Xinxin Ming (alternate spellingsXin Xin Ming orXinxinming) (Chinese:信心銘;Pīnyīn:Xìnxīn Míng;Wade–Giles:Hsin Hsin Ming;Rōmaji:Shinjinmei), meaning literally: "Faith-Mind Inscription," is a poem attributed to the Third ChineseChán PatriarchJianzhi Sengcan (Chinese:鑑智僧璨;Pīnyīn:Jiànzhì Sēngcàn;Wade–Giles:Chien-chih Seng-ts'an;Romaji:Kanchi Sōsan) and one of the earliest Chinese Chan expressions of theBuddhist mind training practice. It is located in section T2010 of the Taisho Tripitaka.
The poem expresses the practice of taking pleasant and unpleasant life experiences with a sense of equanimity. Broadly speaking, theXinxin Ming deals with the principles and practice ofnon-duality, that is, with the application of nonduality and the results of its practice.[1] As an early expression of Chan Buddhism, theInscription on Faith in Mind reveals the Buddhist missionary use of expedient means (upaya) in China by adaptingDaoist terminology to the Buddhist context of awakening. It also draws on theWisdom sutras as well as theAvatamsaka Sutra andLankavatara Sutra to express the essential unity of opposites and the basic nature of emptiness (śūnyatā).[note 1] TheXinxin Ming has been much beloved by Chan (Zen) practitioners for over a thousand years and is still studied in Western Zen circles.[2]
AlthoughSengcan has traditionally been attributed as the author, modern scholars believe that the work was written well after Sengcan's death, probably during theTang dynasty (Chinese:唐朝; pinyin:Tángcháo) (618–907) (Dumoulin, p 97). Some scholars note the similarity with a poem called theXin Ming (Mind Inscription or Song of Mind)[3] attributed to Niu-t'ou Fa-jung (594–657) of theOxhead school of Chan and have speculated that theXinxin Ming is an abridged version of the Mind Inscription. Sharf observes that theXinxin Ming may have been intended as an "improvement" on the earlierXin Ming (Mind Inscription).[4] TheXinxin Ming can be found in chapter 30 of theTransmission of the Lamp (Chinese:景德傳燈錄;Pinyin:Jǐngdé Chuándēng-lù;Wade–Giles:Ching-te Ch'uanteng-lu;Japanese:Keitoku Dentō-roku).[5][6]
Bernard Faure observes that theXinxin Ming exhibits criticism of theNorthern School practice known as "maintaining the one" or "guarding the one" (shouyi 守一), which was falling out of fashion with the eclipse of Northern Chan. Such criticism can be seen in the following passage from theXinxin Ming: "If there is even a trace of ‘is’ or ‘is not,’ the mind will be lost in confusion. Although the two comes from the One, do not guard even this One."[7] It has also been pointed out that theXinxin Ming closely resembles the shortOxhead School work, theXin Ming (Mind Inscription),[8][9] a text taken to contain criticisms of the similar Northern School practice of "maintaining (or guarding) the mind" (shouxin 守心) by some scholars, such as Kuno Hōryū[10] and Henrik Sorensen.[11]
Likewise, Dusan Pajin observes that both theXinxin Ming and theXin Ming contain similar admonitions against using the mind to hold the mind and using the mind to maintain tranquility. Pajin also points out that theXinxin Ming exhibits influences from Daoism and he notes the inclusion in the text of such terms aswuwei (non-action), as well asziran (naturalness, spontaneity), which Pajin says "has a completely Taoist meaning." Pajin writes that this aligns with the Chan tendency, influenced by Daoism, "to stress spontaneity, at the expense of rules, or discipline." Pajin also writes that theXinxin Ming's emphasis on faith in mind could be understood as a Chan response toPure Land practice in which one puts one's faith inBuddha Amitābha.[12][note 2]
Xinxin has commonly been interpreted as "faith" or "trust." For example, one translation is "Faith in Mind" (SeeThe Poetry of Enlightenment: Poems by Ancient Ch'an Masters, Ch'an Master Sheng-Yen).
Yoshida Osamu translatesxinxin as "faith-mind,"[13] and says, "Althoughxin (faith) andxin (mind) in the conventional sense are concerned respectively with object and subject, in ultimate reality they are not different."[14] Similarly, Joanne Miller writes, "Xinxin refers to the conviction that the searching mind is the object of its own search i.e., buddha nature. In terms of a process or a practice, this faith is the experience of the mind when we experience non-duality. In this state, the trusting mind itself becomes the object of trust."[15] R.H. Blyth also says that the believing mind is not a belief insomething. It is not a matter of one thing believing in another. Rather, Blyth quotes theNirvāṇa Sūtra which says, "The Believing Mind is the Buddha nature." Blyth comments that, "It is perfect because it is single, unique, complete, all-including."[16][note 3]
McRae translatesxin 信 as "to rely on," noting this entails faith or conviction. However, he also points out, following Yanagida, that in the compoundxinxin 信心, the first character can also have a meaning similar to "true," and should be translated along the lines of "perfected."[note 4] He suggests that the titleXinxin Ming be translated either asInscription on Relying on the Mind orInscription on the Perfected Mind.[18]
From the Chan/Zen point of view, the true mind is perfect as it is. It is only false views that obscure the true mind's inherent perfection. As the text states,
Any 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.[a]
Moreover, the passage that follows immediately after explicitly warns against losing the original, true mind:
Do not dwell in the two biased views. Make sure you do not pursue. The moment you think about right and wrong, that moment you unwittingly lose your true mind.[b]
Whether translated as Faith in Mind, Believing in Mind, Trust in Mind, or The Truthful Mind, the central message of theXinxin Ming is the same: to point directly to Mind by giving up one-sided views so we can see the One Suchness of reality as it is.[c]
^From the Chan/Zen point of view, Buddha and Mind are one (即心即佛), as expressed in Mazu's famous dictum "Mind is Buddha." Accordingly, one finds emphasis on taking refuge in one's inner Buddha over outward Buddhas in Chan (see thePlatform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, 六祖壇經).
^See also the following from Sung Bae Park'sBuddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment:
"Unlike Western theistic religions, which are based on a dualistic subject-object structure, as expressed in the 'faith in ______' construction (e.g. faith inGod), the East Asian tradition of Mahāyāna Buddhism is based on a nondualt'i-yung, or 'essence-function' construction. According to East Asian Mahāyāna Buddhism, faith does not require an object; rather, it is a natural function (yung) of one's own (originally enlightened) Mind, understood ast'i, or 'essence.'"[17]
^A reading of the text which translatesxinxin as "truthful mind," can be found at:[1]. Becausexinxin (信心) usually means "trust", "confidence", or "believing mind", it is often forgotten thatxinxin can also be understood as the truthful mind. This is consistent with the traditional view ofBuddha nature being there all the time. It just waits to be rediscovered.
^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."
^Sacred Texts Henrik H. Sorensentranslation of "Mind Inscription", the possible original source of Xinxin Ming
^Robert Sharf, Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism, A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, page 48, University of Hawai'i Press, 2002
^Robert Sharf. Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, page 184, University of Hawai'i Press, 2002
^The "Hsin-Ming" Attributed to Niu-t'ou Fa-jung, translated into English by Henrik H. Sorensen, in the Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Vol.13, 1986, page 105
^Robert Sharf. Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism, A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise, page 48, University of Hawai'i Press, 2002
^John McRae. The Ox-head School of Chinese Ch'an Buddhism: From Early Ch'an to the Golden Age, in Studies in Ch'an and Hua-yen, edited by Robert M. Gimello and Peter Gregory, page 208, University of Hawai'i Press, 1983
^The "Hsin-Ming" Attributed to Niu-t'ou Fa-jung, translated into English by Henrik H. Sorensen, in the Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Vol.13, 1986, page 116, note 57; page 117, note 69
.svg)
