World Spiritual Heritage

The quotes of Chang Tsai

37 quote(s) | Page 2 / 2

settings

contact_support

arrow_upward

home

I f it is argued that material force is produced from the Vacuity, then because the two are completely different, the Vacuity being infinite while material force is finite, the one being substance and the other function, such an argument would fall into the naturalism of Lao Tzu who claimed that being comes from non-being and failed to understand the eternal principle of the undifferentiated unity of being and non-being. If it is argued that all phenomena are but things perceived in the Great Vacuity, then since things and the Vacuity would not be mutually conditioned, since the physical form and the nature of things would be selfcontained, and since these, as well as Heaven and man, would not be interdependent, such an argument would fall into the doctrine of the Buddha who taught that mountains, rivers, and the total stretch of land are all subjective illusions. This principle of unity is not understood because ignorant people know superficially that the substance of the nature of things is the Vacuity, the Void, but do not know that function is based on the Way of Heaven (Law of Nature).

candle

quote 2363 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, Ch.1, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

W hen it is understood that the Vacuity, the Void, is nothing but material force, then existence and nonexistence, the hidden and the manifested, spirit and eternal transformation, and human nature and destiny are all one and not a duality. He who apprehends integration and disintegration, appearance and disappearance, form and absence of form, and trace them to their source, penetrates the secret of Change.

candle

quote 2362 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, Ch.1, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

O ne is qualified to discuss the nature of man when he realizes that death is not annihilation.

candle

quote 2361 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, Ch.1, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

W hen, in the midst [of this universal operation] the sage fulfills the Way to the utmost, and identifies himself [with the universal processes of appearance and disappearance] without partiality (i.e., lives the best life and takes life and death objectively), his spirit is preserved in the highest degree

candle

quote 2360 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, Ch.1, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

T he Great Vacuity of necessity consists of material force. Material force of necessity integrates to become the myriad things. Things of necessity disintegrate and return to the Great Vacuity.

candle

quote 2359 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, Ch.1, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

material force = Qi

A lthough material force in the universe integrates and disintegrates, and attracts and repulses in a hundred ways, nevertheless the principle (li) according to which it operates has an order and is unerring.
As an entity, material force simply reverts to its original substance when it disintegrates and becomes formless. When it integrates and assumes form, it does not lose the eternal principle (of Change).
The Great Vacuity of necessity consists of material force. Material force of necessity integrates to become the myriad things. Things of necessity disintegrate and return to the Great Vacuity.

candle

quote 2358 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, Ch.1, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

H uman nature at its source is absobutely tranquil and unaffected by externality. When it is affected by contact with the external world, consciousness and knowledge emerge. Only those who fully develop their nature can unify the state of formlessness and unaffectedness, and the state of objectification and affectedness.

candle

quote 2357 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, Ch.1, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

T he Great Vacuity (Hsu) has no physical form. It is the original substance of material force. Its integration and disintegration are but objectifications caused by Change.

candle

quote 2356 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, Ch.1, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

T he Great Harmony is called the Way (Tao, Moral Law). It embraces the nature which underlies all counter processes of floating and sinking, rising and falling, and motion and rest. It is the origin of the process of fusion and intermingling, of overcoming and being overcome, and of expansion and contraction. At the commencement, these processes are incipient, subtle, obscure, easy, and simple, but at the end they are extensive, great, strong, and firm. It is ch'ien (Heaven) that begins with the knowledge of Change, and k'un (Earth) that models after simplicity. That which is dispersed, differentiated, and capable of assuming form becomes material force (ch'i), and that which is pure, penetrating, and capable of assuming form becomes spirit. Unless the whole universe is in the process of fusion and intermingling like fleeting forces moving in all directions, it may not be called Great Harmony.

candle

quote 2355 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, CORRECTING YOUTHFUL IGNORANCE, Ch.1, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

W ealth, honor, blessing, and benefits are meant for the enrichment of my life, while poverty, humble station, and sorrow are meant to help me to fulfillment.

candle

quote 2354 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, 1:1a-6b , THE WESTERN INSCRIPTION, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

H e who disobeys [the Principle of Nature] violates virtue. He who destroys humanity is a robber. He who promotes evil lacks [moral] capacity. But he who puts his moral nature into practice and brings his physical existence into complete fulfillment can match [Heaven and Earth].

candle

quote 2353 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, ch 17, THE WESTERN INSCRIPTION, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

H eaven is my father and Earth is my mother, and even such a small creature as I finds an intimate place in their midst.
Therefore that which fills the universe I regard as my body and that which directs the universe I consider as my nature.
All people are my brothers and sisters, and all things are my companions.

candle

quote 2352 | Chang Tsai
Chang Tsai, Cheng-meng, ch. 17, THE WESTERN INSCRIPTION, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 30

Page: 1 |2

	settings		Change website design
	menu		Menu
	arrow_upward		Top of the page
	share		Social Network
			Share by SMS
			Share by What's App
			Download as a picture to share on Instagram
			Post on Facebook
			Post on Twitter
			Add to collection (member only)
			Vote (member only)
	close		Close