Difference between revisions of "Jianzhi Sengcan" - New World Encyclopedia

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'''Jianzhi Sengcan''' (僧璨) (?-606) (Wade-Giles, Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Japanese, Kanchi Sosan) is known as the Third Chinese Patriarch of [[Chán]] ([[Zen]]) after [[Bodhidharma]] and thirtieth Patriarch after Siddhārtha [[Gautama Buddha]]. He is considered the Dharma successor of the second Chinese Patriarch, Dazu [[Huike]] (神光慧可) (Wade-Giles, Ta-tsu Hui-k’o, Japanese, Taiso Eka). After a legendary encounter with his teacher, Huike, he secluded himself for many years in the mountains to avoid the persecution of Buddhism underway at that time, until he met his successor, [[Daoxin]], and transmitted the [[Dharma]] to him. He died sitting under a tree before a Dharma assembly in 606, and was later given the honorary title Jianzhi (Chien-chih, “Mirrorlike Wisdom”) by [[Xuan Zong Emperor of Tang]] (September 8, 685<ref> Dates given here are in the [[Julian calendar]]. They are not in the [[proleptic Gregorian calendar]].</ref> May 3, 762).  
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'''Jianzhi Sengcan''' (僧璨) (died 606) (Wade-Giles, Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Japanese, Kanchi Sosan) is known as the Third Chinese Patriarch of [[Chán]] ([[Zen]]) after [[Bodhidharma]] and thirtieth Patriarch after Siddhārtha [[Gautama Buddha]]. He is considered the Dharma successor of the second Chinese Patriarch, Dazu [[Huike]] (神光慧可) (Wade-Giles, Ta-tsu Hui-k’o, Japanese, Taiso Eka). After a legendary encounter with his teacher, Huike, he secluded himself for many years in the mountains to avoid the persecution of Buddhism underway at that time, until he met his successor, [[Daoxin]], and transmitted the [[Dharma]] to him. He died sitting under a tree before a Dharma assembly in 606, and was later given the honorary title Jianzhi (Chien-chih, “Mirrorlike Wisdom”) by [[Xuan Zong Emperor of Tang]] (September 8, 685<ref>Dates given here are in the [[Julian calendar]]. They are not in the [[proleptic Gregorian calendar]].</ref>-May 3, 762).  
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Sengcan is best known as the putative author of the Chán poem, ''[[Xinxin Ming]]'' (信心銘,''Hsin Hsin Ming'', “''Verses on Faith-Mind”''), much beloved by Chan (Zen) practitioners for over a thousand years. The poem reveals the influence of  [[Tao]]ism on Chan [[Buddhism]], and deals with the principles of [[nondualism|non-duality]] and the metaphysical notion of emptiness ''([[śūnyatā]])'' which can be traced back to [[Nagarjuna]] (c.150-250 C.E.) (Chinese: 龍樹).  
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Sengcan is best known as the putative author of the Chán poem, ''[[Xinxin Ming]]'' (信心銘,''Hsin Hsin Ming'', ''Verses on Faith-Mind''), much beloved by Chan (Zen) practitioners for over a thousand years. The poem reveals the influence of  [[Tao]]ism on Chan [[Buddhism]], and deals with the principles of [[nondualism|non-duality]] and the metaphysical notion of emptiness ''([[śūnyatā]])'' which can be traced back to [[Nagarjuna]] (c.150-250 C.E.) (Chinese: 龍樹).  
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== Historical sources ==
 
== Historical sources ==
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The historical record of Sengcan is extremely limited. Of all the Chán patriarchs, Sengcan is the most ambiguous and the least known. Most of what is known about his life comes from the ''Wudeng Huiyuan'' ''(Compendium of Five Lamps)'', compiled in the early thirteenth century by the monk Puji at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou. The first of the five records in the compendium is a text commonly referred to as the ''Transmission of the Lamp''<ref>Andrew E. Ferguson, ''Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings'' (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000, ISBN 0 86171 163 7), 10-11.</ref> and it is from this text that most of the information about Sengcan is garnered. Most modern scholars have some doubts about the historical accuracy of the ''Lamp'' records.<ref>John R. McRae, ''Seeing Through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism'' (University of California Press, 2003, ISBN0-520-23798-6 p 5).</ref><ref>Heinrich Dumoulin, ''Zen Buddhism: A History, Volume I, India and China'' (Simon & Schuster and Prentice Hall International, 1998, ISBN 0 02 897109 4), 97.</ref>  The earliest recorded reference to Sengcan is in ''Further Biographies of Eminent Monks'' (645) (Japanese, ''Zoku kosoden''; Pin-yin, ''Hsu kao-seng chuan'') by [[Tao-hsuan]] (?-667) where Sengcan’s name is listed immediately after Huike’s name, as one of seven disciples of [[Huike]] in a biographical entry about the Lankavatara sutra master, [[Fa-ch’ung]] (587-665). No further information is given.<ref>Dumoulin, 96-97.</ref>
  
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The historical record of Sengcan is extremely limited. Of all the Chán patriarchs, Sengcan is the most ambiguous and the least known. Most of what is known about his life comes from the ''Wudeng Huiyuan'' ''(Compendium of Five Lamps)'', compiled in the early thirteenth century by the monk Puji at [http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/hangzhou/lingyinindex.htm Lingyin Temple] in Hangzhou. The first of the five records in the compendium is a text commonly referred to as the ''Transmission of the Lamp'' <ref>Andrew E. Ferguson, ''Zen's Chinese heritage: the masters and their teachings.'' Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000.  ISBN 0 86171 163 7 pp 10-11</ref> and it is from this text that most of the information about Sengcan is garnered. Most modern scholars have some doubts about the historical accuracy of the ''Lamp'' records. <ref>: “…what counts in the Chan transmissions scheme are not the “facts” of what happened…but rather how these figures were perceived in terms of Chan mythology. …what the texts say happened almost certainly did not occur” (original emphasis) (John R. McRae ''Seeing Through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism,'' University of California Press, 2003. ISBN0-520-23798-6 p 5)</ref><ref> Of Sengcan, Dumoulin says, “…we have no certain information regarding Seng-ts’an. The course of his life lies in darkness.” Heinrich Dumoulin,  ''Zen Buddhism: A History, Volume I, India and China,'' Simon & Schuster and Prentice Hall International, 1994, 1998. ISBN 0 02 897109 4  p 97</ref>  The earliest recorded reference to Sengcan is in ''Further Biographies of Eminent Monks'' (645) (Japanese, ''Zoku kosoden''; Pin-yin, ''Hsu kao-seng chuan'') by [[Tao-hsuan]] (?- 667) where Sengcan’s name is listed immediately after Huike’s name, as one of seven disciples of [[Huike]] in a biographical entry about the Lankavatara sutra master, [[Fa-ch’ung]] (587-665). No further information is given. <ref>Dumoulin, pp 96-97</ref>
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It was not until the ''Records of the Transmission of the Dharma-treasure'' ''(Sh’uan fa-pao chi)'', compiled about 710 and drawing on the stories in the ''Further Biographies of Eminent Monks,'' that a teaching “lineage” for Chan Buddhism was created. Some have speculated that it was merely the fact that Sengcan’s name immediately followed Huike’s name in the latter work that led to him being named as the Third Patriarch of Chan.<ref>John R. McRae, ''The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism'' (University of Hawaii Press, 1986, ISBN 0-8248-1056-2), 280-281.</ref> The biography that follows is garnered largely from traditional biographies of Sengcan, mainly the ''Transmission of the Lamp'' (Denkoroku), by [[Keizan]] Jokin Zenji, a [[koan]] collection of 53 [[enlightenment]] stories based on the traditional legendary accounts of the [[Zen]] transmission between successive masters and disciples in the [[Soto Zen]] [[Buddhist]] lineage from [[Shakyamuni]] [[Buddhahood|Buddha]] to Japanese Zen Master [[Ejo]], who first brought the Soto Zen teaching from [[China]] to [[Japan]].  
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It was not until the ''Records of the Transmission of the Dharma-treasure'' (''Sh’uan fa-pao chi''), compiled about 710 and drawing on the stories in the ''Further Biographies of Eminent Monks,'' that a teaching “lineage” for Chan Buddhism was created. Some have speculated that it was merely the fact that Sengcan’s name immediately followed Huike’s name in the latter work that led to him being named as the Third Patriarch of Chan. <ref> John R. McRae, The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism, University of Hawaii Press, 1986. ISBN 0-8248-1056-2 pp280-281 n.40</REF> The biography that follows is garnered largely from traditional biographies of Sengcan, mainly the ''Transmission of the Lamp'' (Denkoroku) , by [[Keizan]] Jokin Zenji, a [[koan]] collection of 53 [[enlightenment]] stories based on the traditional legendary accounts of the [[Zen]] transmission between successive masters and disciples in the [[Soto Zen]] [[Buddhist]] lineage from [[Shakyamuni]] [[Buddhahood|Buddha]] to Japanese Zen Master [[Ejo]], who first brought the Soto Zen teaching from [[China]] to [[Japan]].  
 
  
 
==Biography==
 
==Biography==
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:Sengcan (after a long pause): When I look for my sin, I cannot find it.
 
:Sengcan (after a long pause): When I look for my sin, I cannot find it.
  
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:Huike: I have absolved you. You should live by the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. <ref>Cleary, Thomas (1990) Transmission of Light: Zen in the Art of Enlightenment by Zen Master Keizan, North Point Press ISBN 0-86547-433-8 p 129</ref> <ref>compare with Huike’s meeting with his teacher, Bodhidharma:  
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:Huike: I have absolved you. You should live by the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.<ref>Thomas Cleary, ''Transmission of Light: Zen in the Art of Enlightenment by Zen Master Keizan'' (North Point Press, 1990, ISBN 0-86547-433-8), 129.</ref><ref>Desheng Zong, [http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/Philosophical/Three_LanguageRelated_Methods.html Three Language-Related Methods In Early Chinese Chan Buddhism.] Retrieved December 1, 2008.</ref>
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:Huike: My mind is not at ease-—please pacify it for me!
 
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:Bodhidharma: Bring me your mind, and I will.
 
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:Huike: But no matter how I might look, the mind is not a ‘thing’ I can find.
 
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:Bodhidharma: There, I’ve pacified your mind for you!” (McRae, p 23)</ref><ref>see also [http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/Philosophical/Three_LanguageRelated_Methods.html Three Language-Related Methods In Early Chinese Chan Buddhism] Desheng Zong. Retrieved December 1, 2008.</ref>
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It is said that Sengcan was over forty years old when he first met Huike in 536<ref>Andrew E.Ferguson, ''Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings'' (ISBN 0 86171 163 7), 21.</ref> and that he stayed with his teacher for six years.<ref>Dumoulin, 97.</ref> Huike gave him the name Sengcan (literally "Sangha-jewel," meaning “Gem Monk, ” or "Jewel of the Buddhist Community.")<ref>Ferguson, 22.</ref> There are discrepancies in the accounts of how long Sengcan stayed with Huike. ''The Transmission of the Lamp'' records that he “attended Huike for two years”<ref>Cleary, 129.</ref> after which Huike passed on the robe of [[Bodhidharma]] and Bodhidharma’s Dharma (generally considered to be the ''Lankavatara Sutra''), making him the Third Patriarch of Chan. According to the Zen scholar Heinrich Dumoulin,<ref>Dumoulin, 97.</ref> in 574, the accounts say that he fled with Huike to the mountains due to the Buddhist persecution underway at that time. However, the ''Lamp'' records claim that after transmitting the Dharma to Sengcan, Huike warned him to live in the mountains and “Wait for the time when you can transmit the Dharma to someone else.”<ref>Ferguson, 22.</ref> because a prediction made to Bodhidharma (Huike’s teacher) by Prajnadhara, the twenty-seventh Chan ancestor in [[India]], foretold of a coming calamity (the Buddhist persecution of 574-577).
  
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It is said that Sengcan was over forty years old when he first met Huike in 536 <ref>Andrew E.Ferguson, ''Zen’s Chinese heritage: the masters and their teachings'', ISBN 0 86171 163 7 p 21</ref>and that he stayed with his teacher for six years. <ref>Dumoulin, p. 97</ref> Huike gave him the name Sengcan (literally "Sangha-jewel," meaning “Gem Monk, ” or "Jewel of the Buddhist Community.")
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After receiving Dharma transmission, Sengcan lived in hiding on Wangong Mountain in Yixian and then on Sikong Mountain in southwestern Anhui. After that he wandered for 10 years with no fixed abode.<ref>Ferguson, 23.</ref> In 592, he met [[Daoxin]], (580-651) (Pin-yin, Tao-hsin 道信 Japanese, Daii Doshin) a novice monk of just fourteen.<ref>The discrepancy is noted. The 592 date comes from Ferguson, p. 24</ref>) Daoxin attended Sengcan for nine years and received Dharma transmission when he was still in his early twenties. Subsequently, Sengcan spent two years at Mount Luofu (Lo-fu shan, northeast of Kung-tung (Canton)) before returning to Wangong Mountain. He died sitting under a tree before a Dharma assembly in 606. Dumoulin<ref>Dumoulin, 104-105.</ref> notes that a Chinese official, Li Ch’ang, found Sengcan’s grave in Shu-chou in 745 or 746. Sengcan received the honorary title Jianzhi (Chien-chih, “Mirrorlike Wisdom”) (Wade-Giles, Chien-chih; Japanese, Kanchi) from the Tang dynasty emperor Xuan Zong (September 8, 685-May 3, 762), who is credited with bringing Tang China to a pinnacle of culture and power.
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<ref>Ferguson, p. 22</ref>  There are discrepancies in the accounts of how long Sengcan stayed with Huike. ''The Transmission of the Lamp'' records that he “attended Huike for two years” <ref>Cleary, p. 129</ref> after which Huike passed on the robe of [[Bodhidharma]] and Bodhidharma’s Dharma (generally considered to be the ''Lankavatara Sutra''), making him the Third Patriarch of Chan. According to Dumoulin <ref> Dumoulin, p 97<ref>, in 574 the accounts say that he fled with Huike to the mountains due to the Buddhist persecution underway at that time. However, the ''Lamp'' records claim that after transmitting the Dharma to Sengcan, Huike warned him to live in the mountains and “Wait for the time when you can transmit the Dharma to someone else.” <ref>Ferguson, p. 22</ref>, because a prediction made to Bodhidharma (Huike’s teacher) by Prajnadhara, the twenty-seventh Chan ancestor in [[India]], foretold of a coming calamity (the Buddhist persecution of 574-577).
 
  
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After receiving Dharma transmission, Sengcan lived in hiding on Wangong Mountain in Yixian and then on Sikong Mountain in southwestern Anhui. After that he wandered for 10 years with no fixed abode. <ref>Ferguson, p. 23</ref>. In 592, he met [[Daoxin]], (580-651) (Pin-yin, Tao-hsin 道信 Japanese, Daii Doshin) a novice monk of just fourteen. <ref> The discrepancy is noted. The 592 date comes from Ferguson, p. 24</ref>)  Daoxin attended Sengcan for nine years and received Dharma transmission when he was still in his early twenties. Subsequently, Sengcan spent two years at Mount Luofu (Lo-fu shan, northeast of Kung-tung (Canton)) before returning to Wangong Mountain. He died sitting under a tree before a Dharma assembly in 606. Dumoulin <ref> Dumoulin, pp. 104-105, n.54</ref> notes that a Chinese official, Li Ch’ang, found Sengcan’s grave in Shu-chou in 745 or 746. Sengcan received the honorary title Jianzhi (Chien-chih, “Mirrorlike Wisdom”) (Wade-Giles, Chien-chih; Japanese, Kanchi) from the Tang dynasty emperor Xuan Zong (September 8, 685<ref>General note: Dates given here are in the [[Julian calendar]]. They are not in the [[proleptic Gregorian calendar]].</ref><ref name=birth/>-May 3, 762), who is credited with bringing Tang China to a pinnacle of culture and power.
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Although Sengcan has traditionally been honored as the author of the ''Xinxinming Hsin Hsin Ming,'' most modern scholars dismiss this as unlikely and improbable.<ref>Dumoulin, 97.</ref><ref>Sacred Texts, [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/fm/fm.htm Jianzhi Sengcan.] Retrieved December 1, 2008.</ref>
  
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Although Sengcan has traditionally been honored as the author of the ''Xinxinming Hsin Hsin Ming'', most modern scholars dismiss this as unlikely and improbable. <ref>“The poem Faith in Mind (Xin Xin Ming) is believed by many scholars to have been written after Sengcan’s lifetime, perhaps by an individual in the Oxhead Zen School.” (Ferguson, p 492 n.18) see also Dumoulin p 97</ref> <ref> For a fuller discussion on authorship see [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/fm/fm.htm Sacred Texts ] Retrieved December 1, 2008.</ref>
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Sengcan, like Bodhidharma and Huike before him, was reputed to be a devotee and specialist in the study of the ''Lankavatara Sutra'' (“Sutra on the Descent to Sri Lanka”), which taught the elimination of all duality and the “forgetting of words and thoughts,”<ref>Dumoulin, 95.</ref> stressing the contemplation of wisdom. The link between the Lankavatara Sutra and the “Bodhidharma school” is provided in Tao-hsuan’s ''Further Biographies of Eminent Monks'' where, in the biography of Fa-ch’ung he “stresses that Hui-k’o was the first to grasp the essence of the Lankavatara Sutra.”<ref>Ibid.</ref> and includes Sengcan as one who “discoursed on but did not write about the profound message of the Lankavatara Sutra."<ref>Ibid, 97.</ref> Due to the lack of authentic evidence, comments on Sengcan's teachings are speculative.<ref>McRae (1986), 29.</ref>
  
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Various legends surround the life of Jianzhi Sengcan. According to one, when he encountered the second patriarch [[Huike]] for the first time, Huike is supposed to have said, "You are suffering from leprosy; what could you want from me?" Seng-ts'an replied, "Even if my body is sick, the heart-mind of a sick person is no different from your heart-mind." This convinced Huike of Sengcan’s spiritual capacity. It is also said that during the Buddhist persecution of the year 574, Sengcan feigned mental illness in order to escape execution. When he went into hiding on Mount Huan-kung, his presence there is said to have pacified the wild [[tiger]]s, which had caused great fear among the local people.<ref>Michael H. Kohn and Stephan Schuhmacher, ''The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen'' (Boston, MA: Shambhala, 1994, ISBN 0877739803), 311.</ref>
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Sengcan, like Bodhidharma and Huike before him, was reputed to be a devotee and specialist in the study of the ''Lankavatara Sutra'' (“Sutra on the Descent to Sri Lanka”), which taught the elimination of all duality and the “forgetting of words and thoughts,” <ref>Dumoulin  p 95</ref>  stressing the contemplation of wisdom. The link between the Lankavatara Sutra and the “Bodhidharma school” is provided in Tao-hsuan’s ''Further Biographies of Eminent Monks'' where, in the biography of Fa-ch’ung  he “stresses that Hui-k’o was the first to grasp the essence of the Lankavatara Sutra” <ref>Dumoulin  p. 95</ref> and includes Sengcan as one who “discoursed on but did not write about the profound message of the Lankavatara Sutra. <ref>Ibid p. 97</ref> Due to the lack of authentic evidence, comments on Sengcan's teachings are speculative. <ref> McRae describes the link between Bodhidharma (and therefore Sengcan) and the Lankavatara Sutra as “superficial.” (McRae (1986) p 29)</ref>
 
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Various legends surround the life of Jianzhi Sengcan. According to one, when he encountered the second patriarch [[Huike]] for the first time, Huike is supposed to have said, "You are suffering from leprosy; what could you want from me?" Seng-ts'an replied, "Even if my body is sick, the heart-mind of a sick person is no different from your heart-mind." This convinced Huike of Sengcan’s spiritual capacity. It is also said that during the Buddhist persecution of the year 574, Sengcan feigned mental illness in order to escape execution. When he went into hiding on Mount Huan-kung, his presence there is said to have pacified the wild [[tiger]]s, which had caused great fear among the local people. <ref>Michael H. Kohn and Stephan Schuhmacher. ''The encyclopedia of eastern philosophy and religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen.'' Boston, Mass: Shambhala. 1994. ISBN 0877739803 p. 311</ref>
 
  
 
==Xinxin Ming==
 
==Xinxin Ming==
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Xinxin Ming  (alternative spellings: Xin Xin Ming or Xinxinming) (信心銘) (Wade-Giles: ''Hsin Hsin Ming''; Japanese: ''Shinjinmei'' (or ''Shinjin no Mei''); Korean: Sinsim Myong), a poem  attributed to Jianzhi [[Sengcan]], is one of the earliest Chinese Chan expressions of the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] mind training practice. Although Sengcan has been traditionally recognized as the author, modern scholars believe that the verse was written well after Sengcan's death, probably during the [[Tang Dynasty]]<ref>Dumoulin, 97.</ref> 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).
  
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Xinxin Ming  (alternative spellings: Xin Xin Ming or Xinxinming) (信心銘) (Wade-Giles: ''Hsin Hsin Ming''; Japanese: ''Shinjinmei'' (or ''Shinjin no Mei''); Korean: Sinsim Myong), a poem  attributed to Jianzhi [[Sengcan]], is one of the earliest Chinese Chan expressions of the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] mind training practice. Although Sengcan has been traditionally recognized as the author, modern scholars believe that the verse was written well after Sengcan's death, probably during the [[Tang Dynasty]] <ref>Dumoulin, p. 97</ref> 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).
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The word "xinxin" has commonly been interpreted as "faith" or "trust," and there are numerous translations of the title including "Faith in Mind," "Inscription on Trust in the Mind," "Verses on the Faith Mind," "On Believing in Mind," "Inscription of the Perfected Mind," and “The Truthful Mind.”
  
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The word "xinxin" has commonly been interpreted as "faith" or "trust," and there are numerous translations of the title including "''Faith in Mind," "Inscription on Trust in the Mind," "Verses on the Faith Mind," "On Believing in Mind," "Inscription of the Perfected Mind,''" and  “''The Truthful Mind''.”
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The ''Xinxin Ming'' has been much beloved by Chan (Zen) practitioners for over a thousand years. Many important commentaries were written on it, and is still studied in Western [[Zen]] circles.<ref>Soeng (2004), xiii.</ref> The opening stanza, "The best way is not difficult. It only excludes picking and choosing," is quoted by many Zen masters.  
  
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The ''Xinxin Ming'' has been much beloved by Chan (Zen) practitioners for over a thousand years. Many important commentaries were written on it, and is still studied in Western [[Zen]] circles.<ref>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."</ref> The opening stanza, "The best way is not difficult. It only excludes picking and choosing," is quoted by many Zen masters.
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''Xinxin Ming'' consists of 146 unrhymed four-character verses (lines), making a total of 584 characters. It was composed in shih form, although unlike most shih, no end rhyme is employed. An early expression of Chan Buddhism, ''Xinxin Ming'' reveals a [[Tao]]ist influence mingled with Buddhist spirituality. It is written in genuine Chinese without the use of [[Sanskrit]] or [[Pali]] Buddhist terms. Words of [[Taoism|Taoist]] origin such as non-action ''(wu-wei)'', no-mind ''(wu hsin)'', one mind ''(i-hsin)'', spontaneity ''(tzu jan)'', vacuity ''(hsü)'', and deep meaning ''(hsüan-chih)'' illustrate the profound influence of  Taoism on Zen.<ref>Sacred-texts.com, [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/fm/fm.htm Zen texts] Retrieved December 1, 2008.</ref>
  
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''Xinxin Ming'' consists of 146 unrhymed four-character verses (lines), making a total of 584 characters. It was composed in shih form, although unlike most shih, no end rhyme is employed. An early expression of Chan Buddhism, ''Xinxin Ming'' reveals a [[Tao]]ist influence mingled with Buddhist spirituality. It is written in genuine Chinese without the use of [[Sanskrit]] or [[Pali]] Buddhist terms. Words of [[Taoism|Taoist]] origin such as non-action (''wu-wei''), no-mind (''wu hsin''), one mind (''i-hsin''), spontaneity (''tzu jan''), vacuity (''hsü''), and deep meaning (''hsüan-chih'') illustrate the profound influence of  Taoism on Zen.<ref> Sacred-texts.com [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/fm/fm.htm Zen texts] Retrieved December 1, 2008.</ref>
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The poem draws on the [[Perfection of Wisdom|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 C.E.) (Chinese: 龍樹). The Xinxin Ming deals with the principles of [[nondualism|non-duality]] and the results of practice and the application of these principles.<ref>Dusan Pajin, On Faith in Mind, ''Journal of Oriental Studies'' XXVI (2), Hong Kong, 1988.</ref> It professes the need to take both pleasant and unpleasant life experiences with a sense of equanimity.  
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The poem draws on the [[Perfection of Wisdom|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 C.E.) (Chinese: 龍樹). The Xinxin Ming deals with the principles of [[nondualism|non-duality]] and the results of practice and the application of these principles.<ref>See Pajin (1988).</ref> It professes the need to take both pleasant and unpleasant life experiences with a sense of equanimity.  
 
  
 
=== Excerpts ===
 
=== Excerpts ===
 
===Opening verse===
 
===Opening verse===
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The opening verse, variously translated, sets out the fundamental principle:
 
The opening verse, variously translated, sets out the fundamental principle:
  
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: Only when freed from hate and love,
 
: Only when freed from hate and love,
 
: It reveals itself fully and without disguise  
 
: It reveals itself fully and without disguise  
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: (trans. by [[D.T. Suzuki]])<ref name="suzuki">Suzuki (1960), pp. 76-82; see also, Soeng (2004), pp. 133, 139, 145, 151, 157, 163, 169.</ref>
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: (trans. by [[D.T. Suzuki]])<ref name="suzuki">Suzuki (1960), 76-82.</ref>
  
 
And:  
 
And:  
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:Like not, dislike not.
 
:Like not, dislike not.
 
:Be illuminated.  
 
:Be illuminated.  
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: (translated by Lok Sang Ho http://www.ln.edu.hk/econ/staff/Xin%20Xin%20Ming.doc. )
+
: (translated by Lok Sang Ho)<ref>Lok Sang Ho, [http://www.ln.edu.hk/econ/staff/Xin%20Xin%20Ming.doc. Xin Xin Ming: Song of the Truthful Mind.] Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>
  
 
===Last verse===
 
===Last verse===
Line 137: Line 120:
 
:: no yesterday
 
:: no yesterday
 
:: no tomorrow
 
:: no tomorrow
−
:: no today.  
+
:: no today.<ref>home.att.net, [http://home.att.net/~paul.dowling/archive/zen/hsin.htm trans. Richard B. Clarke.] Retrieved December 18, 2008.</ref>
−
:[http://home.att.net/~paul.dowling/archive/zen/hsin.htm (trans. Richard B. Clarke)]
 
  
 
Alternatively:
 
Alternatively:
Line 164: Line 146:
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
−
*[[Ch'an]]
+
*[[Taoism]]
−
*[[Zen]]
+
*[[Zen|Ch'an]] (Zen in Japanese)
−
*[[Huike]]
 
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
−
{{reflist}}
+
<references/>
  
−
==Further reading==
+
==References==
−
*Cleary, Thomas. ''Transmission of Light: Zen in the Art of Enlightenment by Zen Master Keizan'', North Point Press, 1990. ISBN 0-86547-433-8
+
*Cleary, Thomas. ''Transmission of Light: Zen in the Art of Enlightenment by Zen Master Keizan.'' North Point Press, 1990. ISBN 0-86547-433-8.
−
*Dumoulin, Heinrich. ''Zen Buddhism: A History, Volume I, India and China,'' Simon & Schuster and Prentice Hall International, 1994, 1998. ISBN 0 02 897109 4  
+
*Dumoulin, Heinrich. ''Zen Buddhism: A History, Volume I, India and China.'' Simon & Schuster and Prentice Hall International, 1994. ISBN 0 02 897109 4  
−
*Ferguson, Andrew E. ''Zen's Chinese heritage: the masters and their teachings.'' Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000. ISBN 9780861711635
+
*Ferguson, Andrew E. ''Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings.'' Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000. ISBN 9780861711635.
−
*Foster, Nelson; Shoemaker, Jack (eds) ''The Roaring Stream: A New Zen Reader,'' The Ecco Press, 1996. ISBN 0-88001-344-3
+
*Foster, Nelson and Jack Shoemaker (eds.). ''The Roaring Stream: A New Zen Reader.'' The Ecco Press, 1996. ISBN 0-88001-344-3.
−
*Kohn, Michael H., and Stephan Schuhmacher. ''The encyclopedia of eastern philosophy and religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen.'' Boston, Mass: Shambhala. 1994. ISBN 0877739803
+
*Kohn, Michael H., and Stephan Schuhmacher. ''The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen.'' Boston, MA: Shambhala, 1994. ISBN 0877739803.
−
*McRae, John R. ''Seeing Through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism,'' University of California Press, 2003. ISBN0-520-23798-6  
+
*McRae, John R. ''Seeing Through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism.'' University of California Press, 2003. ISBN0-520-23798-6.
−
*McRae, John R. ''The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism,'' University of Hawaii Press, 1986. ISBN 0-8248-1056-2  
+
*McRae, John R. ''The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism.'' University of Hawaii Press, 1986. ISBN 0-8248-1056-2.
−
*Pajin, Dusan . ''On Faith in Mind,'' Journal of Oriental Studies, Vol. XXVI, No. 2, Hong Kong, 1988.
+
*Pajin, Dusan. On Faith in Mind. ''Journal of Oriental Studies'' Vol. XXVI, No. 2, Hong Kong, 1988.
−
*Roshi P. T. N. Jiyu Kennett, ''Zen is Eternal Life'', Shasta Abbey Press, 4th edition, 2000. ISBN 0930066200
+
*Roshi, P.T.N., Jiyu Kennett. ''Zen is Eternal Life.'' Shasta Abbey Press, 2000. ISBN 0930066200.
−
*Soeng, Mu. ''Trust in Mind: The Rebellion of Chinese Zen''. Boston: Wisdom Publications. 2004. ISBN 0-86171-391-5.
+
*Soeng, Mu. ''Trust in Mind: The Rebellion of Chinese Zen''. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2004. ISBN 0-86171-391-5.
−
*[[D.T. Suzuki|Suzuki, D.T.]] ''Manual of Zen Buddhism''. NY: Grove Press, 1960. ISBN 0-8021-3065-8.  
+
*Suzuki, D.T. ''Manual of Zen Buddhism''. NY: Grove Press, 1960. ISBN 0-8021-3065-8.  
−
*Xuanzang, and Richard B. Clarke. ''Hsin hsin ming: verses on the faith-mind.'' Buffalo, N.Y.: White Pine Press. 1984. ISBN 0934834482
+
*Xuanzang, and Richard B. Clarke. ''Hsin hsin ming: Verses on the Faith-Mind.'' Buffalo, NY: White Pine Press, 1984. ISBN 0934834482.
−
*Yampolsky, Philip. ''Ch'an-A Historical Sketch in Buddhist Spirituality: Later China, Korea, Japan and the Modern World,'' Takeuchi Yoshinor ed., SCM Press, 1999. ISBN 0-334-02779-9
+
*Yampolsky, Philip. ''Ch'an-A Historical Sketch in Buddhist Spirituality: Later China, Korea, Japan and the Modern World.'' Takeuchi Yoshinor ed., SCM Press, 1999. ISBN 0-334-02779-9.
−
*Yampolsky, Philip. ''The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch: the text of the Tun-Huang manscript'', translated with notes by, Columbia University Press,1967. ISBN 0-231-08361-0 ([http://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Translations/Platform_Sutra_Yampolsky.pdf introduction available online] Retrieved December 1, 2008.)
+
*Yampolsky, Philip. ''The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch: The Text of the Tun-Huang Manuscript.'' Columbia University Press, 1967. ISBN 0-231-08361-0.
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
−
All links retrieved December 1, 2008.
+
All links retrieved August 1, 2022.
−
* [http://www.texaschapbookpress.com/magellanslog5/Saltlick/hsinhsinming.htm The Hsin Hsin Ming (Verses on the Faith Mind)]
+
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/fm/fm.htm Faith Mind Inscription Hsin-hsin Ming] at ''Sacred-texts''
−
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/fm/fm.htm Biographical Information about Sengcan as well as the Hsin Hsin Ming itself]
+
* [http://terebess.hu/english/hsin3.html Jianzhi Sengcan (529-613)] at ''Terebess Asia Online''
−
* Dharma talks, teishos, translations and historical information on [http://terebess.hu/english/hsin3.html Hsin Hsin Ming]
 
−
==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.
 
−
 
 
  
 
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[[Category:Chan Buddhists]]
 
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[[Category:Chan Patriarchs|*3]]
 
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[[Category:Sui Dynasty Buddhists]]
 
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[[Category:Chinese Zen Buddhists]]
 
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{{credits|Jianzhi_Sengcan|237634545|Emperor_Xuanzong_of_Tang|248980033|Denkoroku|252632616|Xinxin_Ming|248413101|}}
 
{{credits|Jianzhi_Sengcan|237634545|Emperor_Xuanzong_of_Tang|248980033|Denkoroku|252632616|Xinxin_Ming|248413101|}}

Latest revision as of 12:22, 1 August 2022

Jianzhi Sengcan
Information
Born: Unknown
Place of birth: China
Died: 606
Nationality: Chinese
School(s): Ch'an
Title(s): Third Chinese Patriarch


Predecessor(s): Dazu Huike
Successor(s): Dayi Daoxin

Jianzhi Sengcan (僧璨) (died 606) (Wade-Giles, Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Japanese, Kanchi Sosan) is known as the Third Chinese Patriarch of Chán (Zen) after Bodhidharma and thirtieth Patriarch after Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha. He is considered the Dharma successor of the second Chinese Patriarch, Dazu Huike (神光慧可) (Wade-Giles, Ta-tsu Hui-k’o, Japanese, Taiso Eka). After a legendary encounter with his teacher, Huike, he secluded himself for many years in the mountains to avoid the persecution of Buddhism underway at that time, until he met his successor, Daoxin, and transmitted the Dharma to him. He died sitting under a tree before a Dharma assembly in 606, and was later given the honorary title Jianzhi (Chien-chih, “Mirrorlike Wisdom”) by Xuan Zong Emperor of Tang (September 8, 685[1]-May 3, 762).

Sengcan is best known as the putative author of the Chán poem, Xinxin Ming (信心銘,Hsin Hsin Ming, Verses on Faith-Mind), much beloved by Chan (Zen) practitioners for over a thousand years. The poem reveals the influence of Taoism on Chan Buddhism, and deals with the principles of non-duality and the metaphysical notion of emptiness (śūnyatā) which can be traced back to Nagarjuna (c.150-250 C.E.) (Chinese: 龍樹).

Historical sources

The historical record of Sengcan is extremely limited. Of all the Chán patriarchs, Sengcan is the most ambiguous and the least known. Most of what is known about his life comes from the Wudeng Huiyuan (Compendium of Five Lamps), compiled in the early thirteenth century by the monk Puji at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou. The first of the five records in the compendium is a text commonly referred to as the Transmission of the Lamp[2] and it is from this text that most of the information about Sengcan is garnered. Most modern scholars have some doubts about the historical accuracy of the Lamp records.[3][4] The earliest recorded reference to Sengcan is in Further Biographies of Eminent Monks (645) (Japanese, Zoku kosoden; Pin-yin, Hsu kao-seng chuan) by Tao-hsuan (?-667) where Sengcan’s name is listed immediately after Huike’s name, as one of seven disciples of Huike in a biographical entry about the Lankavatara sutra master, Fa-ch’ung (587-665). No further information is given.[5]

It was not until the Records of the Transmission of the Dharma-treasure (Sh’uan fa-pao chi), compiled about 710 and drawing on the stories in the Further Biographies of Eminent Monks, that a teaching “lineage” for Chan Buddhism was created. Some have speculated that it was merely the fact that Sengcan’s name immediately followed Huike’s name in the latter work that led to him being named as the Third Patriarch of Chan.[6] The biography that follows is garnered largely from traditional biographies of Sengcan, mainly the Transmission of the Lamp (Denkoroku), by Keizan Jokin Zenji, a koan collection of 53 enlightenment stories based on the traditional legendary accounts of the Zen transmission between successive masters and disciples in the Soto Zen Buddhist lineage from Shakyamuni Buddha to Japanese Zen Master Ejo, who first brought the Soto Zen teaching from China to Japan.

Biography

The year and place of Sengcan’s birth is unknown, as is his family name. The Transmission of the Lamp entry on Sengcan begins with a koan-like encounter with Huike:

Sengcan: I am riddled with sickness (said to be leprosy). Please absolve me of my sin.
Huike: Bring your sin here and I will absolve you.
Sengcan (after a long pause): When I look for my sin, I cannot find it.
Huike: I have absolved you. You should live by the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.[7][8]

It is said that Sengcan was over forty years old when he first met Huike in 536[9] and that he stayed with his teacher for six years.[10] Huike gave him the name Sengcan (literally "Sangha-jewel," meaning “Gem Monk, ” or "Jewel of the Buddhist Community.")[11] There are discrepancies in the accounts of how long Sengcan stayed with Huike. The Transmission of the Lamp records that he “attended Huike for two years”[12] after which Huike passed on the robe of Bodhidharma and Bodhidharma’s Dharma (generally considered to be the Lankavatara Sutra), making him the Third Patriarch of Chan. According to the Zen scholar Heinrich Dumoulin,[13] in 574, the accounts say that he fled with Huike to the mountains due to the Buddhist persecution underway at that time. However, the Lamp records claim that after transmitting the Dharma to Sengcan, Huike warned him to live in the mountains and “Wait for the time when you can transmit the Dharma to someone else.”[14] because a prediction made to Bodhidharma (Huike’s teacher) by Prajnadhara, the twenty-seventh Chan ancestor in India, foretold of a coming calamity (the Buddhist persecution of 574-577).

After receiving Dharma transmission, Sengcan lived in hiding on Wangong Mountain in Yixian and then on Sikong Mountain in southwestern Anhui. After that he wandered for 10 years with no fixed abode.[15] In 592, he met Daoxin, (580-651) (Pin-yin, Tao-hsin 道信 Japanese, Daii Doshin) a novice monk of just fourteen.[16]) Daoxin attended Sengcan for nine years and received Dharma transmission when he was still in his early twenties. Subsequently, Sengcan spent two years at Mount Luofu (Lo-fu shan, northeast of Kung-tung (Canton)) before returning to Wangong Mountain. He died sitting under a tree before a Dharma assembly in 606. Dumoulin[17] notes that a Chinese official, Li Ch’ang, found Sengcan’s grave in Shu-chou in 745 or 746. Sengcan received the honorary title Jianzhi (Chien-chih, “Mirrorlike Wisdom”) (Wade-Giles, Chien-chih; Japanese, Kanchi) from the Tang dynasty emperor Xuan Zong (September 8, 685-May 3, 762), who is credited with bringing Tang China to a pinnacle of culture and power.

Although Sengcan has traditionally been honored as the author of the Xinxinming Hsin Hsin Ming, most modern scholars dismiss this as unlikely and improbable.[18][19]

Sengcan, like Bodhidharma and Huike before him, was reputed to be a devotee and specialist in the study of the Lankavatara Sutra (“Sutra on the Descent to Sri Lanka”), which taught the elimination of all duality and the “forgetting of words and thoughts,”[20] stressing the contemplation of wisdom. The link between the Lankavatara Sutra and the “Bodhidharma school” is provided in Tao-hsuan’s Further Biographies of Eminent Monks where, in the biography of Fa-ch’ung he “stresses that Hui-k’o was the first to grasp the essence of the Lankavatara Sutra.”[21] and includes Sengcan as one who “discoursed on but did not write about the profound message of the Lankavatara Sutra."[22] Due to the lack of authentic evidence, comments on Sengcan's teachings are speculative.[23]

Various legends surround the life of Jianzhi Sengcan. According to one, when he encountered the second patriarch Huike for the first time, Huike is supposed to have said, "You are suffering from leprosy; what could you want from me?" Seng-ts'an replied, "Even if my body is sick, the heart-mind of a sick person is no different from your heart-mind." This convinced Huike of Sengcan’s spiritual capacity. It is also said that during the Buddhist persecution of the year 574, Sengcan feigned mental illness in order to escape execution. When he went into hiding on Mount Huan-kung, his presence there is said to have pacified the wild tigers, which had caused great fear among the local people.[24]

Xinxin Ming

Xinxin Ming (alternative spellings: Xin Xin Ming or Xinxinming) (信心銘) (Wade-Giles: Hsin Hsin Ming; Japanese: Shinjinmei (or Shinjin no Mei); Korean: Sinsim Myong), a poem attributed to Jianzhi Sengcan, is one of the earliest Chinese Chan expressions of the Buddhist mind training practice. Although Sengcan has been traditionally recognized as the author, modern scholars believe that the verse was written well after Sengcan's death, probably during the Tang Dynasty[25] 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).

The word "xinxin" has commonly been interpreted as "faith" or "trust," and there are numerous translations of the title including "Faith in Mind," "Inscription on Trust in the Mind," "Verses on the Faith Mind," "On Believing in Mind," "Inscription of the Perfected Mind," and “The Truthful Mind.”

The Xinxin Ming has been much beloved by Chan (Zen) practitioners for over a thousand years. Many important commentaries were written on it, and is still studied in Western Zen circles.[26] The opening stanza, "The best way is not difficult. It only excludes picking and choosing," is quoted by many Zen masters.

Xinxin Ming consists of 146 unrhymed four-character verses (lines), making a total of 584 characters. It was composed in shih form, although unlike most shih, no end rhyme is employed. An early expression of Chan Buddhism, Xinxin Ming reveals a Taoist influence mingled with Buddhist spirituality. It is written in genuine Chinese without the use of Sanskrit or Pali Buddhist terms. Words of Taoist origin such as non-action (wu-wei), no-mind (wu hsin), one mind (i-hsin), spontaneity (tzu jan), vacuity (hsü), and deep meaning (hsüan-chih) illustrate the profound influence of Taoism on Zen.[27]

The poem 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 C.E.) (Chinese: 龍樹). The Xinxin Ming deals with the principles of non-duality and the results of practice and the application of these principles.[28] It professes the need to take both pleasant and unpleasant life experiences with a sense of equanimity.

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)[29]

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)[30]

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.[31]

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)[29]

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)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Dates given here are in the Julian calendar. They are not in the proleptic Gregorian calendar.
  2. ↑ Andrew E. Ferguson, Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000, ISBN 0 86171 163 7), 10-11.
  3. ↑ John R. McRae, Seeing Through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism (University of California Press, 2003, ISBN0-520-23798-6 p 5).
  4. ↑ Heinrich Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism: A History, Volume I, India and China (Simon & Schuster and Prentice Hall International, 1998, ISBN 0 02 897109 4), 97.
  5. ↑ Dumoulin, 96-97.
  6. ↑ John R. McRae, The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism (University of Hawaii Press, 1986, ISBN 0-8248-1056-2), 280-281.
  7. ↑ Thomas Cleary, Transmission of Light: Zen in the Art of Enlightenment by Zen Master Keizan (North Point Press, 1990, ISBN 0-86547-433-8), 129.
  8. ↑ Desheng Zong, Three Language-Related Methods In Early Chinese Chan Buddhism. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  9. ↑ Andrew E.Ferguson, Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (ISBN 0 86171 163 7), 21.
  10. ↑ Dumoulin, 97.
  11. ↑ Ferguson, 22.
  12. ↑ Cleary, 129.
  13. ↑ Dumoulin, 97.
  14. ↑ Ferguson, 22.
  15. ↑ Ferguson, 23.
  16. ↑ The discrepancy is noted. The 592 date comes from Ferguson, p. 24
  17. ↑ Dumoulin, 104-105.
  18. ↑ Dumoulin, 97.
  19. ↑ Sacred Texts, Jianzhi Sengcan. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  20. ↑ Dumoulin, 95.
  21. ↑ Ibid.
  22. ↑ Ibid, 97.
  23. ↑ McRae (1986), 29.
  24. ↑ Michael H. Kohn and Stephan Schuhmacher, The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen (Boston, MA: Shambhala, 1994, ISBN 0877739803), 311.
  25. ↑ Dumoulin, 97.
  26. ↑ Soeng (2004), xiii.
  27. ↑ Sacred-texts.com, Zen texts Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  28. ↑ Dusan Pajin, On Faith in Mind, Journal of Oriental Studies XXVI (2), Hong Kong, 1988.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Suzuki (1960), 76-82.
  30. ↑ Lok Sang Ho, Xin Xin Ming: Song of the Truthful Mind. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  31. ↑ home.att.net, trans. Richard B. Clarke. Retrieved December 18, 2008.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Cleary, Thomas. Transmission of Light: Zen in the Art of Enlightenment by Zen Master Keizan. North Point Press, 1990. ISBN 0-86547-433-8.
  • Dumoulin, Heinrich. Zen Buddhism: A History, Volume I, India and China. Simon & Schuster and Prentice Hall International, 1994. ISBN 0 02 897109 4
  • Ferguson, Andrew E. Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000. ISBN 9780861711635.
  • Foster, Nelson and Jack Shoemaker (eds.). The Roaring Stream: A New Zen Reader. The Ecco Press, 1996. ISBN 0-88001-344-3.
  • Kohn, Michael H., and Stephan Schuhmacher. The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Boston, MA: Shambhala, 1994. ISBN 0877739803.
  • McRae, John R. Seeing Through Zen: Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism. University of California Press, 2003. ISBN0-520-23798-6.
  • McRae, John R. The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism. University of Hawaii Press, 1986. ISBN 0-8248-1056-2.
  • Pajin, Dusan. On Faith in Mind. Journal of Oriental Studies Vol. XXVI, No. 2, Hong Kong, 1988.
  • Roshi, P.T.N., Jiyu Kennett. Zen is Eternal Life. Shasta Abbey Press, 2000. ISBN 0930066200.
  • Soeng, Mu. Trust in Mind: The Rebellion of Chinese Zen. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2004. ISBN 0-86171-391-5.
  • Suzuki, D.T. Manual of Zen Buddhism. NY: Grove Press, 1960. ISBN 0-8021-3065-8.
  • Xuanzang, and Richard B. Clarke. Hsin hsin ming: Verses on the Faith-Mind. Buffalo, NY: White Pine Press, 1984. ISBN 0934834482.
  • Yampolsky, Philip. Ch'an-A Historical Sketch in Buddhist Spirituality: Later China, Korea, Japan and the Modern World. Takeuchi Yoshinor ed., SCM Press, 1999. ISBN 0-334-02779-9.
  • Yampolsky, Philip. The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch: The Text of the Tun-Huang Manuscript. Columbia University Press, 1967. ISBN 0-231-08361-0.

External links

All links retrieved August 1, 2022.

Preceded by:
Hui Ke 		Chinese Ch'an Patriarch
 Succeeded by:
Dao Xin

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