Master Ghoon (Ghoon Tzee)
Chapter 49: The working of the inner self (Noy Yip)
1
It is ever so that the vital essence of things
is what gives them life.
Below it gives life to the five grains;
above it creates the ranked stars.
When floating between Heaven and Earth,
we call it ghost or spirit.
When stored in the breast,
we call it sageliness.
(The five grains: Hemp, millet, wheat, beans and rice)
Thus, man's vital force -
How bright! As if mounting the heavens.
How dark! As if entering an abyss.
How vast! As if residing the ocean.
How compact! As if contained within the self.
Thus, this vital force -
Never to be restrained by physical strength,
it may be brought to rest by spiritual Power.
Never to be summoned by one' s call,
it may be made welcome by one's power of awareness.
Respectfully preserve it and never lose it,
Such is called perfecting one's Power.
If the Power is being perfected, wisdom develops,
then all things may be fully comprehended.
2
It is ever so that the character of someone's mind
Is naturally full and naturally replete,
Naturally born and naturally perfected.
Should its function be impaired,
It is certain to be due to sorrow and happiness,
joy and anger, desire and profit seeking.
If we can rid ourselves of sorrow and happiness,
joy and anger, desire and profit seeking,
The mind will revert to its flawless state.
The inner reality of the mind
is benefited by rest and quiet.
Avoid being harassed or confused,
and its harmony will naturally be complete.
How clear! As if it resides right at our side.
How nebulous! As if goes beyond our comprehension.
How expansive! As if it is exhausting the limitless.
If we search for this inner reality,
it is never far away and we may daily use its Power.
3
Now Tao is what fills the character of someone's mind
but the people cannot hold it in place.
When it is going, it may not return;
When it is coming, it may not stay.
What a silence! No one hears its sound.
How immediate! It is residing within our mind.
How obscure! No one sees its form.
How bounteous! Together with us born.
We cannot see its form;
We cannot hear its sound.
Yet it is orderly in its completeness.
Such we call Tao.
4
It is ever so that Tao has no fixed place,
Yet in a good mind it will peacefully settle.
When the mind is quiescent,
and the vital force is managed well,
Tao can then be made to stay.
Tao is never far removed.
By obtaining it, people may live.
Tao is never detached.
By relying on it, people become harmonious.
Thus, it is so obvious!
As if one were bound together with it.
How distant! As if were exhausting infinity.
(......)
5
That which is Tao, the mouth cannot express,
the eye cannot see, and the ear cannot hear.
It is the means to cultivate the mind and rectify its character.
Losing it, people die;
Having it, one live.
Losing it, then undertakings fail;
Having it, one will succeed.
6
It is ever so that Tao
Has neither roots nor stalks,
Neither leaves nor blossoms.
Yet it brings fertility to that
what give life to all things
One is calling that with the term Tao.
The supreme quality of Heaven lies in its regularity
Of Earth, it is equity;
Of man, it is quiescence.
Spring and autumn, summer and winter,
They are Heaven's seasons.
Mountains and hills, rivers and valleys,
They provide in the resources of the Earth.
Joy and anger, taking and giving,
They underlie the schemes of mankind.
For this reason, the Sage is ever changing -
In accordance with the times,
but without transforming things.
In responding to matters, he or she is ever flexible,
but never inconsistent.
Capable of good judgment and remaining quiescent,
He or she is consequently able to remain stable.
There being a stable mind within,
The ears and eyes are sharp and clear,
And the four limbs strong and firm,
it can serve for the vital essence as a dwelling place.
The vital essence is the essence of the mind.
When the vital force permeates, there is life,
and with life comes thoughts.
With thoughts comes knowledge,
and with knowledge comes a stopping point.
7
It is ever so that when the character of mind,
Is being inundated with too much knowledge, it loses its vitality.
What is at one with things and able to
bring about their transformation is called the Spirit.
What is at one with affairs and is able to
bring about changes in them is called wisdom.
To transform without altering one's vital force,
To change without altering one's wisdom -
Only the man of quality who grasps the One is able to do this!
Grasping the One and never losing it,
He is able to become prince over all things.
The man of quality manipulates things
but is never manipulated by them.
This is because he comprehends the One's inherent order.
A well-regulated mind lies within,
Well-regulated words issue from his mouth,
and well-regulated policies are applied to men.
Hence the world is well regulated.
ˇ°With one word comprehended, The world submits;
With the one firmly established, The world obeys.ˇ±
This saying refers to Tao.
If the character of mind lacks good judgment,
the Power will not come.
If the self within is not quiescent,
the mind will not be well regulated.
Rectify the character of mind and hold on to the Power,
Then the beneficence of Heaven
and the righteousness of Earth
in bounteous fashion will naturally arrive.
The supremacy of the Spirit -
How brilliant - it knows all things.
Preserve it within, and do not go to excess.
Do not let things confuse the senses;
Do not let the senses confuse the mind.
This is called to get the essence from within
The Spirit independently exists.
Its going and coming,
No one is able to contemplate.
Lose it, and the mind is certain to be confused;
obtain it, and the mind is certain to be well regulated.
Respectfully keep clean its abode,
and its vital essence will naturally come.
Quiet your thoughts in order to contemplate it.
Rest your mind in order to keep control of it.
Maintain a dignified appearance and respectful attitude,
Then its vital essence will of itself become stable.
Obtain it and never let it go.
Your ears and eyes will never go astray,
nor your mind become occupied with irrelevant concerns.
When a stable mind lies within,
all things attain their proper measure.
8
Tao fills the whole world,
Existing wherever people dwell.
Yet people are incapable knowing it.
With the one word understood,
Above, one may explore Heaven;
Below, reach the extremities of Earth;
Circulating about, cover the whole of the nine regions.
What do we mean by understanding it?
This lies in the regulation of the mind.
When our minds are well regulated,
Our senses are also well regulated.
When our minds are at ease,
Our sense organs are also at ease.
What regulates them is the mind.
What sets them at ease is the mind.
The mind therefore contains a inner mind.
That is to say within the mind there is another mind.
In that mind of the mind,
The power of awareness comes before sound.
After awareness come forms.
After forms come names.
After names comes putting the mind to use.
After putting the mind to use comes its regulation.
Without proper regulation, there is certain to be confusion.
If there is confusion, there is certain to be death.
When the vital essence is present, it naturally produces life.
Outwardly it produces a restful glow.
Stored within, it become a fountainhead.
Flood like, harmonious, and smooth,
it becomes the wellspring of the vital force.
So long as the wellspring does not run dry,
The four parts of the body will remain firm.
So long as the wellspring is not exhausted,
The passages of the nine apertures will remain clear.
Thus it is possible to explore the limits of Heaven and Earth
and cover the four seas.
Within, there will be no delusions;
without, there will be no calamities.
His inner mind is complete,
His outward form complete,
Encountering neither Heaven-sent calamities
nor man-made harm -
Such a person, we call a Sage.
9
When a man is capable of good judgment and remaining quiescent,
his flesh will be plump and full, his ears and eyes sharp and clear.
His muscles will become taut, and his bones sturdy.
Thus he is able to wear on his head the Great Circle
and plant his feet on the Great Square,
Find his reflection in the Great Purity
and be comparable to the great illuminated spirits.
Respectful and cautious, and avoiding excesses,
he daily renews his Power.
He comes to understand everything in the world
and thoroughly examines its four extremities.
The respectful development of his inner well-being
is what we call becoming familiar to your inner self.
Being like this and not going down
He has a life without excess.
10
It is ever so that Tao is certain to be dense and close,
Certain to be broad and expansive,
Certain to be strong and firm.
Preserve the good and never let it go.
Rid yourself of licentiousness and discard frivolity.
Having come to understand its supremacy,
You may return to Tao and its Power.
When a complete mind lies within, it cannot be concealed.
It may be ascertained from one's bearing
and observed from one's complexion.
If you greet men with a good will,
they will become dearer than brothers.
If you greet men with ill will,
they will become more harmful than weapons.
The unvoiced sound may be more startling than a thunder clap.
The manifestations of the mind and the vital force
are more illuminating than the sun and moon,
more discerning than a father mother.
Rewards are not enough to encourage goodness;
punishments are not enough to discipline evil.
But when awareness of the vital force is attained,
the whole world will submit.
When awareness of the mind is firmly rooted,
The whole world will obey.
11
If you concentrate your vital force
until you become like a Spirit,
Your grasp of all things will be complete.
Can you concentrate your (own) mind?
Can you focus your (own) power of awareness?
Can you foretell bad fortune from good
Without resorting to the tortoise shell and milfoil,
Can you tell where to stop?
Can you tell when to desist?
Rather than seeking it in others,
can you find it within yourself?
Think about it! Think about it!
Again think about it!
If you still cannot fathom it,
ghosts and spirits will help you fathom it.
This is not because they possess special prowess.
It is because the vital essence and its vital force are supreme.
The four parts of the body will be in correct order.
Your pulse and breath will become quiet.
You will focus your power of awareness
and concentrate your mind.
Your ears and eyes will not be distracted.
And even though things be distant,
they will appear as if near at hand.
Thought and inquiry produce knowledge.
Slackness and carelessness produce sorrow.
Violence and arrogance produce resentment.
Sorrow and melancholy produce illness.
Sickness and trouble bring death.
If you continue to think with no relaxation,
Inwardly you will be troubled,
and outwardly you will grow thin.
If you do not early plan to prevent this,
Your life will relinquish its abode.
When eating, it is best not to overindulge.
When thinking, it is best not to overdo.
When there is a suitable balance,
Long life will naturally be achieved.
12
It is ever so that in man's life,
Heaven produces his vital essence.
Earth produces his form.
These combine in order to produce man.
When they are in harmony, there is life.
Without it, there is no life.
If one searches for Tao to it ,
Its inner reality cannot be seen;
its outward manifestation cannot be classified.
However, when equanimity and good judgment fill the breast
and engulf the mind, this brings long life.
If joy and anger are excessive,
Deal with them in a planned manner.
Moderate the five desires
and get rid of the two violent emotions.
Be neither joyous nor angry,
Then equanimity and good judgment will fill your breast.
13
It is ever so that man's life
Is certain to depend on equanimity and good judgment.
Its loss is certain to be because of joy and anger, sorrow and suffering.
Thus, for arresting anger, nothing is better than poetry.
For getting rid of sorrow, nothing is better than music.
For moderating music, nothing is better than rules of propriety.
For preserving rules of propriety, nothing is better than respect.
For preserving respect, nothing is better than quiescence.
Inwardly quiescent and outwardly respectful,
You may revert to your true nature,
And it will become completely stable
14
It is ever so that concerning eating habits,
With excessive gorging, (one's breath) will be harmed
and the form will be unable to hold it all.
With excessive abstention, the bones will dry up
And the blood will congeal.
The middle ground between gorging and abstention
is called moderation.
It provides a place for the vital essence to dwell
and for knowledge to develop.
If hunger or overindulgence is excessive,
Deal with it in a planned manner.
When too full, quickly move about;
when hungry, relax your thoughts;
when feeling old and exhausted, forget your worries.
If, having eaten too much, you do not quickly move about,
The breath will not circulate to your four extremities.
If, being hungry, you do not relax your thoughts,
Your hunger will not be alleviated.
If, being old, you do not forget your worries when troubled,
you will be quickly exhausted.
Expand your mind, and you will feel released.
Deepen your breathing, and you will feel relaxed.
Your form will be at ease and never restless.
You will be able to focus your power of awareness,
and dispose of the myriad minor irritations.
On seeing profit, you will not be enticed.
On seeing harm, you will not be frightened.
Being relaxed and humane,
you will find happiness within yourself.
This is called to set the vital force in motion,
so that your awareness and action become like Heaven
15
It is ever so that man's life
is certain to depend on his being content.
Through sorrow he loses his guiding thread;
through anger he loses the beginnings.
In sorrow and melancholy, joy and anger,
Tao can find no resting place.
Love and desires - quiet them!
Stupidity and confusion - rectify them!
Do not pull! Do not push!
Happiness will naturally be restored.
That Tao will naturally come
Is something you can count on and plan for.
If you are quiescent, you will obtain it.
If you move hastily, you will lose it.
In the heart the subtle breath of life
The spiritual force within the mind,
sometimes arrives and sometimes departs.
So fine that nothing can exist within it;
So large that nothing can exist beyond it.
The reason we lose it is because haste is harmful.
When the mind is able to retain a state of quiescence,
Tao will become stable.
For the man who comprehends the Tao
The lines (of his face) effuse (a sense of harmony), and his hair exudes it.
Within his breast there is nothing corrupt.
Since he practices this method of moderating desires,
nothing ever causes him harm.
(Translated by W. Allyn Rickett)
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