The quotes of Huiyan

H ui Yan of K'uang-shan said, "The transmission of fire in the firewood is similar to the transmission of the spirit in the body. Fire is transmitted to another piece of firewood in the same way as the spirit is transmitted to another body. The earlier firewood is not the same as the later one. From this we know that the art is wonderful for fingers to supply no more [firewood while the fire is transmitted elsewhere]. (1) The former body is not the later body. From this we realize that the feeling about man's destiny (2) is deep. When we see that the body of one life perishes, we must not say that consciousness and spirit die with it, and when we see the fire ending with one piece of wood, we must not say that the time is up and all is finished. (3) A latter-day scholar (4) quoted the words of the Yellow Emperor (5) saying, "Although the body has decomposed, the spirit does not disintegrate. It goes along with the transformations [of the universe] and changes infinitely. (6) Although the saying does not explicitly talk about the three periods (past, present and the future are continuous).

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quote 2302  |   Huiyan Hui Yan in Chi-Tsang (549-623), Profound meaning of the Three Treatises, in Wing-Tsit Chan, Chinese Philosophy, Chapter 22.  (1) Referring to Chuang Tzu, ch. 3, NHCC, 2:6b. See Giles, p. 50. (2) Ch'ing-shu, the allotted number or fate of sentient beings. (3) (Hung-ming chi (Essays Elucidating the Doctrine), sppy, 5: 10a. (4) The phrase "the questioner asked" at the head of this sentence is superfluous, according to the San-lun hsuan-i yu-meng (Instructions for Beginners on the Profound Meaning of the Three Treatises), pt. 2, TSD, 70:534. In Hui-yuan's treatise, the scholar's name Wen Tzu is mentioned (Hung-ming chi, 5: 10a). He was a mythical figure supposed to have been Lao Tzu's pupil. (5) Legendary emperor of great antiquity. (6) " Hung-ming chi, 5: 10a. In the present Wen Tzu, sec. 13 (sppy, pt. 1, p. 21a), the words are attributed not to the Yellow Emperor but to Lao Tzu.

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