信心銘 

Faith in Mind 

僧璨大師著 

By Master Sengcan 

The Xinxin Ming (Faith in Mind) by Master Sengcan is a classic text in Chan (Zen) Buddhism that discusses the nature of the mind and the path to enlightenment. 

**1.** 至道無難 唯嫌揀擇 但莫憎愛 洞然明白 毫釐有差 天地懸隔 

**1.** The Great Way is not difficult For those who do not pick and choose. When preferences are cast aside, The Way stands clear and undisguised. A hairsbreadth of difference, And heaven and earth are set apart. --- 

**2.** 欲得現前 莫存順逆 違順相爭 是為心病 不識玄旨 徒勞念靜 

**2.** If you wish to see the truth, Then hold no opinions for or against. The struggle of likes and dislikes Is the disease of the mind. Without understanding the deep meaning, It is futile to quiet your thoughts. ---

 **3.** 圓同太虛 無欠無餘 良由取捨 所以不如 莫逐有緣 勿住空忍 

**3.** The Way is perfect like vast space, Where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess. Because of grasping and rejecting, You cannot attain it. Do not pursue the external, Do not dwell in the void. --- 

**4.** 一種平懷 泯然自盡 止動歸止 止更彌動 唯滯兩邊 寧知一種 

**4.** Be serene in the oneness of things, And dualism vanishes by itself. When movement stops, there is no movement, When stillness stops, there is no stillness. If you hold on to one of these, You miss the true understanding. --- 

**5.** 一種不通 兩處失功 遣有沒有 從空背空 多言多慮 轉不相應 

**5.** In reality, both sides are wrong, And neither can be understood. One is not different from two; In two, nothing is achieved. Banishing existence is no better than sticking to it. --- 

**6.** 絕言絕慮 無處不通 歸根得旨 隨照失宗 須臾返照 勝卻前空 

**6.** Stop words, stop thinking, And there is nothing you cannot understand. Return to the root and attain the principle, Pursuing light, you lose the source. For a moment, turn inward and illuminate, And surpass the emptiness of before. --- 

**7.** 前空轉變 皆由妄見 不用求真 唯須息見 二見不住 慎勿追尋 

**7.** That emptiness changes again Due to illusory views. Do not seek truth, Only stop cherishing opinions. Do not linger in dual views, Be careful not to pursue them. --- 

**8.** 纔有是非 紛然失心 二由一有 一亦莫守 一心不生 萬法無咎 

**8.** As soon as there is right and wrong, The mind is lost in confusion. Two comes from one, But do not cling even to one. When the mind is undisturbed, The myriad things are blameless. --- 

**9.** 無咎無法 不生不心 能隨境滅 境逐能沉 境由能境 能由境能 

**9.** No blame, no things, No arising, no mind. The subject is extinguished with the object, And the object sinks into the subject. Object is object because of the subject, And subject is subject because of the 

object. --- 

**10.** 欲知兩段 元是一空 一空同兩 齊含萬象 不見精麤 寧有偏黨 

**10.** If you want to understand the two, The root is one emptiness. One emptiness unifies the two, And contains all forms. In seeing the coarse and fine, How could there be bias? --- *

*11.** 大道體寬 無易無難 小見狐疑 轉急轉遲 執之失度 必入邪路 

**11.** The Great Way is broad, Neither easy nor difficult. Those with small views are filled with doubt, Hurrying forward, they delay their journey. Clinging leads you astray, And you inevitably fall into false paths. --- 

**12.** 放之自然 體無去住 任性合道 逍遙絕惱 繫念乖真 昏沉不好 

**12.** Let go, and things are natural, Neither going nor staying. Follow your nature, unite with the Way, Wander freely and be without care. Bound thoughts deviate from the truth, In dullness, this is no good. ---

 **13.** 不好勞神 何用疏親 欲取一乘 勿惡六塵 六塵不惡 還同正覺 

**13.** Why labor over affinity or alienation? To seek the Way is to reject the senses. But the six senses are not bad, They are naturally in harmony with enlightenment. --- 

**14.** 智者無為 愚人自縛 法無異法 妄自愛著 將心用心 豈非大錯 

**14.** The wise live in non-action, The foolish bind themselves. The Dharma is not different from other dharmas, And only delusion makes us cling. To use the mind to approach the mind— How could this be a great mistake? --- 

**15.** 迷生寂亂 悟無好惡 一切二邊 良由斟酌 夢幻空華 何勞把捉 

**15.** In delusion, there is quiet and disturbance, But awakened, there is neither good nor evil. All dualities arise From our discriminating thoughts. Dreams, illusions, and empty flowers— Why trouble yourself with grasping them? --- 

**16.** 得失是非 一時放卻 眼若不眠 諸夢自除 心若不異 萬法一如 

**16.** Gain and loss, right and wrong— Throw them all away at once! When the eyes are open, Dreams disappear naturally. When the mind makes no distinctions, All things are one as they are. --- 

**17.** 一如體玄 兀爾忘緣 萬法齊觀 歸復自然 泯其所以 不可方比 

**17.** The essence of oneness is profound, Forgetting conditions, there is no boundary. All things are observed equally, Returning to their natural state. Thus the "why" disappears, And there is nothing to compare. ---

 **18.** 止動無動 動止無止 兩既不成 一何有爾 究竟窮極 不存軌則 

**18.** Movement stops without moving, Stillness stops without being still. When neither arises, How can one thing exist? In the ultimate reality, There are no rules or measures. --- 

**19.** 契心平等 所作俱息 狐疑淨盡 正信調直 一切不留 無可記憶 

**19.** Harmony of mind is equal, All effort ends. Doubts are fully cleared, And right faith is naturally straightforward. All things leave no trace, There is nothing to remember. --- 

**20.** 虛明自照 不勞心力 非思量處 識情難測 真如法界 無他無自 

**20.** Clarity shines of its own, Without need of mental strain. This is not the realm of thought, Feeling and perception cannot fathom it. The true Dharma realm Has no self, no other. --- 

**21.** 要急相應 唯言不二 不二皆同 無不包容 十方智者 皆入此宗 

**21.** To quickly meet with it, Just say "not two." In "not two," all things are one, Nothing is excluded. The wise of all ten directions Enter this principle. --- 

**22.** 宗非促延 一念萬年 無在不在 十方目前 極小同大 忘絕境界 

**22.** This principle is beyond time, An instant lasts a thousand years. Whether present or absent, Ten directions are before your eyes. The smallest is the same as the largest, For limits have vanished. --- 

**23.** 極大同小 不見邊表 有即是無 無即是有 若不如是 必不須守 

**23.** The largest is the same as the smallest, No boundaries are visible. Existence is precisely non-existence, Non-existence is precisely existence. If you don’t see it this way, You won’t grasp the principle. --- 

**24.** 一即一切 一切即一 但能如是 何慮不畢 信心不二 不二信心 言語道斷 非去來今 

**24.** One is everything, Everything is one. If you realize this, Why worry about not completing the journey? Faith and mind are not two, Not two is faith in mind. The Way of words is cut off, It is not past, present, or future.