| | 本生: |
二曰── |
| | Secondly--
|
| | 本生: |
始生之者，天也；養成之者，人也。能養天之所生而勿攖之謂天子。天子之動也，以全天為故者也。此官之所自立也。立官者以全生也。今世之惑主，多官而反以害生，則失所為立之矣。譬之若修兵者，以備寇也，今修兵而反以自攻，則亦失所為修之矣。 |
| | The one who first gives birth to it is Heaven; The one who nurtures and completes it is humanity. To nurture what Heaven has given birth to without interfering is called being a Son of Heaven (tianzi). The actions of the Son of Heaven are always guided by the principle of preserving the order of Heaven. This is how officials establish themselves. The establishment of officials is for the purpose of preserving life fully. The deluded rulers of today appoint many officials, yet these officials end up harming life instead; thus they have lost the very purpose for which officials were established. It is like training soldiers to defend against bandits; if one trains soldiers yet they end up attacking oneself, then one has also lost the original purpose of training them.
|
| | 本生: |
夫水之性清，土者抇之，故不得清。人之性壽，物者抇之，故不得壽。物也者，所以養性也，非所以性養也。今世之人，惑者多以性養物，則不知輕重也。不知輕重，則重者為輕，輕者為重矣。若此，則每動無不敗。以此為君悖，以此為臣亂，以此為子狂。三者國有一焉，無幸必亡。 |
| | The nature of water is clarity, but when soil mixes with it, it becomes murky; thus, it cannot remain clear. The nature of humanity is longevity, but when external things interfere with it, therefore longevity cannot be attained. Things in the world exist to nurture human nature; they are not for the sake of nurturing through nature itself. The people of today, many of whom are deluded, often use their nature to serve external things; thus they do not understand what is light and what is heavy. Not understanding what is light and what is weighty leads one to regard the weighty as light, and the light as weighty. If this is the case, then every action taken will inevitably lead to failure. To act thus as a ruler leads to confusion; to act thus as an official leads to disorder; to act thus as a son leads to madness. If any one of these three exists within a state, there is no hope for its survival—it will surely perish.
|
| | 本生: |
今有聲於此，耳聽之必慊，已聽之則使人聾，必弗聽。有色於此，目視之必慊，已視之則使人盲，必弗視。有味於此，口食之必慊，已食之則使人瘖，必弗食。是故聖人之於聲色滋味也，利於性則取之，害於性則舍之，此全性之道也。世之貴富者，其於聲色滋味也多惑者，日夜求，幸而得之則遁焉。遁焉，性惡得不傷？ |
| | Now suppose there is a sound here; the ear may find it pleasing, but once heard, it will cause deafness—thus one must not listen to it. Now suppose there is a color here; the eye may find it pleasing, but once seen, it will cause blindness—thus one must not look at it. Now suppose there is a flavor here; the mouth may find it pleasing, but once tasted, it will cause muteness—thus one must not eat it. Therefore, the sage regards sounds, colors, and flavors in this way: if they are beneficial to human nature, he takes them; if they are harmful to human nature, he abandons them. This is the principle of preserving one's true nature fully. The wealthy and powerful people of the world are often deluded by sounds, colors, and flavors; they seek them day and night, and when they fortunately obtain them, they become enslaved to them. To be enslaved in this way, how can one's nature possibly remain unharmed?
|
| | 本生: |
萬人操弓共射一招，招無不中。萬物章章，以害一生，生無不傷；以便一生，生無不長。故聖人之制萬物也，以全其天也。天全則神和矣，目明矣，耳聰矣，鼻臭矣，口敏矣，三百六十節皆通利矣。若此人者：不言而信，不謀而當，不慮而得；精通乎天地，神覆乎宇宙；其於物無不受也，無不裹也，若天地然；上為天子而不驕，下為匹夫而不惛；此之謂全德之人。 |
| | Ten thousand people each take up a bow and shoot together at a single target; the target will inevitably be hit. A myriad of things, in their multitude and clamor, harm one's life; thus, no life remains unharmed; To benefit one's single life, all life will inevitably flourish. Therefore, the sage governs myriad things in order to preserve their natural state fully. When Heaven's nature is preserved in full, the spirits harmonize, the eyes become clear, the ears become perceptive, the nose becomes sensitive to scents, the mouth becomes responsive, and all 360 joints of the body become unobstructed and smooth. Such a person: without speaking, he is trusted; without planning, his actions are appropriate; without deliberating, he attains success. His understanding permeates Heaven and Earth, his spirit encompasses the universe; He receives all things without exception, he contains all things without exception—just as do Heaven and Earth. When elevated to the position of Son of Heaven, he remains unarrogant; when reduced to the status of a commoner, he does not become confused. This is what is called a person of complete virtue.
|
| | 本生: |
貴富而不知道，適足以為患，不如貧賤。貧賤之致物也難，雖欲過之奚由？出則以車，入則以輦，務以自佚，命之曰招蹙之機。肥肉厚酒，務以自彊，命之曰爛腸之食。靡曼皓齒，鄭、衛之音，務以自樂，命之曰伐性之斧。三患者，貴富之所致也。故古之人有不肯貴富者矣，由重生故也，非夸以名也，為其實也。則此論之不可不察也。 |
| | Wealth and rank without knowledge are precisely sufficient to bring disaster; they are worse than poverty and low status. It is difficult for the poor and lowly to obtain external things, so how could they possibly exceed them? When going out, one uses a carriage; when returning, one is carried in a palanquin. One is devoted to self-indulgence and ease—this is called the mechanism that invites disaster. Rich meats and strong wines, consumed in pursuit of physical strength, are termed "foods that rot the intestines." Seductive beauty with white teeth and the music of Zheng and Wei, pursued for one's own pleasure—this is termed "the axe that fells human nature." These three afflictions are caused by wealth and rank. Therefore, there were people in ancient times who refused wealth and rank; this was because they valued life above all else—not for the sake of boasting about a name, but for the reality of preserving true nature. Therefore, these arguments cannot be overlooked without careful consideration.
|
