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Hsin-Hsin Ming: Verses on the Faith-Mind
Hsin-Hsin Ming( Verses on the Faith-Mind) <> Paperback <> Seng-Ts'an <> WhitePinePress(NY)
16 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
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483 people want to read
About the author
Seng-ts'an
1 book6 followersJianzhi Sengcan (Chinese: 鑑智僧璨; Pīnyīn: Jiànzhì Sēngcàn; Wade–Giles: Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Romanji: Kanchi Sōsan) is known as the Third Chinese Patriarch of Chán after Bodhidharma and thirtieth Patriarch after Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha.
He is considered to be the Dharma successor of the second Chinese Patriarch, Dazu Huike (Chinese: 大祖慧可; Pīnyīn: Dàzǔ Huìkě; Wade–Giles: Ta-tsu Hui-k’o; Romanji: Taiso Eka). Sengcan is best known as the putative author of the famous Chan poem, Xinxin Ming (Chinese: 信心銘; Pīnyīn: Xìnxīn Míng; Wade–Giles: Hsin-hsin Ming), the title of which means "Inscription on Faith in Mind".
He is considered to be the Dharma successor of the second Chinese Patriarch, Dazu Huike (Chinese: 大祖慧可; Pīnyīn: Dàzǔ Huìkě; Wade–Giles: Ta-tsu Hui-k’o; Romanji: Taiso Eka). Sengcan is best known as the putative author of the famous Chan poem, Xinxin Ming (Chinese: 信心銘; Pīnyīn: Xìnxīn Míng; Wade–Giles: Hsin-hsin Ming), the title of which means "Inscription on Faith in Mind".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
August 21, 2013
The Hsin-Hsin Ming is one of the earliest writings in the Ch'an (Zen) Buddhist tradition and is attributed to Seng Ts'an, the third Zen patriarch. It consists of a small number of verses circling around the same theme: drawing distinctions (and attachments require distinctions) destroys the very possibility of perceiving the Truth, the Way. By not making distinctions and generating the accompanying "dualities", one can recognize that the universe and the "ten thousand things" within it are one, that things are as they should and must be, as they always have been and always will be. One's mind will be quiet; one will be at peace... There are warnings in the Hsin-Hsin Ming that this state of mind is not attained by effort or ideas; one must simply stop the effort of making distinctions. (Here "simply" definitely does not mean "easily", because our minds are constantly making these distinctions without any apparent effort.)
I find Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism to be fascinating and have practiced zazen - the Zen meditation technique - in the past.(*) It is a remarkable product of human minds, will and effort; and it has inspired countless works of art and literature and has influenced the form of most of the cultures of East and Southeast Asia. And I find the distance between Zen Buddhism and the original teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha in the Pali canon to be every bit as remarkable. Gautama Buddha taught the "Middle Way", the mindful and moral way between extremes, whereas Ch'an Buddhism adopted many aspects of Taoism, an older and most interesting tradition of thought and practice in China, and became, well, rather extreme...
A newcomer to Zen Buddhism should not begin with the Hsin-Hsin Ming , but, for someone with the necessary background preparations, the Hsin-Hsin Ming is a particularly pure, distilled expression of the soul of Zen (as it seems to me).
(*) Indeed, I know intimately the significance of the saying: "What is the meaning of the coming of Bodhidarma from the West? Much sitting and getting weary." By the way, Bodhidarma was the name of the Indian monk who was said to have brought Buddhism to China.
I find Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism to be fascinating and have practiced zazen - the Zen meditation technique - in the past.(*) It is a remarkable product of human minds, will and effort; and it has inspired countless works of art and literature and has influenced the form of most of the cultures of East and Southeast Asia. And I find the distance between Zen Buddhism and the original teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha in the Pali canon to be every bit as remarkable. Gautama Buddha taught the "Middle Way", the mindful and moral way between extremes, whereas Ch'an Buddhism adopted many aspects of Taoism, an older and most interesting tradition of thought and practice in China, and became, well, rather extreme...
A newcomer to Zen Buddhism should not begin with the Hsin-Hsin Ming , but, for someone with the necessary background preparations, the Hsin-Hsin Ming is a particularly pure, distilled expression of the soul of Zen (as it seems to me).
(*) Indeed, I know intimately the significance of the saying: "What is the meaning of the coming of Bodhidarma from the West? Much sitting and getting weary." By the way, Bodhidarma was the name of the Indian monk who was said to have brought Buddhism to China.
February 12, 2016
I have never, and i repeat, never, read a religious text this powerful, sincere, and beautiful. If you really need a bible take this with you, but remember, at some point you'll have to burn it.
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January 19, 2026the one truly unrateable book
June 29, 2021
pure wisdom
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October 12, 2021Seng-ts’an (496?-606) was the third patriarch of Chinese Zen. He has traditionally been given credit for writing the present text. Scholars think it was probably written some time later / during the T’ang dynasty (618-690/705-907). Regardless of its authorship it is one of the most succinct distillations of Zen Buddhist thought. The translator of this edition / Richard B Clarke / renders the title in English as Verses on the Faith-Mind. A simpler version would be Trust in Mind. It was written originally in the popular Chinese four-character-per-line / four-line-per-stanza form. Clarke has chosen to translate it more freely / varying the length of lines and creating stanzas as he sees fit.
This little ten-page pamphlet wouldn’t be worth the money if its contents were not so singularly succinct and valuable. This miraculous devotional text has been read and chanted by many devotees over many centuries / and continues to be so to this day. Although in one sense it points repeatedly at the same menu of realizations / it is rigorous and concise – not a word (or / in the Chinese / not a character) is wasted.
The text expounds Mahayana doctrines such as non-dualism and the central importance of consciousness in our construction of the world. Dualities (good-bad / permanent-impermanent / and the like) are exposed as obstacles to mental clarity and unhindered existence / freedom. These doctrines were previously elucidated in the Lankavatara Sutra / which it is possible to interpret as saying that mind consciousness is all that exists / that what we make of the world is the world. There is a Buddhist tradition known as the Mind Only School. There’s a great translation of the sutra by the great translator Red Pine.
From the beginning of Hsin-hsin Ming –
D T Suzuki’s translation Inscribed On the Believing Mind can be found in his book Manual of Zen Buddhism and at the link below. His version suffers greatly from his effort to keep rhyme as part of his product. In my opinion he has done well to stick with the structure – to not do so let’s too many other aspects of the poem fall into disarray. But he would have saved himself a lot of bother if he’d let go of rhyme in order to better maintain the sense – he could have preserved in other ways the music of the poem’s language.
There are two other texts have which rival Hsin-hsin Ming in their exactness and profundity – Hakuin’s The Song of Zazen and the short version of the Heart Sutra.
If you or someone you know has a meditation practice / reading all or part of the Hsin-shin Ming will be a great way to start the day. However / although the ideas are poignant and incisive / there is no substitute for sitting down and letting go.
https://selfdefinition.org/zen/hsin-h...
This little ten-page pamphlet wouldn’t be worth the money if its contents were not so singularly succinct and valuable. This miraculous devotional text has been read and chanted by many devotees over many centuries / and continues to be so to this day. Although in one sense it points repeatedly at the same menu of realizations / it is rigorous and concise – not a word (or / in the Chinese / not a character) is wasted.
The text expounds Mahayana doctrines such as non-dualism and the central importance of consciousness in our construction of the world. Dualities (good-bad / permanent-impermanent / and the like) are exposed as obstacles to mental clarity and unhindered existence / freedom. These doctrines were previously elucidated in the Lankavatara Sutra / which it is possible to interpret as saying that mind consciousness is all that exists / that what we make of the world is the world. There is a Buddhist tradition known as the Mind Only School. There’s a great translation of the sutra by the great translator Red Pine.
From the beginning of Hsin-hsin Ming –
The Great Way is not difficult
for those not attached to preferences.
When neither love nor hate arises,
all is clear and undisguised.
Separate by the smallest amount, however,
and you are as far from it as heaven is from earth.
If you wish to know the truth,
then hold to no opinions for or against anything.
To set up what you like from what you dislike
is the disease of the mind.
When the fundamental nature of things is not recognized
the mind’s essential peace is disturbed to no avail.
The Way is perfect, as vast space is perfect,
where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess.
D T Suzuki’s translation Inscribed On the Believing Mind can be found in his book Manual of Zen Buddhism and at the link below. His version suffers greatly from his effort to keep rhyme as part of his product. In my opinion he has done well to stick with the structure – to not do so let’s too many other aspects of the poem fall into disarray. But he would have saved himself a lot of bother if he’d let go of rhyme in order to better maintain the sense – he could have preserved in other ways the music of the poem’s language.
There are two other texts have which rival Hsin-hsin Ming in their exactness and profundity – Hakuin’s The Song of Zazen and the short version of the Heart Sutra.
If you or someone you know has a meditation practice / reading all or part of the Hsin-shin Ming will be a great way to start the day. However / although the ideas are poignant and incisive / there is no substitute for sitting down and letting go.
https://selfdefinition.org/zen/hsin-h...
May 22, 2018
Describes this human life well...
September 16, 2015
beauty in shortest possible way.
July 7, 2022
Love it, but it’s not easy to live it
I read another version/translation of the Hsin-Hsin Ming years ago and found it both challenging and overwhelming.
Have you ever had that feeling that you have it figured out? That you’ve arrived? Yeah, I had that. Then, I read Seng Ts’an’s words and I was broken.
It was the good kind of breaking, the kind where you can come back stronger and closer to awake.
I was recently struggling my practice and decided I needed a good shaking, so I found this translation and slowly devoured it. Over and over.
If you want your thinking to change and your mind to be stronger, I highly recommend reading and meditating and working to live these words.
I read another version/translation of the Hsin-Hsin Ming years ago and found it both challenging and overwhelming.
Have you ever had that feeling that you have it figured out? That you’ve arrived? Yeah, I had that. Then, I read Seng Ts’an’s words and I was broken.
It was the good kind of breaking, the kind where you can come back stronger and closer to awake.
I was recently struggling my practice and decided I needed a good shaking, so I found this translation and slowly devoured it. Over and over.
If you want your thinking to change and your mind to be stronger, I highly recommend reading and meditating and working to live these words.
October 17, 2022
The interpreted translation by Erik Putkonen of the "Faith in Mind" by Seng-ts'an (3rd Patriarch of Zen), with illustrations by Suresh K. Bhavnani is a concise, clear and harmonius compilation in 36 paragraphs of the Hsin-Hsin Ming.
Non-duality and the Great Way are in focus in this little gem of condensed wisdom.
The main purpose of this review is to express my gratitude to Marcus Udsen Grandjean, who brought this book to my attention, to our Satsang in Copenhagen Denmark that give life to our disertations on the topic and ultimately to the authors and illustrators of the book.
Finally, I'd like to add an extract of the book, both a spoiler and a hook for the next reader. May you be free and happy 🙏🏾
"... The Way is beyond language ..."
Non-duality and the Great Way are in focus in this little gem of condensed wisdom.
The main purpose of this review is to express my gratitude to Marcus Udsen Grandjean, who brought this book to my attention, to our Satsang in Copenhagen Denmark that give life to our disertations on the topic and ultimately to the authors and illustrators of the book.
Finally, I'd like to add an extract of the book, both a spoiler and a hook for the next reader. May you be free and happy 🙏🏾
"... The Way is beyond language ..."
July 16, 2022
Beautiful - wow
The wave is not separate and independent, long lasting entity from the ocean. The wave can't know the ocean, 🌊, from the perspective of a wave. The wave is the ocean. The ocean is being, waving. They are One
You can't use the Buddha to find the Buddha
You can't use light to find light
Non duality is the key to Enlightenment
"Don’t waste your time in arguments and discussion attempting to grasp the ungraspable."
"All the Buddhas and all sentient beings are nothing but the One Mind, beside which nothing exists. The One Mind alone is the Buddha, and there is no distinction between the Buddha and sentient beings."
The wave is not separate and independent, long lasting entity from the ocean. The wave can't know the ocean, 🌊, from the perspective of a wave. The wave is the ocean. The ocean is being, waving. They are One
You can't use the Buddha to find the Buddha
You can't use light to find light
Non duality is the key to Enlightenment
"Don’t waste your time in arguments and discussion attempting to grasp the ungraspable."
"All the Buddhas and all sentient beings are nothing but the One Mind, beside which nothing exists. The One Mind alone is the Buddha, and there is no distinction between the Buddha and sentient beings."
May 23, 2023
"The ultimate truth is beyond words. Doctrines are words. They're not the way."
-Presents a direct and simple approach to understanding reality, devoid of complex theories or dogmas.
-Emphasizes the importance of transcending dualistic thinking and embracing the unity of all things.
-Let go of attachments and desires, leading to a state of pure awareness.
And here comes my favorite quote from the book:
-Presents a direct and simple approach to understanding reality, devoid of complex theories or dogmas.
-Emphasizes the importance of transcending dualistic thinking and embracing the unity of all things.
-Let go of attachments and desires, leading to a state of pure awareness.
And here comes my favorite quote from the book:
"Do not get entangled in things;
Do not get lost in emptiness.
Be still in the oneness of things
and dualism vanishes by itself"
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November 24, 2020I purchased this little pocket book from Amazon in Feb-2017. Tiny little it might be in size, however, each set of lines brims with an utterly potent material; full of power, love and awareness. The paintings inside are equally beautiful and soothing. I think that this book is worth a read not just once, but again and again throughout one's lifetime especially if one is interested in evolving one's self awareness.
July 24, 2021
There is an island, an island which you cannot go beyond.
It is a place of nothingness, a place of non-possession and of non-attachment.
It is the total end of death and decay, and this is why I call it Nibbāna [the extinguished, the cool].
There are people who, in mindfulness, have realized this and are completely cooled here and now. They do not become slaves working for Māra, for Death; they cannot fall into his power.’
Kappamāṇavapucchā • Pārāyanavagga • SUTTA-NIPĀTA
It is a place of nothingness, a place of non-possession and of non-attachment.
It is the total end of death and decay, and this is why I call it Nibbāna [the extinguished, the cool].
There are people who, in mindfulness, have realized this and are completely cooled here and now. They do not become slaves working for Māra, for Death; they cannot fall into his power.’
Kappamāṇavapucchā • Pārāyanavagga • SUTTA-NIPĀTA
February 22, 2025
This book reminds me of the Tao Te Ching and the Dhammapada—a small volume that holds profound truth. I stumbled upon it through Osho. He once said, “If I were to save only two books from the whole world of the mystics, then these would be the two. One would be from the world of Zen, the path of awareness: Sosan’s Hsin Hsin Ming… It contains the quintessence of Zen.” He wasn’t exaggerating.
December 30, 2022
4/5 stars. Physical book. This is a very short text full of power and meaning. I plan to read this more than once because there is so much wisdom in it. The passages on duality really got to me. It is really beautiful, but difficult to explain here. I recommend to all.
June 19, 2023
Burn after reading
Words are used to take us beyond words. When nothing is said, nothing is left unsaid. All things arise together and all things disappear together. How wonderful.
Words are used to take us beyond words. When nothing is said, nothing is left unsaid. All things arise together and all things disappear together. How wonderful.
January 28, 2025
I stumbled onto this little book years ago. It stays on my bedside table. Reading it several times a year always brings lightness in the moment. The first 2 lines are for me, the most simple and profound.
The great way is not difficult
for those not attached to preferences.
The great way is not difficult
for those not attached to preferences.
February 23, 2025
Wise words. To be contemplated.
Note: Danger with this (Richard B. Clarke) translation is it can we read as a “how to” rather than a reflection of a deeper truth within all of us. At the same time appreciate that translating such a text is challenging.
Note: Danger with this (Richard B. Clarke) translation is it can we read as a “how to” rather than a reflection of a deeper truth within all of us. At the same time appreciate that translating such a text is challenging.
June 4, 2017
Beautiful and profound.
October 6, 2017
Profound. Transforming. Simply Perfect!
December 15, 2017
It's the truth. Abandon discrimination. I refer back to this every so often and it only gets better.
May 10, 2018
A really small book which has everything.
November 20, 2018
Очень хорошо.
April 21, 2019
An incredibly deep and rich piece of wisdom writing from the ancient Buddhist tradition. Beautiful, challenging, and resonant with truth.
May 26, 2019
This book contains nothing. Literally, it contain nothing. the Nothing which we all should forget to know.
December 16, 2019
Highways code of zen
It is like the highway code of zen - said a wise person. . . . . . . .
It is like the highway code of zen - said a wise person. . . . . . . .
January 6, 2020
Words! Words!
The Way is beyond language,
Words never could, can not now, and never will describe the Way.
The Way is beyond language,
Words never could, can not now, and never will describe the Way.
January 6, 2020
Words! Words!
The Way is beyond language,
Words never could, can not now, and never will describe the Way.
The Way is beyond language,
Words never could, can not now, and never will describe the Way.
May 31, 2021
Another everyday read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews