hsin hsin ming
by seng ts’an
the great way is not difficult
it has no preferences
when love and hate are absent
all becomes clear
make the smallest distinction
and heaven and earth are far apart
if you want to experience it
don’t be for or against anything
conflict between liking and not liking
is the disease of the mind
if its deep meaning is not understood
we strive in vain to quiet the mind
it is perfect like vast space
nothing lacking, nothing left over
accepting and rejecting
we can’t see the essence
don’t get entangled in outer things
or abide in inner emptiness
when the mind is still
all views disappear
trying to quiet the mind
is just more activity
caught in duality
how can you know oneness?
when unity is not understood
both activity and quietude are failures
if you deny the reality of things, all things are lost
pursue emptiness and you stray even further from it
the more talking and thinking
the farther you go from what is
stop talking and thinking
and there’s nothing you can’t understand
return to the root and find meaning
follow appearances and lose the source
look within for just a moment
and go beyond appearance and emptiness
changing appearances in this empty world
seem real due to ignorance
don’t seek truth
just let go of your views
don’t remain in duality
take care never to go that way
choosing this or that
the mind is lost in confusion
duality comes from the one
but don’t be attached to the one
when the mind is still
the ten thousand things do not offend
when things don’t affect you, they cease to exist
no thought, no mind
without an object of thought, there can be no thinking subject
without a thinker, there are no things
things are things because of the mind
the mind is the mind because of things
if you want to understand mind and world
see them as ultimately one emptiness
in this emptiness the two are one
it contains everything
don’t distinguish between coarse and refined
and you won’t be for this or against that
the great way is vast
to live in accord with it is neither easy nor hard
those with narrow views are full of doubt and fear
the more they hurry, the slower they go
clinging has no limit
we go down the wrong path
in accord with nature
nothing comes or goes
following our nature, we are in harmony with the way
wandering freely, without a care
fixed ideas can’t encompass what is true
they sink into darkness, become unhealthy
don’t trouble your mind
why shun this and desire that?
if you want to take the one vehicle
don’t reject mental or sensory experience
to accept everything
is to be enlightened
the wise man does nothing
the fool shackles himself
the dharma has no distinctions
they come from our foolish attachments
seeking the mind with the mind
isn’t that a big mistake?
illusion creates concepts like tranquil and disordered
illumination destroys liking and disliking
all pairs of opposites
are created by our ignorance
dreams, illusions, flowers in the air
why bother trying to grasp them?
profit and loss, right and wrong
get rid of them once and for all
if the eyes don’t close in sleep
all dreaming ceases naturally
if the mind makes no discriminations
the ten thousand things have one essence
understanding the mystery of one suchness
difficulties are forgotten
see all things as equal
and all will return to naturalness
no descriptions or analogies are possible
of this state where relations have come to an end
arrest motion, and motion ceases
move stillness and stillness is gone
when dualities are abolished
how can there be one?
in the end, things are ultimately
not subject to law
for the unified mind in harmony with the way
all striving ceases
all doubts are cleared up
established in right intuition
nothing remains
there’s nothing to remember
empty, clear, your light shines
without mental effort
thought can’t reach this
beyond knowing, imagining, feeling
in the realm of things as they are
there is no self or other
if you want to approach and enter it
just say “not two”
where there are not two, all is the same
there is nothing that is not included
the wise of all times and places
enter into this source
truth cannot be increased or decreased
one moment, ten thousand years
no here, no there
the whole world right before our eyes
the tiny is as large as the vast
when boundaries are gone
the vast is as small as the tiny
when there are no limits
what is, is not
what is not, is
any other view
must be abandoned
one thing is all things
all things are one thing
when you’ve understood this
there’s no need to worry about not being perfect
the stable mind is nondual
intuition and mind are not two
beyond words
no past, no future, no now
–version by johnny stallings
some notes:
The Hsin Hsin Ming is the earliest known Zen writing. Seng Ts’an is the Third Zen Patriarch. He lived in China from 529 to 606 AD. The First Zen Patriarch was Bodhidharma, who lived in the 5th or 6th Century, and is credited with bringing Zen (or Chan) Buddhism to China from India.
The origin of Zen Buddhism is the Buddha’s Flower Sermon. One day the Buddha held up a white flower. Mahākāśyapa realized enlightenment, and smiled.
The first Zen text comes a thousand years later.
The “great way” referred to in the opening verse is the Chinese word “tao,” which also stands for ultimate reality in Taoism. The “it” in verses 4, 6, 7 & 14, also refers to the Tao.
Translating Chinese is problematic. I am not a scholar of classical Chinese. I’ve made this version as accurate and clear as I can by consulting many English translations.
I hope you find it helpful in your meditation and mindfulness practice.
May all people be happy.
May we live in peace & love.
–Johnny