是有意于求宁静，是以愈不宁静耳。
＃1 You are dominated by the purpose to seek tranquility, and for that reason the mind is the more unquiet.
夫妄心则动也，照心非动也；恒照则恒动恒静，天地之所以恒久而不已也；照心固照也，妄心亦照也。
＃1 Now an erroneous mind is of course active, but a shining mind is not. ＃2 If it is always shining, it will always be both active and tranquil. ＃3 This is the way in which heaven and earth operate forever without cease. ＃4 The shining mind will of course shine, but the erroneous mind will also shine.
其为物不贰，则其生物不息，有刻暂停，则息矣，非至诚无息之学矣。
＃1 “Heaven and earth are without any doubleness +[absolutely sincere], and so they produce things without cease.” ＃2 To have a moment of rest would mean to cease. ＃3 That would not be the learning to achieve the state of absolute sincerity without cease.
〔2〕来书云：“良知亦有起处”，云云。
＃1 Your letter further says, “Does intuitive knowledge of good also have a beginning?”
此或听之未审；良知者，心之本体，即前所谓恒照者也。
＃1 Perhaps you did not get exactly what I said. ＃2 Innate knowledge is the original substance of the mind.＃3 It is what I have just referred to as that which is always shining.
心之本体，无起无不起。
＃1 The original substance of the mind neither rises nor does not rise.
虽妄念之发，而良知未尝不在，但人不知存，则有时而或放耳：虽昏塞之极，而良知未尝不明，但人不知察，则有时而或蔽耳。
＃1 Although disorderly thoughts are manifested, the intuitive knowledge of good has been present; but the individual does not know how to cherish, and evaluate it, and thus there are times when it may be rejected. ＃2 Though the mind is darkened and obstru
虽有时而或放，其体实未尝不在也，存之而已耳：虽有时而或蔽，其体实未尝不明也，察之而已耳。
＃1 Though there may be times when it is rejected, it has in reality not been absent. ＃2 It should be cherished.＃3 Though there may be times when it is obscured, it really has not been unclear. ＃4 It should be carefully scrutinized.
若谓真知亦有起处，则是有时而不在也，非其本体之谓矣。
＃1 To say that innate knowledge arises from somewhere is to say that sometimes it is not present. ＃2 That would not be the original substance of the mind.
〔3〕来书云：“前日精一之论，即作圣之功否？”
＃1 Your letter says, “Are refinement and singleness which you talked about the other day the task of becoming a sage ?”
“精一”之“精”以理言，“精神”之“精”以气言。
＃1 The character ching +(精,meaning “unmixed” or “essence”) of “devotion to the essence” +(being discriminating), should be construed as referring to moral principles. ＃2 The same word ching +(meaning “essence”), of “mental essence” +[sic
理者，气之条理；气者，理之运用。
＃1 Heaven-given principles are the principles of the vital force.＃2 The vital force represents the functioning of the heaven-given principles.
无条理则不能运用；无运用则亦无以见其所谓条理者矣。
＃1 Without order it cannot function, and without functioning there will be nothing to reveal what is called order.
精则精，精则明，精则一，精则神，精则诚，一则精，一则明，一则神，一则诚，原非有二事也。
＃1 Devotion to the essence +(discrimination) implies mental energy and includes the manifesting of virtue.＃2 It signifies being undivided.＃3 It is mental energy and sincerity of purpose.＃4 Being undivided is devotion to the essence.＃5 It implies man
但后世儒者之说与养生之说各滞于一偏，是以不相为用。
＃1 However, the doctrine as interpreted by the Confucians of later generations and by +[Taoists who advocate] nourishing life has remained one-sided and consequently +[refinement as emphasized by the Confucians and singleness as emphasized by the Taoists] do not reinforce each other.
二物乎？
＃1 ^+1 Are selfish desires and passions caused by external stimuli the same or different?
前日“精一”之论，虽为原静爱养精神而发，然而作圣之功，实亦不外是矣。
＃1 Though my former discussion of devotion to the essence and being undivided was occasioned by your desire to nourish your mental energy and animal spirits, the task of the sage does not go beyond this.
〔4〕来书云：“元神，元气，元精必各有寄藏发生之处：又有真阴之精，真阳之气”，云云。
＃1 Your letter says, “The prime spirit, prime force, and prime essence must each have its place of preservation and origination.＃2 There are also the essence of the true passive element yin and the force of the true active element yang....”
夫良知一也，以其妙用而言谓之神，以其流行而言谓之气，以其凝聚而言谓之精，安可以形象方所求哉？
＃1 There is but one intuitive faculty. ＃2 When reference is made to its wonderful use, it is called energy +(spirit); when reference is made to its natural manifestations, it is called temper +(feeling); when reference is made to its aggregate
真阴之精，即真阳之气之母，真阳之气，即真阴之精之父：阴根阳，阳桹阴，亦非有二也：苟吾良知之说明，即凡若此类，皆可以不言而喻；不然，则如来书所云三关、七返、九还之属，尚有无穷可疑者也。
＃1 The essence of true yin is the mother of the force of true yang, and the force of true yang is the father of the essence of true yin. ＃2 The essence of true yin is the mother of the force of true yang, and the force of true yang is the father of the essence of true yin. ＃3 Yin is the root of yang and yang is the root of yin. ＃4 They are not two different things. ＃5 If my theory of innate knowledge is clearly understood, then all such matters can be understood without any explanation. ＃6 Otherwise there will be an infinite number of things in doubt, such as +[the Taoist formulas to prolong life] called the “three gates,” the “seven returns,” and the “nine returns,”5 mentioned in your letter.
性一而已。
＃1 There is one nature, that is all.
〔5〕来书云：“良知，心之本体，即所谓性善也，未发之中也，寂然不动之体也，廓然大公也，何常人皆不能而必待于学邪？
＃1 Your letter says: “Intuitive knowledge of good is ab initio characteristic of the mind and is to be identified with the following: the virtuous disposition, the equilibrium of having no stirrings of feelings, the state of perfect tranquility, and the s
中也，寂也，公也，既以属心之体，则良知是矣。
＃1 Since equilibrium, absolute quiet, and impartiality are characteristics of the substance of the mind, then it must be innate knowledge.
今验之于心，知无不良，而中、寂、大公实未有也，岂良知复超然于体用之外乎？
＃1 But as I examine the mind, I find that while knowledge is innate and good, it does not really have the characteristics of equilibrium, quiet, and impartiality. ＃2 Can innate knowledge transcend substance and function?”