Nature and Principle in Islam

1. 卷首・本經The Root Classic

   Chapter 2 · Heaven, earth, humans and things, each with its own capacity

   第二章　分述天地人物各具之功能

   The One Real unfolds in transformation, and principles and images are displayed. Principles lie in knowledge; images appear in power. [Feiyin jing] Knowledge goes ahead in the Former Heaven; power unfolds in the Latter Heaven. First they are manifest as images, then they take form as principles. [Daoxing tuiyuan jing] Principle and image belong together, and nature and mandate take their places. [Yanzhen jing] Principle and image attach to forms, and the wondrous function shows itself. [Daoxing tuiyuan jing] In humans it is called knowledge and power; in things it is called effective function. [same] The principle is the same, the vital energy different: so the foolish and the wise are told apart. The substance is round, the function lacking: so each suits its time. [Feiyin jing] Knowledge and power undivided: that is the nature of the Utmost Sage. Knowledge and power put to use: the nature of the great sages. Knowledge and power in accord: the nature of the commissioned sages. Knowledge and power made manifest: the nature of the ranked sages. Knowledge and power in hope: the nature of the great worthies. Knowledge and power recognised in oneself: the nature of the wise. Knowledge and power held fast: the nature of the pure and upright. Knowledge and power followed by habit: the nature of good people. Knowledge and power used for oneself: the nature of the ordinary. Birds and beasts perceive, grasses and trees grow, metal and stone stand firm: all this is knowledge and power, yet it is not called knowledge and power. [Yanzhen jing; Daoxing tuiyuan jing] Only the Throne (a'ershi) acts in the stead of transformation and nurture. Only the Footstool (ku'erxi) mixes and combines, changes and transforms. To create being from nothing: that is the heaven of Saturn. To bring the hidden forth into the manifest: the heaven of Jupiter. To turn the small into the great: the heaven of Mars. To make bright and noble: the heaven of the Sun. To bind and part: the heaven of Venus. To turn the dull into the spiritual: the heaven of Mercury. To shift and set in motion: the heaven of the Moon. Wind moves things, fire brings them out, water moistens them, earth sets them down, metal makes them firm, wood makes them stand, the living kinds go about. All these functions are what the ten thousand transformations rely on: for the birth of one grain of millet, the strength of the nine heavens. [Gezhi quanjing; Tianjing qingxing] Sun and stars shine, and the original images are seen. East and west revolve, and changes come forth. [same] The four agents concentrate, and the directions are fixed. The four energies flow through, and the seasons are made. [Gezhi quanjing] The seven climes divide the land, and the products differ. The four bounds divide the air, and nurture follows. Clouds and rain, snow and hail, mist and dew, sand and dust: all are resources for the wondrous original work. [same] Look at forms and discern meanings; contemplate images and awaken to principles: Former Heaven and Latter Heaven are threaded on one line, nothing more. [Zhaowei jing]

   一真衍化，理象章陳。理具於知，象見於能。〔費隱經〕知預先天，能衍後天。先以象著，後以理形。〔道行推原經〕理象相屬，性命以位。〔研真經〕理象附形，妙用以呈。〔道行推原經〕人曰知能，物曰功用。〔同上〕理同氣異，以辨愚智。體圓用虧，以適時宜。〔費隱經〕渾同知能，是至聖性。任用知能，是大聖性。順應知能，是欽聖性。顯揚知能，是列聖性。希望知能，是大賢性。體認知能，是智者性。堅守知能，是廉介性。循習知能，是善人性。自用知能，是庸常性。禽獸知覺，草木生發，金石堅定，同是知能，弗稱知能。〔研真經〕〔道行推原經〕惟阿而實，代行化育。惟庫而西，錯合變化。創無為有，厥惟土天。發隱成著，厥惟木天。化小為大，厥惟火天。章明貴顯，厥惟日天。結交離合，厥惟金天。化蠢為靈，厥為水天。改移流動，厥惟月天。風以動之，火以發之，水以滋之，土以奠之，金以定固，木以建立，活類運行。凡是功用，萬化仰藉。一粟之生，九天之力。〔格致全經〕〔天經情性〕日星景麗，元象以見。東西運旋，變化以出。〔同上〕四行專注，方位以定。四氣流通，歲時以成。〔格致全經〕七洲分地，物產以異。四際分空，化育以從。雲雨雪雹，霧露沙塵，皆所由資，以妙元功。〔同上〕察形辨義，觀象悟理，先天後天，一貫而已。〔昭微經〕

   ✦AI

   Scan, p. 122–124Transcribed from the scan by AI (Claude), checked as described on the About page. Share

Chinese: transcribed by AI (Claude) from the CADAL scans on Wikimedia Commons (public domain), checked against the zh.wikisource text (CC BY-SA); Books 1–5 also collated with the 1923 photoreprint (CADAL, Commons), and the Root Classic with the Chinese printed in Murata, Chittick and Tu (2009); punctuation is editorial. Books 1–5 keep the notes of Hei of Qingyuan (清源黑氏, Hei Mingfeng), a later commentator, apart from Liu Zhi's text. Arabic: Nūr al-Ḥaqq (Ma Lianyuan), al-Laṭāʾif, as printed in Murata, Chittick and Tu, The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi (2009), pp. 103–153 (public domain text; taken from the book's text layer and checked against the page images by AI, page by page; not yet proofread by a person). Characters: Unihan (Unicode licence), cjk-decomp (Apache-2.0), the Kangxi Dictionary (public domain) via Wikisource (CC BY-SA). The English and the term mappings marked AI were written by AI (Claude). Murata's translations are in copyright and are cited, never reproduced. How this text was established.