The Third Ancestor Great Master Sengcan’s
Inscription on Faith in Mind
三祖僧璨大師信心銘
By Jianzhi Sengcan, "The 3rd Ancestor" of Chinese Zen (d.
606 C.E)
Translated by Gregory Wonderwheel
[Note: Line numbers are inserted for ease of comparing translations.]
Inscription
on Faith in Mind
Reaching the Way is without difficulty,
only refrain from picking and choosing.
Merely
do not hate or love, and penetrate like this to realization.
With one-thousandth of a hairsbreadth
there is discrepancy, and heaven and earth hang divided.
Desiring to attain the manifest
in front (of you), do not live by going along with or opposing.
To defy or to go along with
is a reciprocal struggle and is a disease of the acting mind.
Not knowing the profound purpose, one
labors in vain thinking of tranquility.
In complete equality and vast
emptiness, there is no
lack, there is no excess.
“The Good” causes taking
hold and casting away; that which “uses” is not Suchness.
Do not pursue the whence of existence;
do not dwell in enduring emptiness.
[10] Embrace the even oneness, and submerging like this the self is exhausted.
Stopping moving comes back to
stopping; (such) stopping still is filled with moving.
Only by blocking both sides, would you rather know oneness.
When
oneness is not passed through, the paired positions lose merit.
To banish existence is to drown in existence; to accord with emptiness is
to betray emptiness.
The many words and many strategies
spin around irrelevantly.
By
cutting off words and cutting off strategies, there is no place that is not
passed through.
Returning to the root gains the
purpose; following after the light loses the lineage.
Instantly turn around the light, then victory and retreat are the primary emptiness.
The transformations of primary
emptiness are all because of false views.
[20] Do
no employ seeking for truth; it’s only necessary to put an end to views.
Do not dwell in dualistic views;
scrupulously do not pursue or search for them.
The first time there exists right
and wrong, just like that the heart-mind is lost in entanglements.
The two exist because of the One;
and likewise do not guard the One.
The One Mind is not born; the
ten thousand things are without fault.
Without fault, without things, it
is not born, it is not mind
When power follows the
environment it is extinguished; when the environment pursues power it is
submerged.
Environment is the environment
because of power; power is power because of the environment.
Desiring to know both parts,
their origin is the emptiness of the One.
The emptiness of the One is the
same as both; equally containing the ten thousand outward appearances.
[30] Do not view fine or coarse,
or would you rather have one-sided associations?
The essence of the
The fox doubts of small views
spin quickly and spin slowly.
The seizing of immoderation
necessarily enters the evil paths.
Letting go of the self’s autonomy,
the essence is without going or staying.
Allow the nature to unite with the
Way, and ramble carefree cutting off vexations.
Knotted thoughts oppose the True
and dully sink into the not good.
When “not good” belabors the
spirit, what use are “unfamiliar” and “intimate”?
If you desire to take hold of the
One Vehicle (Ekayana),
do not despise the six dusts.
The six dusts are not despicable
and, besides, are identical with right awakening.
[40] Those who
are wise are non-doing; monkey-minded people are tied up by themselves.
The Dharma is without an opposing
Dharma; the false self loves attachments.
To use the mind by commanding the
mind, how can it not be a great mistake?
Delusion gives birth to stillness
and chaos; awakening is without good and evil.
With two sides to everything, the
false self deliberates.
Dreams and illusions, flowers in
the sky; why labor to grasp them?
Gain and loss, right and wrong, in
one moment release them and withdraw.
If the eyes are not asleep, the
various dreams are by themselves wiped away.
If mind does not discriminate, the
ten thousand things are One Suchness.
In the profound essence of One
Suchness, you look ignorant and forget the secondary causes.
[50] The insight, that the ten
thousand things are equal, returns to and restores autonomy.
By putting an end to that which
“uses,” it is not possible to go in the direction of comparisons.
In
stopping moving there is no moving; in moving stopping there is no stopping.
Pairs are de facto not complete; the One, how does that exist?
Finally impoverished to the
utmost, do not preserve by tracks and rules.
The harmonious mind is equality, where contrivances all
cease.
With fox
doubts entirely purified, right faith harmonizes directly.
When
everything does not remain, there is no ability to remember.
The clear light shines by itself
and does not belabor the mind’s strength.
Do not consider the amount or the
place; consciousness and feelings are difficult to measure.
[60] In the Dharma Realm of True
Suchness, there is no other and there is no self.
When it is vital to quickly be
relevant, only speak the non-dual.
In the non-dual all is the same,
without exclusion.
In the ten directions, those
who are wise all enter this lineage.
The lineage does not hurry or delay
for a single moment or ten thousand years.
Without being present or absent,
the ten directions are in front of the eyes.
The utmost small is the same as the great, so forget
cutting off the bounded realms.
The utmost great is the same as the small, so do not view
outside of the borders.
Existence is exactly
nonexistence; nonexistence is exactly existence.
If this is not Suchness,
necessarily it does not need to be guarded.
[70] One is exactly everything; everything is
exactly One.
When only capable Suchness is, what
concerns are not concluded?
Faith in mind is non-dual; non-dual is
faith in mind.
In spoken
language the Way is cut off; it is neither the gone, nor the coming, nor the
present.
Comments
on translating the “Inscription on Faith in Mind” (Xinxin Ming).
The poem known as "The
Third Ancestor Great Master Sengcan's Inscription on
Faith in Mind" is traditionally attributed to Jianzhi
Sengcan (d. 606 C.E.), who is called the Third
Ancestor of Chinese Zen. He was the disciple of Huike,
the Second Ancestor, who was the disciple of Bodhidharma
considered the “First Ancestor” of Zen in
The central themes of Ekayana Buddhism, such as
the non-dual, one suchness (tatha), and one mind, are all
present in "Faith in Mind". The poem directly
addresses people who seek the path of the
One Vehicle (Ekayana)
and expresses the essence of the One Vehicle in the statement that the One
Vehicle is not found in alienation from the "six dusts" of
the senses. This is the Tathagata Zen teaching central
to the Lankavatara Sutra which emphasizes that all things are nothing but manifestions of mind and all opposites are the expression
of One Suchness, and that not perceiving the True Suchness of opposites is the
source of delusion.
"Faith in Mind" is among the earliest, if not the earliest, of
Chinese Zen poems of awakening. It contains most of the core teachings of
Zen that are found in later generations of the great Zen
masters of the Tang period such as Huineng, Mazu, Shitou, Baizhang,
Huangbo, Linji, Dongshan, etc. For example, "Faith in
Mind" focuses on the non-dual by not becoming entangle in opposites,
such as right and wrong, love and hate, existence and nonexistence, large and
small, etc. Liberation from oppositions,
i.e, refraining from picking and choosing, is the
central method taught as how to reach the Way. 150 years later Baizhang was continuing this teaching about reaching the
Way directly in line with “Faith in Mind” when he said: "In the
presence of all things in the environment, to have a mind neither still nor
disturbed, neither concentrated nor distracted, passing through all sound and
form without lingering or obstruction, is called being a wayfarer." (Sayings
and Doings of Pai-Chang: Ch'an
Master of Great Wisdom. Shih Huai-Hai. Cleary,
Thomas, trans.
The poem is interesting in another way for the context of Buddhist
history that is reveals. It represents one of the first examples of Zen
literature finding its own style outside the traditional Buddhist treatise format. It
is traditionally considered to be the first Zen poem. As Buddhism was growing in
Another interesting historical aspect of "Faith in Mind" is its
mention of lineage, as in lines 63 and 64:
"In the ten directions, those who are wise
all enter this lineage.
The lineage does not hurry or delay, a single
moment--ten thousand years."
I take this to be the lineage of the "Ekayana
school" that Bodhidharma was reported (in the
Middle-Tang period text by Tao-hsuan (596–667 C.E.) titled Biographies of Eminent Monks) to have brought from
Textual aspects
of the translation.
The “Faith in Mind” is written in a very terse style that allows for a wide variety of translations. The original as written in the scroll format consists of 584 characters written vertically left to right in 36 lines of 16 characters until the last 37th line of eight characters. There is no punctuation to separate the characters, therefore each translator can read it according to his or her own understanding of where the complete sentences cut off. Though written in the 6th century C.E., the poetic style is considered to be written in the manner of the ancient poetic standard text, the Shih Ching (Classic of Poetry) written in mostly between the 10th and the 7th centuries B.C.E., using 146 four-character lines or verses. However, the 4-chaacter line should not be thought of as a whole sentence or complete phrase. Many if not most of the 4-character lines are incomplete phrases. The structure is more correctly conceived as consisting of 73 couplets as each of the two 4-character lines may be arranged in pairs making whole sentences. Some translators don’t use the couplet arrangement and instead arrange the 4-character lines into stanzas with whole sentences longer than two 4-character lines. I think this is an error of judgment. Others keep the couplet structure and join the couplets into stanzas of varying size. To me doing so is a translator’s choice, as long as the translator informs the reader that the stanzas are not in the original, so that the reader may consider for themselves if the stanza breaks make sense. I have decided to present the poem as 73 lines, consisting of the 8-character couplets, without arranging the lines into stanzas. The reader is invited to examine the poem and see where she or he would divide the stanzas. The problem with attempting to define stanzas is that the content is so intricately interwoven that what would seem like the end of one stanza also begins what would be the next stanza.
Also the Chinese language in these older writings of the
medieval period is largely devoid of almost all pronouns, articles,
conjunctions, possessives, plurals, and prepositions, all of which must be
inferred and inserted by the translator to make a translation of passable
English. The reader may be surprised to lean that
virtually all of the above parts of speech and all punctuation is supplied
by the translator, and that is why different translators can come up with some
surprising differences in their tanslations.
My own personal style is to use punctuation as freely as seems necessary,
but to keep the inserted inferences of words to a bare minimum hoping to avoid
as much as possible the inclusion of pronouns and other matter in order to keep
the original ambiguity. For example, when a sentence is lacking a
pronoun, it can often be read as saying "You," "I",
"one", or "we" and unless the context is absolutely
clear which use is intended, the translator is narrowing the range of
possibilities by selecting one of the choices and rejecting the others.
For instance, the eight characters of line 35 say, "Allow-nature-to unite
with-the Way-ramble-carefree-cut off-vexations," but it doesn't make much
sense if "nature" is read in the Western sense as "Mother
Nature," because that “nature” is already united with the Way. It is
our own nature that is directed to be allowed to unite with the Way, since it
is to respond to our sense of being distant or separate from the Way
that we go on the spiritual journey and is also the reason-for-being of the
poem in the first place. So I have rendered it as "Allow the nature to unite
with the Way" but it could just as legitimately be written as "Allow
(one's) nature" or "Allow (our) nature." As with most translators, in order to not
clutter up the text too much with parenthetical ellipses, I have not always put
inferred insertions into parentheses. Thus, I have rendered "Allow-nature-to
unite with-the Way-ramble-carefree-cut off-vexations," as “Allow the nature to unite with the
Way, and ramble carefree cutting off vexations.”
Here’s a
comparison of how different translators have rendered the title and this line:
Key with
name of translator and translation of title:
1. Red: Dusan Pajin:
“Faith-Mind Inscription”
2. Green: Daisetsu Teitarõ Suzuki: “Inscribed On the Believing Mind”
3. Violet: Richard B. Clarke: “Verses On the Faith Mind”
4.
5.. Black: Gregory Wonderwheel: “Inscription on Faith in Mind”.
Line 35:
W-G: Jen hsing
ho tao, hsiao-yao chüeh nao.
PY: Ren4 xing4
he2 dao4, xiao1yao2 jue2
nao3.
J: Shõ ni ninzureba dõ ni gassu, shõyõ to
shite nõ o zessu.
DP: Accord your nature
with the way, and go free of troubles.
DTS: Obey the nature of things,
and you are in concord with the Way, Calm and easy and free from annoyance;
RBC: Obey the nature of things
(your own nature), and you will walk freely and undisturbed.
AF: In accord with your
fundamental nature unite with Tao And wander the world without cares
GW: Allow (your) nature to unite
with the Way, and ramble carefree with vexations cut off.
As the
reader can see, the translations have similarities and differences. My style of translation is based on
providing the best word for word correspondence rather than on what is
sometimes called idea for idea correspondence which appears in the work of
translators, such as Clarke who, from my point of view, include way too much of
their own interpretation of ideas into the translation. In the example above,
note that Clarke leaves out both the all important word “the Way” (dao4) and the word “unite with”. All of
the translators above have left out the image of “cut off” (jue2) in reference to nao3 which each of the 5 translators has
translated differently as vexations, troubles, annoyances, disturbed, or
cares. In my style of translation there
is no excuse for leaving out some reference to the character jue2 by a word such as cut off, sever,
end, or terminate. In my view, it is
just lazy to translate xiao1yao2 jue2
nao3 as
“go free of troubles” rather than as “go free
with troubles ended” or “go free having cut off troubles.”
Another important aspect of my style of translation is that if there is a
pattern of words in the original then I want to keep that same pattern of words
in the translation as far as linguistically possible. For instance here is line (couplet) 41:
W-G: Fa wu-i fa, wang
tzu ai-cho.
PY: Fa3 wu2yi4
fa3, wang4 zi4 ai4-zhuo2.
J: Hõ ni ihõ nashi, midari ni mizukara
aijaku su.
DP: Things are not different, ignorance leads to preference.
DTS: While in the Dharma itself there
is no individuation, They ignorantly attach themselves to particular objects.
RBC: This is one Dharma, not
many: distinctions arise from the clinging needs of the ignorant.
AF: Though one Dharma differs not
from another The deluded self desires each.
GW: The Dharma is without an
opposing Dharma; the false self loves attachments.
Here we can see the first four characters is in the structure of A-B-C-A (Fa3 wu2yi4 fa3), where the first word is repeated as the fourth or last word in the phrase, so in my view, the translator should attempt to render a translation that maintains this structure. Using this style, Pajin’s “Things are not different” should be “Things are not different things” and Clarke’s “This is one Dharma, not many” should be something like “This one Dharma is not many Dharmas”, though I fail to see at all where Clarke found the concept “one and many” in the line; it simply isn’t there and is some kind of personal interpolation on the meaning of the word “yi4” which means “opposing,” “different,” “strange,” or “separate”. As I read it, the concept that is conveyed here by Sengcan is that in the world of opposing things (dharmas) such as right and wrong, large and small, like and dislike, the true Dharma is non-dual without an opposing or opposite Dharma. That is the meaning of the “one Suchness” that is the glue that holds the “Faith in Mind” together.
Lastly, my style, as far as contextually possible, is to have one Chinese word (usually 1 but sometimes 2 characters) translated as one English word and to have the same English word always refer to the same Chinese word. So, for example, in this translation the Chinese wu2 is always translated as “without” or “is without” when it stands alone, and as “un-“ or “non-“ or “–less” when the context requires a conjunction with another word such as “non-doing” for the word “wu2 wei2”. While other translators may claim to share this goal, few actually live up to it in practice.
Translation
with Chinese Characters:
信心銘
An Inscription on Faith in Mind
1. 至道無難
唯嫌揀擇
Reaching the Way is without difficulty,
only refrain from picking and choosing.
2. 但莫憎愛
洞然明白
Merely
do not hate or love, and penetrate like this to realization.
3. 毫釐有差
天地懸隔
With one-thousandth of a hairsbreadth
there is discrepancy, and heaven and earth hang divided.
4. 欲得現前
莫存順逆
Desiring to attain the manifest
in front (of you), do not live by going along with or opposing.
5. 違順相爭
是爲心病
To defy or to go along with
is a reciprocal struggle and is a disease of the acting mind.
6.
不識玄旨
徒勞念靜
Not knowing the profound purpose, one
labors in vain thinking of tranquility.
7. 圓同太虚 無欠無餘
In complete equality and vast
emptiness, there is no lack,
there is no excess.
8. 良由取捨 所以不如
“The Good” causes taking
hold and casting away; that which “uses” is not Suchness.
9.
莫逐有縁
勿住空忍
Do not pursue the whence of existence;
do not dwell in enduring emptiness.
10. 一種平懷
泯然自盡
Embrace the even oneness, and submerging like this the self is exhausted.
11.
止動歸止
止更彌動
Stopping moving comes back to
stopping; (such) stopping still is filled with moving.
12.
唯滯兩邊
寧知一種
Only by blocking both sides, would you rather know oneness.
13. 一種不通
兩處失功
When
oneness is not passed through, the paired positions lose merit.
14. 遣有沒有
從空背空
To banish existence is to drown in existence; to accord with emptiness is
to betray emptiness.
15.
多言多慮
轉不相應
The many words and many strategies
spin around irrelevantly.
16.
絶言絶慮
無處不通
By
cutting off words and cutting off strategies, there is no place that is not
passed through.
17. 歸根得旨
隨照失宗
Returning to the root gains the
purpose; following after the light loses the lineage.
18. 須臾返照 勝卻前空
Instantly turn around the light, then victory and retreat are the primary emptiness.
19.
前空轉變
皆由妄見
The transformations of primary
emptiness are all because of false views.
20.
不用求眞
唯須息見
Do no
employ seeking for truth; it’s only necessary to put an end to views.
21.
二見不住
慎莫追尋
Do not dwell in dualistic views;
scrupulously do not pursue or search for them.
22.
纔有是非
紛然失心
The first time there exists right
and wrong, just like that the heart-mind is lost in entanglements.
23.
二由一有
一亦莫守
The two exist because of the One;
and likewise do not guard the One.
24.
一心不生
萬法無咎
The One Mind is not born; the
ten thousand things are without fault.
25.
無咎無法
不生不心
Without fault, without things, it
is not born, it is not mind
26.
能隨境滅
境逐能沈
When power follows the
environment it is extinguished; when the environment pursues power it is
submerged.
27.
境由能境
能由境能
Environment is the environment
because of power; power is power because of the environment.
28.
欲知兩段
元是一空
Desiring to know both parts,
their origin is the emptiness of the One.
29.
一空同兩
齊含萬象
The emptiness of the One is the
same as both; equally containing the ten thousand outward appearances.
30.
不見精麁
寧有偏黨
Do not view fine or coarse, or
would you rather have one-sided associations?
31.
大道體寛
無易無難
The essence of the
32.
小見狐疑
轉急轉遲
The fox doubts of small views
spin quickly and spin slowly.
33.
執之失度
必入邪路
The seizing of immoderation necessarily
enters the evil paths.
34.
放之自然
體無去住
Letting go of the self’s autonomy,
the essence is without going or staying.
35.
任性合道
逍遙絶惱
Allow the nature to unite with the
Way, and ramble carefree cutting off vexations.
36.
繋念乖眞
昏沈不好
Knotted thoughts oppose the True
and dully sink into the not good.
37.
不好勞神
何用疏親
When “not good” belabors the
spirit, what use are “unfamiliar” and “intimate”?
38.
欲取一乘
勿惡六塵
If you desire to take hold of the
One Vehicle (Ekayana),
do not despise the six dusts.
39.
六塵不惡
還同正覺
The six dusts are not despicable
and, besides, are identical with right awakening.
40.
智者無爲
愚人自縛
Those who are wise are non-doing;
monkey-minded people are tied up by themselves.
41.
法無異法
妄自愛著
The Dharma is without an opposing
Dharma; the false self loves attachments.
42.
將心用心 豈非大錯
To use the mind by commanding the
mind, how can it not be a great mistake?
43.
迷生寂亂
悟無好惡
Delusion gives birth to stillness
and chaos; awakening is without good and evil.
44.
一切二邊
妄自斟酌
With two sides to everything, the
false self deliberates.
45.
夢幻虚華
何勞把捉
Dreams and illusions, flowers in
the sky; why labor to grasp them?
46.
得失是非 一時放卻
Gain and loss, right and wrong, in one
moment release them and withdraw.
47.
眼若不睡
諸夢自除
If the eyes are not asleep, the
various dreams are by themselves wiped away.
48.
心若不異
萬法一如
If mind does not discriminate, the
ten thousand things are One Suchness.
49.
一如體玄
兀爾忘虚
In the profound essence of One
Suchness, you look ignorant and forget the secondary causes.
50.
萬法齊觀
歸復自然
The insight that the ten thousand
things are on the same level is returning home and restoring naturalness..
51.
泯其所以
不可方比
By putting an end to that which
“uses,” it is not possible to go in the direction of comparisons.
52.
止動無動
動止無止
In
stopping moving there is no moving; in moving stopping there is no stopping.
53.
兩既不成
一何有爾
Pairs are de facto not complete; the One, how does that exist?
54.
究竟窮極
不存軌則
Finally impoverished to the
utmost, do not preserve by tracks and rules.
55.
契心平等
所作倶息
The harmonious mind is equality, where contrivances all
cease.
56.
狐疑盡淨
正信調直
With fox doubts
entirely purified, right faith harmonizes directly.
57.
一切不留
無可記憶
When
everything does not remain, there is no ability to remember.
58.
虚明自照
不勞心力
The clear light shines by itself
and does not belabor the mind’s strength.
59.
非思量處
識情難測
Do not consider the amount or the
place; consciousness and feelings are difficult to measure.
60.
眞如法界 無他無自
In the
Dharma Realm of True Suchness, there is no other and there is no self.
61.
要急相應 唯言不二
When it is vital to quickly be
relevant, only speak the non-dual.
62.
不二皆同
無不包容
In the non-dual all is the same,
without exclusion.
63.
十方智者
皆入此宗
In the ten directions, those
who are wise all enter this lineage.
64.
宗非促延
一念萬年
The lineage does not hurry or delay
for a single moment or ten thousand years.
65.
無在不在
十方目前
Without being present or absent,
the ten directions are in front of the eyes.
66.
極小同大
忘絶境界
The utmost small is the same as the great, so forget
cutting off the bounded realms.
67.
極大同小 不見邊表
The utmost great is the same as the small, so do not view
outside of the borders.
68.
有即是無
無即是有
Existence is exactly
nonexistence; nonexistence is exactly existence.
69.
若不如此
必不須守
If this is not Suchness,
necessarily it does not need to be guarded.
70.
一即一切
一切即一
One is exactly everything;
everything is exactly One.
71.
但能如是 何慮不畢
When only capable Suchness is, what
concerns are not concluded?
72. 信心不二
不二信心
Faith in mind is non-dual; non-dual is
faith in mind.
73. 言語道斷
非去來今
In spoken
language the Way is cut off; it is neither the gone, nor the coming, nor the
present.
Chinese-English Interlinear Text:
三 祖 僧璨 大 師
three/third ancestor Sencan
great master
信 心 銘
Trust/faith heart-mind engrave/engraving/inscription/inscribe
1.
至 道 無 難
Arrive/reach
the Way without difficulty
唯 嫌 揀 擇
only
suspect/suspicion/dislike/reject select/pick/choose select/choose
2.
但 莫 憎 愛
But/however/still/merely/yet/only
do not hate love
洞 然
hole/cavity/see through correct/like that/so/just so/thus
明白
to
understand/realize /clear/obvious/unequivocal
3.
毫 釐 有 差
fine hair/measure of
length one-thousandth of a foot have/possess/be uneven/discrepancy/differ
天 地 懸 隔
heaven/sky earth/ground/land
hang/suspend divide(d)/separate(d)
4
欲 得 現 前
desire able to/obtain/get manifest/reveal front/forward/before/previous
莫 存 順 逆
do not keep/preserve/deposit/live/exist go along
with/follow/obey oppose/disobey/go against
5.
違 順 相
defy/disregard obey/go along with one another/each other/characteristics/appearances
爭
struggle/contend/argue/quarrel
是 爲 心 病
correct/is/yes do/for/act/become/turn into/regard as heart-mind ailment/ill/sick/disease
6.
不 識 玄 旨
do not/is not/cannot
know profound/dark/mystic/mysterious purpose/aim/intention
徒 勞
going on foot/disciple/follower/gang/empty handed/in vain labor/trouble/worry
念 靜
think/recall/thought/moment calm/serene/tranquil
7.
圓 同 太 虚
round/complete same/equal/identical extremely/vast empty/unoccupied/void
無 欠 無 餘
without lack without excess/surplus
8.
良 由 取
nice/good/excellent/instinctive/inborn from/by/reason/cause to take/to hold
捨
to cast off/abandon
所
以 不
place/location/that which/actually use/regard as/by means of do not/no/un
如
thus/so/like/Suchness
9.
莫 逐 有
not/do not gradually/little by little/chase/pursue have/possess/be/exist/be
present
縁
from/by/whence/reason/observe/follow
勿 住 空
忍
do not
dwell/abide/abode/stop void/empty/emptiness/sunya endure/suffer/tolerate
10.
一 種 平
one/single/whole/all seed/kind/class/various/genus flat/even/level/pacify
懷
cherish/bear/embrace/conceive (child)
泯
然
自
destroy/put an end to/vanish in this way/in that way/just so oneself/naturally
盡
exhaust/end/use up/entirely/utmost
11.
止 動 歸 止
Stop/finish
move/do/act/stir/arouse return/belongs to stop/finish
止 更
彌
stop/finish more/still/further/to a greater degree fill/full/complete/long time
動
move/do/act/stir/touch/arouse
12.
唯 滯
兩 邊
Only blocked/stagnant/standstill/obstructed
both extremes/edges
寧 知 一種
peaceful/would
rather/had rather/would sooner know/understand oneness
13.
一種 不 通
oneness do not/is not/cannot pass through/flow unobstructed
兩 處 失
two/both
place/to dwell/to live/point/feature lose/miss/neglect/mistaken
功
merit/contribution/achievement/effectiveness/usefulness
14.
遣 有 沒
send/dispatch/exile/drive away have/possess/is/exist/be present immerse/have not
有
have/being/possess
從 空 背 空
follow/observing/accord with emptiness carry on the back/shoulder/violate emptiness
15.
多 言 多 慮
many/numerous/more than words many/numerous/too much strategies/concerns/anxieties
轉
不
turn/rotate/convey/transfer/indirect/roundabout/pass on do not/cannot/is not
相應
mutual
support/corresponding/relevant
16.
絶
言 絶 慮
cut off/terminate/end/sever/be done
with/put a stop to/go beyond words beyond strategies
無 處
不 通
without/no/not position/place/location/point/feature
not pass through
17.
歸 根 得 旨
return/come back root/base/foundation
get/obtain/gain/be able to purpose/aim/intention
隨
照
follow/accompany/come
after/listen to illuminate/shine/reflect/accord/take care of
失 宗
lose/miss/fail/mistake/neglect ancestry/school/lineage/sect/religion
18.
須臾 返 照
moment/instant/Skt. ksana return to/revert to/restore
shine/illuminate/reflect/light
勝
卻
win/victory/excellent/excel/surpass/wonderful withdraw/retreat/but/yet/go back
前
空
before/previous/in front/forward/past emptiness
19.
前
空 轉變
before/previous/in front/forward/past emptiness transform/change
皆 由 妄見
all/every/entire/in
all cases from/by/because/reason/cause false views/foolish opinion
20.
不 用 求 眞
do not/is not/cannot use/employ/operate/function/exert seek/strive
for truth/real/genuine
唯
須 息 見
only must/should/ought/necessary
cease/put an end to/set to rest views/opinions
21.
二 見 不 住
dualistic/two view/opinion do not/is not/cannot
dwell/reside/remain/inhabit
慎 莫
cautious/act
with care/scrupulous do not/is not/cannot/there is none who
追
尋
chase/pursue/follow/trace/expel/drive/demand insistently seek/search for
22.
纔
有 是
just now/only/not until/for the first time
have/possess/existence is/right/correct
非
is
not/neither/wrongs/evils/faults/mistakes
紛
然
numerous/varied/confused/disorderly/tangled
like that/correct/right/thus
失
心
lose/miss/neglect/make a
mistake heart-mid
23.
二 由
一 有
two/dual from/by/reason/because/cause/depend on
one/single have/possess/existence
一 亦 莫
one/single/whole
also/too/likewise is not/do not/cannot/there is none who
守
abide
by/guard/defend/protect/conserve/wait
24.
一 心 不 生
one heart-mind not/no/un
born/produced/life
萬 法 無 咎
ten
thousand dharmas without blame/fault
25.
無 咎 無 法
without
blame without Dharma/things
不 生 不 心
is
not/no/un born/life/produce is not/no mind
26.
能 隨
can/able to/capability/power follow/accompany/comply
with/come after/listen to/submit to
境
滅
border/condition/circumstances/phenomenon
extinguish/exterminate/Skt. nirodha (3rd Nobel Truth)
境 逐
border/condition/circumstances/phenomenon/objectivity chase/pursue/follow
能 沈
can/able to/capability/power
submerge/sink
27.
境 由
border/condition/circumstances/phenomenon
from/by/because
能 境
can/able to/capability/power
area/border/condition/circumstances/phenomenon
能
由
border/condition/circumstances/phenomenon
from/by/because
境
能
area/border/condition/circumstances/phenomenon
can/able to/capability/power
28.
欲 知 兩 段
want/desire to know both/pair sections/parts
元
是
一 空
primary/original/first/beginning is
whole/one/single emptiness
29.
一 空 同 兩
one/single/whole emptiness same/similar/identical
both/pair/two
齊 含 萬
even/equal/together/uniform/to make even hold in mouth/hold/contain
ten thousand
象
elephant/image/figure/phenomenon/outward appearance
30.
不 見 精
do not/is not/cannot see/view/opinion
energy/excellent/spirit/essence/fine/refined
麁
rough/crude/thick/coarse
寧
有 偏
tranquil/repose/peaceful/would rather
have/possess/exist one-sided/biased/partial
黨
faction/gang/political
party/club/society/association
31.
大 道 體 寛
Great Way/dao body/substance/essence/style broad/wide/vast
無 易 無 難
without easy/change without difficulty
32.
小 見 狐 疑
small/few
view/opinions fox doubts/suspect/hesitate
轉
急
turn/rotate/spin
around/indirect/roundabout quick/quickly/hurried/urgent/hasty
轉
遲
turn/rotate/spin
around/indirect/roundabout slow/late/tardy
33.
執 之
arrest/grasp/persist/hold/keep/seize/uphold of/go to/this/that/those
失度
(lose-limits)/immoderate/excessive/vaiguNya
必 入 邪 路
must/necessarily
enter wrong/evil/depraved/wicked/mean path/road/way/street
34.
放 之 自然
release/let
go/to free/liberate of/this oneself/self like that/so/however/thus/like
this/-ly
體 無 去 住
essence/body/substance without leaving/going/past
dwelling/abode
35.
任
性 合
allow/let/appoint/duty/be responsible for nature
union/agreement/join/unite/combine
道
the Way
逍遙 絶 惱
carefree/rambling afar cut/sever/terminate/end
vexations/annoyances/troubles
36.
繋 念
乖
attach/connect/unite/fasten/tied think/thought/recall/thought moment
contradict/oppose
眞
true/real/genuine
昏 沈 不好
dusk/dull/confused submerge/sink no good/not
good/unwell/not pleasing/
37.
不好 勞 神
no good labor/exert/deed/service
spirit/god/soul/diety/immortal/mystical/smart
何 用
what/why/how
use/employ/function
疏
親
to clear/remove
obstructions/unfamiliar/thin/sparse/careless/coarse intimate/kiss/related
38.
欲 取
一
乘
want/desire to take/hold/select/choose/obtain one
vehicle/Ekayana
勿 惡 六 塵
do not hate/despise/disgusted six
dusts
39.
六
塵 不 惡
six dusts do not/are not
hateful/wicked/evil/bad
還
同
return/go back/repay/give back/restore/also/in
addition same/identical/equal/agree
正 覺
right/straight/fair/proper/correct perceive/feel/sense/be conscious
of/awaken/realize
40.
智 者
無爲
wisdom/prajna/jnana those who/someone who/that which wuwei/nonaction
愚
人 自 縛
foolish/monkey-witted/silly/stupid person/people self/oneself/personally
tie/bind
41.
法 無 異
Dharma/dharmas/things
without different/opposing strange/unusual/wonder/separate
法
dharma/Dharma/things
妄 自
愛 著
false oneself/self/own love/affection/kindness
apparent/attachment/wear/manifest
42.
將
心 用 心
general/going to/nourish/future/to get/to
lead/command mind using mind
豈 非 大 錯
how can it be not/is not great
mistake
43.
迷 生 寂 亂
delusion born/arise/produce
silent/still/quiet/death of Buddhist chaos/confusion/disorder
悟
無 好
惡
awakening/realization/comprehension of
reality/enlightenment without good evil
44.
一切 二 邊
everything two/dual
border/edge/frontier/side/margin/hem
妄 自 斟酌
false self/oneself/own
consider/deliberate
45.
夢 幻 虚空 華
dreams illusions sky/void/emptiness/Sunyata flowers
何
勞 把捉
what/why
labor/exert to grasp
46.
得
失 是 非
gain loss is/correct/yes is not/wrong/no
一時
momentarily/momentary/temporarily/”one time”
放 卻
release/let go/act without restraint/place/lay/to
withdraw/retreat/but/still/however/decline
47.
眼 若 不 睡
eye/eyeball if
does not/is not asleep/to sleep
諸 夢
various/all/many/several
dreams
自 除
oneself/own/self
remove/eliminate/wipe out/do away with/get rid of
48.
心若不異
mind if do not/is not discriminate/wonder
萬 法 一 如
10,000 dharmas/things
one suchness
49.
一 如 體 玄
one suchness body/substance/essence profound
兀
爾 忘
this/cut
off the feet/high and flat/ignorant looking you/thou/that/this forget/neglect
[縁] [緣]
Edge/verge/margin/brink/fringe/hem cause/reason/go
along/follow/margin/edge/secondary cause
50.
萬 法 齊
10,000 dharmas/things even/equal/to make even/uniform on a level
觀
insight meditation/observe
歸
復
belong
to/return to/comeback/ to one’s original point return/come back/restore/recover
自然
nature/natural/naturally.
51.
泯
其
destroy/eliminate/put an end to/to flow off/ruin
he/she/it/this/that/his/her/him
所 以
place/which/where/location/position use/by means of/according
to/instrumentality
不 可
do not/is not approve/may/but/can/be
able to/possibly
方
比
direction/place/honest/method/plan/then/now/just/just
then compare/than/assemble/each
52.
止 動 無 動
stopping
movement without movement,
動 止 無 止
movement
stopped without stopping.
By
stopping moving without moving, moving is stopped without stopping.
In stopping moving there is no moving; In moving stopping there is no stopping.
53.
兩 既 不 成
both/two
already/since/not that/de facto do not/is not become/complete/finish/turn
into/the whole
一
何 有 爾
one what/why/how
have/possess/exist/existence
you/thou/that/this/those/like that
54.
究竟
窮
after all/in the end/actually/completely
final poor/impoverished/limit/exhaust/trace to the source/thoroughly
極
ridge/pole/extreme/highest/utmost/farthest/final
不 存 軌
do not/is not
preserve/exist/keep/live by/survive/store rut/track/rail/course/path
則
standard/rule/regulation/law
55.
契
心 平等
contract/agreement/engrave/cut/carve/adopt/harmonious heart-mind equal/equality
所
作
place/location/which/where/position
do/make/act as/regard as/works/contrivance
倶
息
all/together
with/two things together/in both cases breath/cease/rest/stop/settle/interest
56.
狐
疑 盡
fox doubt(s) exhaust/utmost/entirely/use up/deplete/finish/to
the limit
淨
pure/clean/purify/empty/totally/only/nothing
but
正
信
proper/right/straight/just/fair/positive/rectify
faith
調
mediate/reconcile/harmonize/allocate/transfer/tone/tune
直
straight/upright
and honest/frank/fix/directly
57.
一切 不 留
everything do not/is not remain/stay/leave/leave
behind/detain/delay/keep/detain
無 可 記憶
without
approve/may/can/be able to/ remember/memorize/memory
58.
虚
明
empty/unoccupied/ unreal/void/clear/false bright/light/clear/evident
自 照
oneself/self/itself/own shine/illuminate/light
不
勞 心 力
not labor/exert/work/deed/service
heart-mind strength/power/force
59.
非
思
not/negative/do not/faults/mistakes/wrong
think/contemplate/consider/ponder/memory
量 處
to measure/quantity/amount
place/location/spot/point/position/feature
識 情 難 測
knowledge
feelings difficult
measure/gauge/fathom/estimate/conjecture
60.
眞
如 法 界
true suchness
dharma realm
In the
Dharma Realm of True Suchness
無 他 無 自
there is no
other and there is no self.
61.
要
demand/ask/request/coerce/ /important/vital/to want/to be going to/must/
急
anxious/urgent/quick(ly)/hurried/worried/with
expedition
相應
mutual
support/corresponding/relevant
唯 言 不二
only/alone/-ism/yes words/speak/talk/language non-dual/ not
two
62.
不 二 皆 同
not/non dual/two all/every/entire/in all
cases same/similar/equal/identical/agree
無 不 包容
without do
not/is not pardon/forgive/tolerate/contain/hold/inclusion
63.
十方 智 者
ten directions wise/prajna/jnana
those who/someone who/persons
皆 入 此 宗
all/in all cases enter here/this
lineage/ancestry/school
64.
宗 非 促 延
lineage/ancestry/school not/does not/is not hurry/urgent
delay/prolong
一
念 萬 年
one thought moment ten thousand years
65.
無
在
Without/no/not/un-/-less
at/on/exist(there)/in the process of/rest with/be
alive/living/at present
不在
absent/not be in/be out
十
方 目 前
ten directions eye/look/see
front/before/previous/past/earlier/ahead
66.
極 小 同 大
extremely/highest/utmost/ pole small same as/identical great
忘 絶 境界
forget/neglect/overlook/miss
cut/cut off boundary/state/realm/sphere/region
67.
極
大 同 小
extremely/highest/utmost/ pole great/big same as/identical
small
不
見
邊
not see/view/opinion/observe/perceive
border/edge/end/side/hem
表
outside/appearance/surface/exterior/superficial/outer
garment
68.
有 即
是
無
existence then/immediately/as it is/is of course/is in fact is without/nonexistence
無 即
是
有
without/nonexistence then/immediately/as it is/is of course/is in fact is existence
69.
若
不 如 此
if do not/is not suchness/thus
here/if so/in this case/this/that/those
必 不 須
must/necessarily do not/are not must/need
to/should/ought/necessary
守
abide
by/guard/defend/protect/conserve/wait
70.
一 即 一切
one
: then/immediately/as
it is/is of course/is in fact all/every/everything
一切 即 一
all/every/everything : then/immediately/as it is/is of course/is in fact one
71.
但
能 如 是
but/yet/however/only/merely/still
power/ability/capability suchness/tatha is/are
何 慮 不 畢
What strategies/concerns/anxieties
do not/are not concluded/finish/complete/total
72.
信 心 不 二
不 二 信 心
trusting/faith in mind do not/are not two/dual
do not/is not two/dual trust mind
73.
言語 道 斷
spoken language saythe
Way sever/break/cut apart/give up/abstain from/sever
非 去 來 今
neither/not leaving/going/past/gone coming/future now/present
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August 18, 2013.