貳、天道心性論 II. The Heart and True Self

貳、天道心性論
II. The Heart and True Self
性即是人之本體, 亦為宇宙之本. 無限光明, 不生不滅, 無形無象. 肉體即是靈性暫時的寄生所, 有形有象, 有生有滅, 每個人靈性皆由上帝分靈而來, 具備了天之全德. 人若能率性而行, 自能與道結合.
The True Self is the essence of human life, as well as the root of the cosmos. The True Self is infinitely bright; It is not born; It does not die; and It has no shape or form. The human body, which has both form and shape, is a temporary dwelling for the True Self. Therefore, the human body has birth and death. The True Selves of all human beings come from God. All of them possess the complete five virtues of Dao. 

性為靜態, 心為樞機, 心原是性所產生的一種波紋. 性動為心, 心正歸於性. 人落入後天, 性分而為三, 有理性、氣性、質性; 故心亦有道心、人心、血肉心之分. 所以有盛、賢、愚、凡之別,有善惡不同. 心性原為一體, 性為體, 心為用, 故
曰修天道的功夫在心性.
The True Self is the essence; the heart is the manifestation of the True Self. Therefore, the heart is the center of a person. When one’s heart is pure, it reflects one’s True Self. The True Self and the heart in essence is One. Once the True Self enters Hou-tien (the space where all lives live after heaven and earth were created), it divides into three - Li-xing (the True characters), Qi-xing (the Spiritual characters) and Zhi-xing (the Material characters). The heart also divides into three- True Nature, Human Nature, and Animal Nature. Accordingly, there is the distinction of Saints, Sages, and the ordinary among humans, and distinction between the good and the bad. The effort of practicing Dao is simply working on one’s heart and True Self. The following four questions and answers are devoted to the discussion of this topic, the Heart and True Self.

一. 同是人類,為何也聖賢愚凡之分呢 ?
1. Why is there the distinction of Saints, Sages, and the ordinary among humans?
人之靈性即出於天(儒家用天代表道), 而天有理天、氣天、象天之別, 人之本性亦有本然之性、氣數之命、氣質之性之別. 自太極一氣分兩儀, 陰陽分判, 兩儀生四時(春、夏、秋、冬), 由時分八節(立春、春分、立夏、夏至、立秋、秋分、立冬、冬至) , 由八節分二十四節氣, 七十二候, 三百六十度, 五分度為一候, 每候氣數不同, 就如同天體星辰的位置在每度皆不同. 人類萬物都稟此而生, 生時感應天地的變化, 稟氣不同, 宿度也不同﹐受物質性牽引也不同. 因此物類有貴賤之分, 人生有壽夭、窮通、智愚賢凡之別.
Human beings come from Heaven. (Heaven is used by Confucianism to represent Dao.) Since Heaven consists of Li-tien (Heaven of Truth), Qi-tien (heaven of spirit) and Xiang-tien (heaven of matter), so human beings posses the Li-xing (the True characters), Qi-xing (the Spiritual characters) and Zhi-xing (the Material characters) too. Both yin and yang evolve from Tai-ji. Yin and yang then evolve the four seasons, eight Solar Periods, twenty-four Seasonal Periods, seventy-two Proper Periods, and three hundred and sixty degrees. Every five degrees constitute a Proper Period, and the fate in each Proper Period is different, just like celestial latitude varies with every degree. All lives on Earth are born to different celestial latitudes and different seasons, i.e. different fates. So everyone is subject to a different level of attraction to materialism. Thus all matters have distinctions of noble and common, and humans’ lives have distinctions of longevity and brevity, rich and poor, and wise and ordinary.

吾人本性既然出於理天﹐ 性本一致, 落入後天之後, 一分而為理性、氣性、質性. 人之理性能否顯露, 決定於其是否能超越氣性和質性, 而人之氣性、質性因稟於氣天, 氣有沉浮、升降, 吉凶善惡, 而使理性發展不一樣, 人若稟氣淺而物質性牽引少, 理性就發展強, 能效法古聖先賢的聖人賢人. 人若稟氣深而物欲牽引重, 理性發展弱, 氣性、質性就顯現出, 於是追求縱情物欲而成為愚人凡夫.
Our True Selves are from Li-tien, and they are all equal. Once the True Self enters Hou-tien (the space where all lives live after heaven and earth were created), it disperses into three - Li-xing, Qi-xing and Zhi-xing. Whether one can reveal one’s Li-xing depends on one’s ability to overcome one’s Qi-xing and Zhi-xing. A person’s Qi-xing and Zhi-xing are subject to the Qi-tien. The development of each person’s Li-xing is different because the Qi in Qi-tien can manifest as ascending or descending, floating or sinking, good or evil, and fortunate or ominous. If one is born with little influence from Qi and is mildly attracted to materialism, one’s Li-xing can develop strongly. One will follow the example of Saints and Sages and in turn, can become a Saint or a Sage. If one is born with a strong influence from Qi and is strongly attracted to materialism, one’s Li-xing is greatly inhibited and it will be difficult to develop one’s Qi-xing. Zhi-xing will dominate and one will be lost in the pursuit of materialism and emotional desires, and remain as an ordinary person for all one’s life.
綜而言之, 誰能克伏氣慾, 恢復自己光明的理性, 就是聖賢, 不能克伏氣慾, 恢復理性, 就是愚人凡夫. 譬如明鏡, 本體是明亮, 但是經過一段時間, 就落上灰塵, 如不加以洗拭﹐ 那明鏡絕不會再明, 人的理性也是如此. 所以道家說「修心煉性」, 釋家說「明心見性」, 儒家說「存心養性」, 耶教說「洗心移性, 默禱親一」, 回教說「堅心定性, 清真返一」.
In summary, someone who overcomes emotions and desires, and restores his or her True Self becomes a Saint or a Sage. Someone who cannot overcome emotions and desires will never free his or her Li-xing from inhibition and becomes the ordinary. For example, a mirror itself is clear when it is first made. As the mirror is, dust collect on its surface. If the dust is not wiped off, the mirror cannot be clear. A human’s True Self is the mirror, and the dust is emotions and desires. That is why Taoism says, “Cultivate the heart to refine the True Self;” Buddhism says, “Brighten the heart to see the True Self;” Confucianism says, “Hold the heart to cultivate the True Self;” Christianity says, “Purify the heart to align to the True Self;” and Islam says, “Strengthen the heart to stabilize the True Self.” Although the emphases are different, they all refer to the restoration of the True Self.