又问：「静坐用功，颇觉此心收歛；遇事又断了。旋起个念头，去事上省察。事过又寻旧功，还觉有内外，打不作一片。」
先生曰：「此『格物』之说未透。心何尝有内外？即如惟濬今在此讲论，又岂有一心在内照管？这听讲说时专敬，即是那静坐时心。功夫一贯，何须更起念头？人须在事上磨炼，做功夫乃有益。若只好静，遇事便乱，终无长进。那静时功夫亦差：似收歛，而实放溺也。」
后在洪都，复与于中[1]、国裳论内外之说，渠皆云物自有内外，但要内外并著功夫，不可有间耳。以质先生。
曰：「功夫不离本体，本体原无内外；只为后来做功夫的分了内外，失其本体了。如今正要讲明功夫不要有内外，乃是本体功夫。」
是日俱有省。
又问：「静坐用功，颇觉此心收敛；一遇事又断了。随即起个念头，到事上省察。事过又寻旧功，还是觉得有内外，打不成一片。」
先生说：「这是『格物』之说未透。心何尝有内外？就像惟浚如今在这里讲论，难道另有一个心在里面照管？这听讲说时的专敬，就是那静坐时的心。功夫一贯，何须另起念头？人必须在事上磨练，做功夫才有益。若只喜好静，遇事便乱，终无长进。那静时的功夫也差了：像是收敛，其实是放溺。」
后来在洪都，又与于中、国裳论内外之说，他们都说物自有内外，只是要内外一齐用功，不可间断。拿这请教先生。
先生说：「功夫不离本体，本体原无内外；只因后来做功夫的人分了内外，失其本体了。如今正要讲明功夫不要有内外，才是本体的功夫。」当天众人都有省悟。
I asked further: 'Sitting still at the work, the mind seems gathered; meeting an affair, it snaps. A thought is raised to examine upon the affair; the affair past, I hunt up the old work — still an inner and an outer, never one piece.'
The Master said: 'The doctrine of investigating things is not yet through. When had the mind an inner and outer? See Weijun here lecturing — is there another mind inside keeping watch? The very attentiveness of listening is the mind of sitting still. The work is one thread — why raise fresh thoughts? One must be tempered on affairs; so the work profits. Loving only quiet, one is thrown into disorder at every affair, never advancing. And the quiet work itself is astray: seeming gathered, in truth sunk and drifting.'
Later at Hongdu, discussing inner and outer with Yuzhong and Guoshang, both held things to have inner and outer of themselves, only the work must be applied to both unbroken. I brought this to the Master.
He said: 'The work never leaves the substance, and the substance never had inner or outer; only later workers split them and lost the substance. What must be made clear now is work without inner or outer — that is the work of the substance.' That day all present woke somewhat.
- 情况不详。