This page is part of my exploration of the origins of Zen.
Trust in Mind (Hsin Shin Ming) by the 3rd patriarch of the Zen Dhyana Sect, Jianzhi Sengcan (Seng T'san), is probably the first Chinese Zen document (6th century) … a creation arising from the blending of Indian Buddhist, Chinese Taoist, and Chinese Chan doctrine.—Jan Chozen Bays
Trust in Mind is at the core of my practice. I return to this poem with commentary by Mu Soeng more often than any other text.
… when the traditions of Buddha’s teachings, Taoist naturalism, and Chan come together in Trust in Mind as three intimately interlinked strands, we find a shared commonality of perceiving the self and the world in a certain way. This shared commonality sees that:
- “Self” and “things” are processes and are characterized by an ever-changing coreless open-endedness.
- “Reality” is not substance but a network of causal happenings that create different manifestations in each moment.
- Hence the issue is existential, not ontological.
- The deeper issue is our distorted perception of self and the world.
- Liberation is cleansing the lens of perception, not accumulation of speculative views.
- Language itself has only a conditional value and its meaning is always tied to the context in which it appears.
—Mu Soeng
There are many translations.
Here is a superb commentary including ten translations: Trust in Mind: The Rebellion of Chinese Zen (PDF) by Mu Soeng (2004) alterate link (PDF).
This page is part of my exploration of the origins of Zen.
2024-10-03
By Val Delane
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0