the meaning of 一作虛

Question

Below is a passage from a Song Confucian, Cheng Yi:

胎息之說，謂之愈疾則可，謂之道則與聖人之學不干事，聖人未嘗說著。若言神住則氣住，則是浮屠入定之法。雖謂養氣猶是第二節事，亦須以心為主，其心欲慈惠安（一作虛）。靜故於道為有助，亦不然。孟子說浩然之氣，又不如此。今若言存心養氣，只是專為此氣，又所為者小。舍大務小，舍本趨末，又濟甚事。今言有助於道者，只為奈何心不下。故要得寂湛而已，又不似釋氏攝心之術。

I am not sure about the meaning of 其心欲慈惠安（一作虛）, particularly the bracketed part.

I also have a problem with:"舍大務小，舍本趨末，又濟甚事"

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

其心欲慈惠安（一作虛）。靜故於道為有助

the chopping is, . . . well, inappropriate lah 😼

consider this:

“其心欲慈惠安（一作虛）靜” —> “其心欲慈惠安靜”, or “其心欲慈惠虛靜”; so,

[someone]’s (其) mind (心) want (欲) [to be] kindhearted (慈惠) [and] silent (安靜), or,

[someone]’s (其) mind (心) want (欲) [to be] kindhearted (慈惠) [and] emptied (虛) [and] silent (靜)

舍大務小，舍本趨末，又濟甚事

mr 程’s opinion is: one’s mind is more important than one’s breath; that, the biggest, and most important thing is to constrain one’s mind. practising breathing technique (~氣功) is an minor affair

so, he criticised the saying “今若言存心養氣，只是專為此氣” which emphasises one’s mind serves for controlling one breath

to abandon (舍 -> 捨) the most important (大), [for] engaging in (務) the smallest (小), to abandon (舍 -> 捨) the origin (本), [for] seeking for (趨) the minor (末); is fruitless (又濟甚事)

have fun :)