁在傍曰，「先生此喻，足以破世儒支離之惑。大有功於後學」。先生又曰，「吾輩用力，只求日減，不求日增。

Cai Xiyuan asked: "A sage can be reached by learning. But Boyi and Yi Yin, compared with Confucius, differ in talent and strength after all. They are alike called sages; on what basis?" The Master said: "The reason a sage is a sage is only that his mind is purely heavenly principle, without any admixture of human desire. Just as pure gold is pure only because its fineness is complete and it has no admixture of copper or lead. A person is a sage when he is purely heavenly principle, as gold is pure when its fineness is full. But the sage's talent and strength also differ in size, as gold differs in weight. Yao and Shun are like ten thousand yi, King Wen and Confucius like nine thousand yi, Yu, Tang and King Wu like seven or eight thousand yi, and Boyi and Yi Yin like four or five thousand yi. Talent and strength differ, but being purely heavenly principle is the same, and all can be called sages. Just as though weights differ, the fullness of fineness is the same, and all can be called pure gold. Put a five-thousand-yi piece among ten-thousand-yi pieces, and its full fineness is the same; put Boyi and Yi Yin between Yao and Confucius, and their being purely heavenly principle is the same. What makes it pure gold is full fineness, not weight; what makes one a sage is being purely heavenly principle, not talent and strength. So even an ordinary person who is willing to learn, making this mind purely heavenly principle, can also become a sage. Like a one-liang piece of gold compared with ten thousand yi: though the weight is vastly different, when it comes to full fineness it has nothing to be ashamed of. So it is said 'everyone can become a Yao or Shun,' and the basis is here. For learners to learn from the sage is only to remove human desire and preserve heavenly principle, like refining gold to seek full fineness. If the gold's fineness is not much lacking, the work of refining is little and the effect easily achieved. The lower the fineness, the harder the refining. People's physical endowments, clear or turbid, pure or mixed, are above or below the average. As for the Way, some know by birth and act with ease, some learn to know and act for benefit, and those lower must do a hundred where others do one and a thousand where others do ten, but when they succeed it is the same. Later people did not know that the root of becoming a sage is being purely heavenly principle, and went to seek the sage in knowledge and ability alone, thinking that the sage knows everything and can do everything and that I must master all the sage's many kinds of knowledge and ability one by one. So they do not work on heavenly principle, and only wear out their spirits and exhaust their strength, delving into books, searching among names and things, and comparing outward traces. The wider the knowledge, the more human desire grows; the more the talent, the more heavenly principle is obscured. It is exactly like seeing someone with ten thousand yi of pure gold, and not working on refining one's own fineness to be worthy of his purity, but recklessly seeking weight and insisting on matching his ten thousand, throwing in tin, lead, copper and iron in a jumble; as the weight grows the fineness declines, and when it is finally melted down there is no gold left." At that time Xu Ai was beside him and said: "This metaphor of the Master's is enough to dispel the confusion of the fragmenting worldly Confucians, and is of great merit to later learners." The Master also said: "In our effort, we seek only daily reduction and not daily increase.

減得一分人慾，便是復得一分天理。何等輕快脫灑？何等簡易」？

(The Master continued:) Reduce one measure of human desire and you regain one measure of heavenly principle. How light and free is that? How simple and easy?"

○士德問曰，「格物之說，如先生所教，明白簡易，人人見得。文公聰明絕世，於此反有未審。何也」？先生曰，「文公精神氣魄大。是他早年合下便要繼往開來。故一向只就考索著述上用功。若先切己自修，自然不暇及此。到得德盛後，果憂道之不明，如孔子退修六籍，刪繁就簡，開示來學，亦大段不費甚考索。文公早歲便著許多書。晚年方悔是倒做了」。士德曰，「晚年之悔，如謂『向來定本之悟』。又謂『雖讀得書，何益於吾事』？又謂『此與守書籍，泥言語，全無交涉』，是他到此方悔從前用功之錯，方去切己自修矣」。曰，「然。此是文公不可及處。他力量大。一悔便轉。可惜不久即去世。平日許多錯處皆不及改正」。

Yang Shide asked: "The doctrine of the investigation of things, as the Master teaches it, is clear, simple and visible to everyone. Wengong (Zhu Xi) was of unparalleled intelligence; why was he, on the contrary, not clear on this?" The Master said: "Wengong's spirit and stature were great. In his early years he wished to carry on the past and open the future, so he always worked on research and writing. If he had first earnestly cultivated himself, he would naturally not have had time to look into these things. After his virtue was abundant, if he had truly been anxious about the Way not being clear, as Confucius withdrew to edit the Six Classics, cutting the complex down to the simple and revealing it to later learners, he would in general not have spent much on research. Wengong wrote many books in his early years, and only in his later years regretted that this was doing things backwards." Shide said: "His later regret, as when he said 'the error of the fixed text I made before' (the base text has "wu", an error for "wu" meaning error), and also said 'though I have read books, what benefit has it been to my own matter,' and also said 'this has no connection at all with guarding books and clinging to words,' was when he regretted the mistake of his earlier effort and began to cultivate himself earnestly." The Master said: "Yes. This is what cannot be matched in Wengong. His strength was great and he turned at once on regret. It is a pity that he died soon after, and the many mistakes of his ordinary days he had no time to correct."

○侃去花問草。因曰，「天地間何善難培，惡難去」？先生曰，「未培未去耳」。少間曰，「此等看善惡，皆從軀殼起念。便會錯」。侃未達。曰，「天地生意，花草一般。何曾有善惡之分？子欲觀花，則以花為善，以草為惡。如欲用草時，復以草為善矣。此等善惡，皆由汝心好惡所生。故知是錯」。曰，「然則無善無惡乎」？曰，「無善無惡者理之靜。有善有惡者氣之動。不動於氣，即無善無惡。是謂至善」。曰，「佛氏亦無善無惡。何以異」？曰，「佛氏著在無善無惡上，便一切都不管。不可以治天下。聖人無善無惡。只是無有作好，無有作惡。不動於氣。然遵王之道，會其有極。便自一循天理。便有個裁成輔相」。曰，「草既非惡，即草不宜去矣」？曰，「如此卻是佛老意見。草若是礙，何妨汝去」？曰，「如此又是作好作惡」。曰，「不作好惡，非是全無好惡。卻是無知覺的人。謂之不作者，只是好惡一循於理。不去，又著一分意思。如此即是不曾好惡一般」。曰，「去草如何是一循於埋，不看意思」？曰，「草有妨礙，理亦宜去。去之而已。偶未即去，亦不累心。若著了一分意思，即心體便有貽累，便有許多動氣處」。曰，「然則善惡全不在物」。曰，「只在汝心。循理便是善。動氣便是惡」。曰，「畢竟抑無善惡」。曰，「在心如此。在物亦然，世儒惟不知此，舍心逐物。將格物之學錯看了。絳日馳求於外，只做得個義襲而取。終身行不著，習不察」。曰，「如好好色，如惡惡臭，則如何」？曰，「此正是一循於理。是天理合如此。本無私意作好作惡」。曰，「如好好色，如惡惡臭。安得非意」？曰，「卻是誠意。不是私意。誠意只是循天理。雖是循天理，亦看不得一分意。故有所念懥好樂，則不得其正。須是廓然大公，方是心之本體。

Xue Kan was weeding the grass among the flowers and said: "Why is it that in the world goodness is hard to cultivate and evil hard to remove?" The Master said: "It is just that you have not yet cultivated it and not yet removed it." After a while he said: "To look at good and evil this way is to form thoughts from the bodily shell, and that is a mistake." Xue Kan did not understand. The Master said: "The life-force of Heaven and Earth is the same for flowers and grass; when did it ever distinguish good from evil? If you wish to look at flowers, you take the flowers as good and the grass as evil. If you need the grass, you take the grass as good. This good and evil arises from your heart's likes and dislikes, so know that it is a mistake." He asked: "Then is there neither good nor evil?" The Master said: "Neither good nor evil is the stillness of principle; having good and evil is the movement of qi. If one is not moved by qi, there is neither good nor evil; this is called the highest good." He asked: "The Buddhists also have neither good nor evil; what is the difference?" The Master said: "The Buddhists cling to neither good nor evil, and so they care about nothing, and cannot govern the world. The sage has neither good nor evil only in that he has no making of likes and no making of dislikes, and is not moved by qi. Yet he follows the way of the kings and meets the supreme ultimate, so he naturally follows Heavenly principle in everything, and then there is a shaping and assisting." He asked: "If the grass is not evil, should it not be left alone?" The Master said: "That would be the view of the Buddhists and Daoists. If the grass is in the way, what harm is there in your removing it?" He asked: "That would again be making likes and dislikes." The Master said: "Not making likes and dislikes does not mean having no likes and dislikes at all, which would make one a person without awareness. 'Not making' means only that likes and dislikes entirely follow principle, without adding any further intention. Then it is as if one had not liked or disliked at all." He asked: "How is removing the grass entirely following principle without adding intention?" The Master said: "If the grass is a hindrance, principle too says it should be removed, so remove it and that is all. If by chance it is not removed at once, the heart is not burdened. If you add a trace of intention, the substance of the heart is burdened, and there are many places where qi is moved." He asked: "Then good and evil are not in things at all." The Master said: "They are only in your heart. Following principle is good, and being moved by qi is evil." He asked: "In the end, things have no good or evil." The Master said: "It is so in the heart, and so also in things. Worldly scholars simply do not know this; they abandon the heart and chase things, and have misread the learning of investigating things. All day they gallop outward in search and only manage to take things by borrowed righteousness, and all their lives they act without knowing and practice without examining." He asked: "What about 'loving beauty as one loves beauty, hating a bad smell as one hates a bad smell'?" The Master said: "That is precisely following principle entirely: it is as Heavenly principle should be, and originally there is no private intention making likes and dislikes." He asked: "How can 'loving beauty as one loves beauty, hating a bad smell as one hates a bad smell' not be intention?" The Master said: "It is sincere intention, not private intention. Sincere intention is only following Heavenly principle. Even following Heavenly principle, one cannot add a trace of intention. So when there is anger, resentment, liking or pleasure, one does not attain correctness. One must be open, vast and impartial; only then is it the original substance of the heart.

知此即知未發之中」，伯生曰，「先生云，『草有妨礙，理亦宜去』。緣何又是軀殼起念」？曰，「此須汝心自體當。汝要去草，是甚麼心？周茂叔窗前草不除，是甚麼心」？

(The Master continued:) Knowing this is knowing the center before it is manifested." Meng Bosheng said: "The Master said that 'if grass is a hindrance, principle too says it should be removed.' Why is that again forming thoughts from the bodily shell?" The Master said: "This you must come to understand in your own heart. When you want to remove grass, what heart is it? When Zhou Dunyi (Maoshu) did not remove the grass before his window, what heart was that?"

○先生謂學者曰，「為學須得個頭腦工夫，方有看落。縱未能無間，如舟之有舵，一提便醒。不然，雖從事於學，只做個義襲而取。只是行不著，習不察，非大本達道也」。又曰，「見得時，橫說豎說皆是。若於此處通，彼處不通，只是未見得」。

The Master said to the students: "In learning one must have the work of a guiding principle, and only then is there something to rely on. Even if it is not yet without interruption, it is like a boat with a rudder: one lift and it is awake. Otherwise, though one engages in learning, one only manages to take things by borrowed righteousness, acting without knowing and practicing without examining; this is not the great root or the penetrating Way." He also said: "When one sees it, to speak across or down is all right. If it is clear here but not clear there, one has simply not yet seen it."

○或問，「為學以親故，不免業舉之累」。先生曰，「以親之故而業舉為累於學，則治田以養其親者亦有累於學乎？先正云，『惟患奪志』。但恐為學之志不真切耳」。

Someone asked: "In learning, for the sake of my parents I cannot avoid being burdened by the civil service examinations." The Master said: "If taking the examinations for the sake of one's parents burdens learning, then does a farmer who plows to support his parents also burden learning? The former worthies said: 'The only worry is that the will is taken away.' The only fear is that one's will in learning is not genuine."

○崇一問，「尋常意思多忙。有事固忙，無事亦忙。何也」？先生曰，「天地氣機，元無一息之停。然有個主宰。故不先不後，不急不緩。雖千變萬化，而主宰常定。人得此而生。若主宰定時，與天運一般不忌。雖酬酢萬變，常是從容自在。所謂『天君泰然，百體從令』。若無主宰，便只是這氣奔放。如何不忙」？

Ouyang Chongyi asked: "My ordinary state of mind is mostly busy. When there is work, I am busy; when there is none, I am also busy. Why?" The Master said: "The workings of qi in Heaven and Earth have never stopped for a single breath. Yet there is a master, so that nothing is earlier or later, hurried or slow. Though it changes a thousand ways, the master is always fixed. Humans are born by obtaining this. If the master is fixed, one is unceasing like the movement of Heaven. Even when responding to a myriad changes one is always at ease and unhurried. This is what is meant by 'when the ruler of Heaven is calm, the hundred members follow his command.' If there is no master, the qi merely rushes about; how could one not be busy?"

○先生曰，「為學大病在好名」。侃曰，「從前歲，自謂此病已輕。此來精察，乃知全未。豈必務外為人？只聞譽而喜，聞毀而悶，即是此病發來」。曰，「最是。名與實對。務實之心重一分，則務名之心輕一分。全是務實之心，即全無務名之心。若務實之心，如飢之求食，渴之求飲，安得更有工夫好名」？又曰，「『疾沒世而名不稱』。稱字去聲讀。亦『聲聞過情，君子恥之』之意。實不稱名，生猶可補。沒則無及矣。『四十五十而無聞』，是不聞道，非無聲聞也。孔子云，『是聞也，非達也』。安肯以此忘人」？

The Master said: "The great fault in learning is the love of fame." Xue Kan said: "Since the year before last I have thought this illness was mild in me. Recently, on careful examination, I realized it was not so at all. Must one necessarily pursue externals and perform for others? Merely rejoicing at praise and being depressed at blame is this illness breaking out." The Master said: "Exactly. Fame and reality are opposed. As the heart that pursues reality grows heavier by a degree, the heart that pursues fame grows lighter by a degree. If it is wholly the heart of pursuing reality, there is wholly no heart of pursuing fame. If the heart of pursuing reality is like a hungry man seeking food or a thirsty man seeking drink, how could one have time to love fame?" He also said: "'The gentleman is troubled if his name is not praised after his death': the word 'praised' is read in the departing tone, and it also carries the meaning of 'when reputation exceeds the facts, the gentleman is ashamed of it.' If reality does not match the name, one can still make up for it while alive; once dead, it is too late. 'At forty or fifty without being heard of' means not having heard the Way, not lacking reputation. Confucius said: 'That is reputation, not penetration.' How could he have taught people with this?"

○侃多悔。先生曰，「悔悟是去病之藥。以改之為貴。若留滯於中，則又因藥發病」。

Xue Kan often regretted things. The Master said: "Regret and awakening are the medicine that cures illness, and the value lies in correcting. If it lingers in the heart, then the medicine in turn causes illness."

○德章曰，「聞先生以精金喻聖，以分兩喻聖人之分量，以煅煉喻學者之工夫。最為深切。惟謂堯舜為萬鎰，孔子為九千鎰。疑未安」。先生曰，「此又是軀殼上起念，故替聖人爭分兩。若不從軀殼上起念，即郋堯舜萬鎰不為多，孔子九千鎰不為少。堯舜萬鎰，只是孔子的。孔子尢千鎰，只是堯舜的。原無彼我。所以謂之聖。只論精一，不論多寡。只要此心純乎天理處同。便同謂之聖。若是力量氣魄，如何盡同得？後儒只在分兩上較量，所以流入功利。若除去了此較分兩的心，各人盡著自己力量精神，只在此心純天理上用功，即人人自有，個個圓成，便能大以成大，小以成小。不假外慕，無不具足。此便是實實落落，明善誠身的事。後儒不明聖學。不知就自己心地良知良能上體認擴充。卻去求知其所不知，求能其所不能。一味只是希高慕大。不知自己是桀籿心地。動輒要做堯舜事業。如何做得？終年碌碌，至於老死。竟不知成就了個甚麼。可哀也已」。

De Zhang said: "I have heard that the Master compares sages to pure gold, compares the weight to the sage's measure, and compares smelting to the student's effort, which is most apt. But saying Yao and Shun are ten thousand yi and Confucius nine thousand yi, I doubt whether that is right." The Master said: "This is again forming thoughts from the bodily shell, so one argues over the sages' weights. If one does not form thoughts from the bodily shell, one knows that Yao and Shun's ten thousand yi is not too much and Confucius's nine thousand yi is not too little. Yao and Shun's ten thousand yi is just Confucius's, and Confucius's nine thousand yi is just Yao and Shun's. Originally there is no this and that. The reason one is called a sage is only purity and unity, not quantity. As long as the heart is pure in Heavenly principle in the same way, one is called a sage. As for strength and spirit, how could they all be the same? Later scholars only compare weights, and so they drift into utility and profit. If one removes the heart that compares weights, and each person devotes his own strength and spirit to working only on making the heart pure in Heavenly principle, then everyone has it themselves and everyone is perfectly complete, and the great can become great and the small can become small. One does not envy from outside, and nothing is lacking. This is the real and solid matter of making goodness clear and making oneself sincere. Later scholars did not understand the sages' learning, and did not know to recognize and extend their own innate knowing and innate ability in their own heart, but sought to know what they do not know and to be able to do what they cannot, and went only for the high and grand. Not knowing that their own heart is that of Jie and Zhou, they readily want to do the work of Yao and Shun; how could they? Year after year they toil until they grow old and die, and never know what they have achieved. How sad."

○侃問，「先儒以心之靜為體，心之動為用。如何」？先生曰，「心不可以動靜為體用。動靜時也。即體而言用在體。即用而言體在用。是謂『體用一源』。若說靜可以見其體，動可以見其用，卻不妨」。

Xue Kan asked: "The former scholars took the stillness of the heart as substance and the movement of the heart as function. What do you think?" The Master said: "The heart cannot take movement and stillness as substance and function. Movement and stillness are times. Speaking from substance, the function is in the substance; speaking from function, the substance is in the function; this is called 'substance and function have one source.' But to say that stillness shows its substance and movement shows its function does no harm."

○問，「上智下愚，如何不可移」？先生曰，不是不可移。只是不肯移」。

He asked: "Why can the highest wisdom and the lowest stupidity not be changed?" The Master said: "It is not that they cannot be changed, only that they are unwilling to change."

○問「子夏門人問交」章。先生曰，「子夏星言小子之交。子張是言成人之交。若善用之，亦俱是」。

He asked about the chapter "Zixia's disciples asked about friendship." The Master said: "Zixia was speaking of children's friendships, and Zizhang of adults' friendships. If one uses them well, both are right."

○子仁問，「『學而時舀之，不亦說乎』？先儒以學為效先覺之所為。如何」？先生曰，「學是學去人慾，存天理。從事於去人慾存天理，則自正諸先覺，考諸古訓。自下許多間辨思索存省克治工夫。然不過欲去此心之人慾，存吾心之天理耳。若曰效先覺之所為，則只說得學中一件事。事亦似專求諸外了。『時習』者，『坐如屍』，非專習坐也。坐時習此心也。『立如齋』，非專習立也。立時習此心也。『說』是『理義之說我心』之『說』。人心本自說理義。如目本說色，耳本說聲。惟為人慾所蔽所累，始有不說。今人慾日去，則理羲日洽浹。安得不說」？

Ziren asked: "'To learn and to practice it in due time, is that not a pleasure?' The former scholars took learning to be imitating what the earlier awakened ones did. What do you think?" The Master said: "Learning is learning to remove human desires and preserve Heavenly principle. Engaging in removing human desires and preserving Heavenly principle, one naturally corrects oneself by the earlier awakened and examines the ancient teachings, and naturally there is much work of questioning, discerning, thinking, examining and conquering. Yet it is only to remove human desire from this heart and preserve Heavenly principle in my heart. If one says to imitate what the earlier awakened did, that only speaks of one matter within learning, and the matter also seems to be sought wholly from outside. As for the meaning of 'in due time': 'sit like a corpse' does not mean only practicing sitting, but practicing this heart while sitting; 'stand like a fasting person' does not mean only practicing standing, but practicing this heart while standing. 'Pleasure' is the 'pleasure' of 'principle and righteousness please my heart.' The human heart originally delights in principle and righteousness, just as the eyes originally delight in color and the ears in sound. It is only because they are covered and burdened by human desires that there is no delight. Now, as human desires are removed day by day, principle and righteousness permeate day by day; how could one not delight?"

○國英問，「曾子三省雖切。恐是未聞一貫時工夫」。先生曰，「一貫是夫子見曾子未得用功之要，故告之。學者果能忠恕上用力，豈不是一貫？一如樹之根本，貫如樹之枝葉。未種根，何枝葉之可得？體用一慷，體未立，用安從生！謂『曾子於其用處蓋已隨事精察而力行之。但未知其體之一』。此恐未盡」。

Chen Guoying asked: "Zengzi's three daily self-examinations are sincere, but I fear it was his effort before he heard the one thread." The Master said: "The one thread was told to Zengzi because the Master saw that he had not yet grasped the essential of effort. If a student could truly make effort in loyalty and reciprocity, would that not be the one thread? The one is like the root of a tree, and the thread is like the branches and leaves. If the root is not planted, where could branches and leaves come from? Substance and function have one source; if the substance is not established, where would the function be born? To say 'in his function Zengzi had already examined carefully by each matter and practiced it with effort, but did not know the oneness of the substance' probably does not fully capture it."

○黃誠甫問，「汝與回也孰愈」章。先生曰，「子貢多學而識，在聞見上用力。顏子在心地上用功。故聖人間以啟之。而子貢所對，又只在知見上。故聖人嘆惜之。非許之也」。

Huang Chengfu asked about the chapter "Which is better, you or Hui?" The Master said: "Zigong learned much and remembered it, and made effort in what is heard and seen. Yan Zi worked on the ground of the heart. So the sage asked in order to rouse him, and Zigong's answer was again only in knowing and seeing. So the sage sighed over him, not approving him."

○顏子不遷怒，不貳過，亦是有未發之中始能。

That Yan Zi did not transfer his anger and did not repeat a fault was also possible only through having the center before it is manifested.

○種樹者必培其根。種德者必養其心。欲樹之長，必於始生時刪其繁枝。欲德之盛，必於始學時去夫外好。如外好詩文，則精神日漸漏洩在詩文上去。凡百外好皆然。又曰，「我此論學，是無中生有的工夫。諸公須要信得及。只是立志。學者一念為善之志，如樹之種，但勿助勿忘，只管培植將去。自然日夜滋長。生氣日完，枝葉日茂。樹初生時，便抽繁枝。亦須刊落。然後根幹能大。初學時亦然。故立志貴專一」。

One who plants a tree must cultivate its root, and one who plants virtue must nourish his heart. To make a tree grow, one must prune its excessive branches when it first sprouts. To make virtue flourish, one must remove outside fondnesses when one first begins to study. If one is outwardly fond of poetry and prose, one's spirit leaks away day by day into poetry and prose. All outside fondnesses are like this. He also said: "My way of discussing learning is the work of producing something from nothing. You must believe it fully. It is simply establishing the will. A student's single thought of the will to do good is like the seed of a tree: simply do not help it grow and do not forget it, just keep cultivating it, and naturally it will grow day and night. As the life force becomes complete day by day, branches and leaves flourish day by day. When a tree first sprouts and puts out too many branches, it must be pruned, and only then can the root and trunk grow large. It is the same when one first begins to study. So in establishing the will, what matters is singleness."

○因論先生之門。某人在涵養上用功，某人在識見上用功。先生曰，「專涵養者，日見其不足。專識見者，日見其有餘。日不足者，日有餘矣。日有餘者，日不足矣」。

Then the discussion turned to the Master's disciples. Some worked on cultivation, and some on knowledge and views. The Master said: "One who devotes himself to cultivation sees himself as insufficient day by day; one who devotes himself to knowledge and views sees himself as having a surplus day by day. One who is daily insufficient becomes daily in surplus; one who is daily in surplus becomes daily insufficient."

○梁日孚問，「居敬窮理是兩事。先生以為一事。何如」？先生曰，「天地間只有此一事。安有兩事？若論萬殊，禮儀三百，威儀三千，又何止兩？公且道居敬是如何？窮理是如何」？曰，「居敬是存養工夫。窮理是窮事物之理」。曰，「存養個甚」？曰，「是存養此心之天理」。曰，「如此亦只是窮理矣」。曰，「且道如何窮事物之理」？曰，「如事親，便要窮孝之理。事君，便要窮忠之理」。曰，「忠興孝之理，在君親身上？在自己心上？若在自己心上，亦只是窮此心之理矣。且道如何是敬」？曰，「只是主一」。「如何是主一」？曰，「如讀書，便一心在讀書上。接事，便一心在接事上」。曰，「如此則飲酒便一心在飲酒上，好色便一心在好色上。卻是逐物。成甚居敬功夫」？日孚請問曰，「一者，天理。主一是一心在天理上。若只知主一，不知一即是理，有事時便是逐物，無事時便是看空。惟其有事無事，一心皆在天理上用功。所以居敬亦即是窮理。就窮理專一處說，便謂之居敬。就居敬精密處說，便謂之窮理。卻不是居敬了，別有個心窮理。窮理時，別有個心居敬。名睢不同。功夫只是一事。就如易言『敬以直內，義以方外』。敬即是無事時羲，羲即是有事時敬。兩句合說一件。如孔子言『修己以敬』，即不須言義。孟子言集義，即不須言敬。會得時，橫說璧說，工夫總是一般。若泥文逐句，不識本領，即支離決裂。工夫都無下落」。問，「窮理何以即是儘性」？曰，「心之體，性也。性即理也。窮仁之理，真要仁極仁。窮義之理，真要義極義。仁義只是吾性。故窮理即是儘性。如孟子說『充其惻隱之心，至仁不可勝用』。這便是窮理工夫」。日孚曰，「先儒謂『一草一木亦皆有理。不可不察』。如何」？先生曰，「夫我則不暇。公且先去理會自己性情。須能盡人之性，然後能盡物之性」。

Liang Rifu asked: "Dwelling in reverence and exhausting principle are two matters. You, Master, take them as one. How is that?" The Master said: "In Heaven and Earth there is only this one matter; how could there be two? If one speaks of the myriad differences, the three hundred rules of ritual and three thousand rules of deportment, what is that but more than two? Tell me, what is dwelling in reverence? What is exhausting principle?" He said: "Dwelling in reverence is the work of preserving and nourishing; exhausting principle is exhausting the principle of things." The Master said: "What does one preserve and nourish?" He said: "The Heavenly principle of this heart." The Master said: "Then that too is only exhausting principle." He asked: "Then how does one exhaust the principle of things?" He said: "For example, in serving parents one exhausts the principle of filial piety; in serving the ruler one exhausts the principle of loyalty." The Master said: "Are the principles of loyalty and filial piety in the ruler and parents? Or in your own heart? If in your own heart, that too is only exhausting the principle of this heart. Tell me, what is reverence?" He said: "It is just being focused on one." "What is focusing on one?" He said: "When reading, one's whole heart is on reading; when dealing with affairs, one's whole heart is on the affairs." The Master said: "Then in drinking wine one's whole heart would be on drinking, and in lusting after beauty one's whole heart would be on lust, which is chasing things; what kind of work of dwelling in reverence is that?" Rifu asked for instruction. The Master said: "The one is Heavenly principle. Focusing on one is having the whole heart on Heavenly principle. If one only knows to focus on one and does not know that the one is principle, then when there are affairs it is chasing things, and when there are none it is clinging to emptiness. Only if, with or without affairs, the whole heart works on Heavenly principle, is dwelling in reverence also exhausting principle. Speaking of the singleness in exhausting principle, it is called dwelling in reverence; speaking of the thoroughness in dwelling in reverence, it is called exhausting principle. It is not that after dwelling in reverence there is another heart that exhausts principle, or that when exhausting principle there is another heart that dwells in reverence. The names differ but the work is one. It is like the Changes saying 'reverence makes the inside straight, righteousness makes the outside square.' Reverence is righteousness when there is no affair, and righteousness is reverence when there is an affair. The two sentences together speak of one thing. As when Confucius said 'cultivate oneself with reverence,' there is no need to say righteousness; when Mencius spoke of accumulating righteousness, there is no need to say reverence. If one understands, speaking across or down the work is always the same. If one clings to the text and chases each sentence and does not know the root, then it is fragmented and split, and the work has nowhere to land." He asked: "Why is exhausting principle the same as fulfilling nature?" The Master said: "The substance of the heart is nature. Nature is principle. To exhaust the principle of humaneness one must truly be humane to the utmost; to exhaust the principle of righteousness one must truly be righteous to the utmost. Humaneness and righteousness are only my nature, so exhausting principle is fulfilling nature. As Mencius said, 'Extend the heart of compassion, and humaneness cannot be used up,' this is the work of exhausting principle." Rifu said: "The former scholars said 'every blade of grass and every tree also has principle and one must examine it.' What do you think?" The Master said: "I have no leisure for that. First go and understand your own nature and feelings. One must be able to fulfill the nature of people, and only then can one fulfill the nature of things."

日孚悚然有悟。

Rifu was startled and had an awakening.

○惟幹問，「知如何是心之本體」？先生曰，「知是理之靈處。就其主宰處說便謂之心。就其稟賦處說便謂之性。孩提之童，無不知愛其親，無不知敬其兄。只是這個靈能不為私慾遮隔，充拓得盡，便完完是他本體。便與天地合德。自聖人以下，不能無蔽。故須格物以致其知」。

Weigan asked: "How is knowing the original substance of the heart?" The Master said: "Knowing is the spiritual part of principle. Speaking of its function as master, it is called the heart; speaking of what it was endowed with, it is called nature. A small child never fails to know to love his parents and never fails to know to respect his elder brother. If only this spiritual capacity is not obstructed by selfish desires and is extended completely, it is wholly and entirely its original substance, and it unites virtue with Heaven and Earth. From sages downward, no one is without obstruction, so one must investigate things to extend one's knowing."

○守衡問，「大學工夫只是誠意。誠意工夫只是格物修齊治平。只誠意盡矣。又有正心之功。有所念懥好樂，則不得其正。何也」？先生曰，「此要自思得之。知此則知未發之中矣」。守衡再三請。曰，「為學工夫有淺深。初時若不看實用意去好善惡惡，如何能為善去惡？這著實用意，便是誠意。然不知心之本體原無一物，一向著意去好善惡惡，便又多了這分意思，便不是廓然大公。書所謂『無有作好作惡』，方是本體。所以說有所念懥好樂，則不得其正。正心只是誠意工夫裡面。體當自家心體，常要鑑空衡平，這便是未發之中」。

Shouheng asked: "The work of the Great Learning is only sincere intention. The work of sincere intention is only investigating things, cultivating the self, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world. Sincere intention alone would exhaust it. Yet there is also the work of rectifying the heart. When there is anger, resentment, liking or pleasure, one does not attain correctness. Why?" The Master said: "You must think this out yourself. Knowing this, you know the center before it is manifested." Shouheng asked again and again. The Master said: "The work of learning has shallow and deep levels. At first, if one does not truly apply intention to loving good and hating evil, how can one do good and remove evil? This real application of intention is sincere intention. Yet if one does not know that the original substance of the heart has nothing in it, and always applies intention to loving good and hating evil, one adds that much intention and it is not open, vast and impartial. 'There is no making of likes and no making of dislikes,' as the Book of Documents says, is the original substance. So it is said that when there is anger, resentment, liking or pleasure, one does not attain correctness. Rectifying the heart is only within the work of sincere intention. Understand your own heart's substance, so that it is always like an empty mirror and a level scale; this is the center before it is manifested."

○正之問，「戒懼是己所不知時工夫。慎獨是己所獨知時工夫。此說如何」？先生曰，「只是一個工夫。無事時固是獨知。有事時亦是獨知。人若不知於此獨知之地用力，只在人所共知處用功，便是作偽，便是『貝君子而後厭然』。此獨知處便是誠的萌芽。此處不論善念惡念，更無虛假。一是百是，一錯百錯。正是王霸義利誠偽善惡界頭。於此一立立定，便是端本澄源，便是立誠。古人許多誠身的工夫。精神命脈，全體只在此虛。真是莫見莫顯，無時無處，無終無始。只是此個工夫。今若又分戒懼為己所不知。即工夫便支離，亦有間斷。既戒懼，即是知。己若不知，是誰戒懼？如此見解，便要流入斷滅禪定」。曰，「不論善念惡念，更無虛假。則獨知之地，更無無念時邪」？曰，「戒懼亦是念。戒懼之念，無時可息。若戒懼之心稍有不存，不是昏瞶，便已流入惡念。自朝至暮，自少至老，若要無念，即是己不知。此除是昏睡，除是槁木死灰」。

Huang Zhengzhi asked: "Being cautious and apprehensive is the work for what one does not know oneself; being watchful when alone is the work for what only oneself knows. How is this saying?" The Master said: "It is one work. When there is nothing to do, it is indeed what only oneself knows, and when there is something to do, it is also what only oneself knows. If a person does not know to apply effort in this place that only oneself knows, and works only where others know, that is deception, 'seeing the gentleman and then shrinking.' This place known only to oneself is the sprout of sincerity. Here, whether a thought is good or evil, there is nothing false. If one is right, all are right; if one is wrong, all are wrong. It is precisely the boundary between king and hegemon, righteousness and profit, sincerity and falsity, good and evil. To set oneself firmly here is to make the root upright and clear the source, and is establishing sincerity. All the many works of the ancients on making oneself sincere have their spirit and life blood entirely only in this place. Truly nothing is more visible or manifest, there is no time or place, no end or beginning, and it is only this work. If one now further divides being cautious and apprehensive as what oneself does not know, then the work is fragmented and also interrupted. Being cautious and apprehensive is already knowing. If oneself does not know, who is being cautious and apprehensive? Such a view would flow into the extinction of dead meditation." He asked: "Whether a thought is good or evil, there is nothing false; then in the place known only to oneself, is there no time without thoughts?" The Master said: "Being cautious and apprehensive is also a thought. The thought of caution and apprehension cannot rest at any time. If the heart of caution and apprehension is slightly absent, one is not in confusion and has already flowed into evil thoughts. From morning to night, from youth to old age, if one wants to have no thoughts, that is oneself not knowing. That is only possible in deep sleep, or in withered wood and dead ashes."