庚辰往虔州[1]再见先生。
问：「近来功夫，虽若稍知头脑，然难寻个稳当快乐处。」
先生曰：「尔却去心上寻个天理，此正所谓理障。此间有个诀窍。」
曰：「请问如何？」
曰：「只是致知。」
曰：「如何致？」
曰：「尔那一点良知，是尔自家底准则。尔意念著处，他是便知是，非便知非，更瞒他一些不得。尔只不要欺他，实实落落依著他做去；善便存，恶便去。他这里何等稳当快乐？此便是『格物』的真诀，『致知』的实功。若不靠著这些真机，如何去格物？我亦近年体贴出来如此分明。初犹疑只依他恐有不足；精细看，无些小欠阙。」
庚辰年往虔州再见先生。
我问：「近来的功夫，虽似乎稍知头脑，却难寻个稳当快乐处。」
先生说：「你却去心上寻个天理，这正是所谓理障。这中间有个诀窍。」
问：「请问是什么？」
答：「只是致知。」
问：「如何致？」
答：「你那一点良知，是你自家的准则。你的意念着处，它是便知是，非便知非，更瞒它一些不得。你只要不欺它，实实落落依着它做去，善便存，恶便去。它这里何等稳当快乐？这便是『格物』的真诀、『致知』的实功。若不靠着这真机，如何去格物？我也是近年来才体贴得如此分明。起初还疑心只依它恐怕不够；精细看去，无些小欠缺。」
In the gengchen year I saw the Master again at Qianzhou.
I asked: 'My work of late, though I faintly know the head of it, hardly finds a settled and joyful place.'
The Master said: 'You go hunting heavenly principle upon the mind — precisely the barrier of principle. Herein lies a key.'
'May I ask what?'
'Only extension of knowledge.'
'How extend?'
'That point of innate knowledge is your own measuring rod. Where your intention lights, it knows right as right, wrong as wrong — nothing can be hidden from it. Only do not cheat it: solidly, plainly do as it bids; good, preserve; evil, remove. How settled, how joyful there! This is the true key of investigating things, the solid work of extension. Not leaning on this true spring, how investigate things? I too only of late felt it out so plainly. At first I feared that trusting it alone might not suffice; looked at finely, it lacks nothing, however small.'
- 虔州：今江西赣县。