Xinxin Ming

"Xinxin Ming" (alt. spellings: "Xin Xin Ming" or "Xinxinming") (信心銘) (Wade-Giles: "Hsin Hsin Ming"; Japanese: "Shinjinmei" (or "Shinjin no Mei")) a verse attributed to the Third Chinese Chan (Zen) Patriarch Jianzhi Sengcan 僧璨 (d. 606) (Wade-Giles: Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Japanese: Kanchi Sosan), is one of the earliest Chinese Chan expressions of the Buddhist mind training practice.

Title translation

"Xinxin" has commonly been interpreted as "faith" or "trust." For example one translation is "Faith in Mind" (See The Poetry of Enlightenment: Poems by Ancient Ch'an Masters, Ch'an Master Sheng-Yen). This interpretation appears to be a departure from the traditional view of seeking refuge in the Three Jewels(Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) but can be defended on the ground that Buddha and Mind are one(即心即佛)(see the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch(六祖壇經). Other examples alongside this approach include: "Inscription on Trust in the Mind," "Verses on the Faith Mind," and "On Believing in Mind," as well as others. John McRae (1986:316 n. 64) argues that the title should be translated as "Inscription on Relying on the Mind" or "Inscription of the Perfected Mind". The word "inscription" does accurately convey the idea of a truth that can survive the test of time and is the more literal meaning of "ming" (銘). A careful reading of the text itself, however, suggests that Xinxin should be understood as the Truthful Mind, which is always ready and perfect, implying that there is no need to further "perfect" it. Evidence for this alternative interpretation comes from the original text:

"This degeneration of your previous practice on emptiness arises because of false perspectives.There is really no need to go after the Truth but there is indeed a need to extinguish biased views." (前空轉變 皆由妄見 不用求真 唯須息見)

This text clearly emphasizes the need to give up "false perspectives"(妄見)

Moreover, the passage that follows immediately explicitly warns against losing the original, true mind(失心).

"Do not dwell in the two biased views. Make sure you do not pursue. The moment you think about right and wrong,the moment you unwittingly lose your true mind." (二見不住 慎勿追尋 才有是非 紛然失心)Because in the Chinese language today, Xinxin (信心) usually means "trust", "confidence", or "believing mind", it is often forgotten that Xinxin can also be understood as the truthful mind(信實的心). The central message of Xinxin Ming is therefore to advise how by giving up biased views one can see reality as it is.(心若不異 萬法一如) A translation of the Xinxin Ming based on this interpretation is available at: http://www.ln.edu.hk/econ/staff/Xin%20Xin%20Ming.doc. This is consistent with the traditional view of Buddha nature being there all the time. It just waits to be rediscovered.

Authorship

Although Sengcan has been traditionally been attributed as the author, modern scholars believe that the verse was written well after Sengcan's death, probably during the Tang Dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Tángcháo) (618 – 907). (Dumoulin, p 97) Some scholars note the similarity with a poem called Mind Inscription by Niu-t'ou Fa-jung (594-657) (Gozu Hõyû 牛頭法融) of the Ox-head School of Chan and have speculated that the Xinxin Ming is an enhanced, abridged version of the Mind Inscription. The classical source of the Xinxin Ming can be found in the Transmission of the Lamp (Wade-Giles: Ching-te Ch'uan-teng Lu; Japanese: Keitoku Dentõroku 景德傳燈錄 景徳伝灯録). [ for a fuller discussion on authorship see [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/fm/fm.htm Sacred Texts ] ]

History

The Xinxin Ming has been much beloved by Chan (Zen) practitioners for over a thousand years. It is still studied in Western Zen circles. [See, e.g., Soeng (2004), p. xiii: "The poem ... is one of the most beloved texts of the Zen tradition and one of the most familiar of the early Zen texts."]

As an early expression of Chan Buddhism, it reveals a Taoist influence co-mingled with Buddhist spirituality. It draws on the Wisdom sutras of Buddhism to express ultimate unity between opposites and the metaphysical notion of emptiness ("śūnyatā") which can be traced back to Nagarjuna (c.150-250 AD) (Chinese: 龍樹).

It professes the need to take pleasant and unpleasant life experiences with a sense of equanimity. Broadly speaking, the Xinxin Ming deals with the principles of non-duality practice and the results of practice and the application of principle. [See Pajin (1988).]

Excerpts

Opening verse

The opening verse, variously translated, sets out the fundamental principle:

: The best way [Great Way, the Tao] is not difficult: It only excludes picking and choosing: Once you stop loving and hating: It will enlighten itself. : (trans. D. Pajin)

Alternatively:

: The Perfect Way knows no difficulties: Except that it refuses to make preferences;: Only when freed from hate and love,: It reveals itself fully and without disguise : (trans. by D.T. Suzuki)Suzuki (1960), pp. 76-82; see also, Soeng (2004), pp. 133, 139, 145, 151, 157, 163, 169.]

And:

:The Way of the supreme is not difficult,:If only people will give up preferences.:Like not, dislike not.:Be illuminated. : (translated by Lok Sang Ho http://www.ln.edu.hk/econ/staff/Xin%20Xin%20Ming.doc. )

Last verse

The poem ends with:

: Emptiness here, Emptiness there,: but the infinite universe stands always before your eyes.: Infinitely large and infinitely small;: no difference, for definitions have vanished: and no boundaries are seen.: So too with Being: and non-Being.: Don't waste time in doubts and arguments: that have nothing to do with this.: One thing, all things:: move among and intermingle, without distinction.: To live in this realization: is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.: To live in this faith is the road to non-duality,: Because the non-dual is one with the trusting mind.: Words! The Way is beyond language,: for in it there is:: no yesterday:: no tomorrow:: no today. : [http://home.att.net/~paul.dowling/archive/zen/hsin.htm (trans. Richard B. Clarke)]

Alternatively:

: One in All,: All in One—: If only this is realized,: No more worry about your not being perfect!

:Where Mind and each believing mind are not divided,:And undivided are each believing mind and Mind,:This is where words fail;:For it is not of the past, present, and future.:(trans. D.T. Suzuki)

Finally:

:The truthful mind is beyond the two views.:Beyond the two views is the truthful mind.

:Words and language fail,:For reality is neither the past and nor the future.:And it is not even the present.:(translated by Lok Sang Ho)

Notes

ources

* Clarke, Richard (1973, 1984). "Hsin Hsin Ming: Verses on the Faith-Mind". Buffalo, NY: White Pine Press. Retrieved at http://home.att.net/~paul.dowling/archive/zen/hsin.htm.

* Dumoulin, Heinrich (1994, 1998) Zen Buddhism: A History, Volume I, India and China, Simon & Schuster and Prentice Hall International ISBN 0 02 897109 4

* McRae, John R (1986) The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 0-8248-1056-2

* Pajin, Dusan (1988) On Faith in Mind, Journal of Oriental Studies, Vol. XXVI, No. 2, Hong Kong 1988, pp. 270-288. [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/fm/fm.htm available here] [http://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Translations/HsinHsinMingTranslation.html or here]

* Putkonen, Eric (2008). "Hsin Hsin Ming: Verses on the Perfect Mind". (interpretation, not a direct translation) [http://www.awaken2life.org/Hsin%20Hsin%20Ming%20-%20Verses%20on%20the%20Perfect%20Mind.pdf Available as a free E-book in PDF format]

* Soeng, Mu (2004). "Trust in Mind: The Rebellion of Chinese Zen". Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-391-5.

* Suzuki, D.T. (1960). "Manual of Zen Buddhism". NY: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-3065-8.

External links

* [http://advaita.thepodcastnetwork.com/2007/09/13/the-advaita-show-40-the-xin-xin-ming/ The Advaita Show] , an audio reading of the Xin Xin Ming

*Music File of Song of the Truthful Mind is now available for download in MP3 format. Visit: http://music.download.com/frankieho/3600-8269_32-100326082.html

* [http://www.awaken2life.org/ Awaken to Life] has an audiobook of the Xin Xin Ming available for download or streaming in MP3 format in the 'Other Work' section.