Jianzhi Sengcan

Jianzhi Sengcan: Verses on the Faith in Mind

The tao is perfect like vast space where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess. Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject that we do not see the true nature of things.

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Sengcan was the third patriarch of the Chan in China. According to legend, Sengcan had leprosy and was therefore first rejected by Huike and finally accepted as a disciple with the argument that the highest path makes no distinctions.

Sengcan is considered the author of the first teaching poem in the Chan (Zen) tradition, the Xinxinming (信心銘, Xìnxīn míng), the "Verses on the Faith in Mind" (Jap. Shinjinmei). In these verses, Sengcan attempts to express the entire Zen teaching in one poem. The emphasis is on non-duality and refraining from aversion and affection and refraining from separation in the past, present and future. The Xinxinming is considered an example of the integration of the teachings of Buddhism and Daoism.

Jianzhi Sengcan

Jianzhi Sengcan: Verses on the Faith in Mind

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