Various English Translations of
AN AGREEMENT FOR PARTICIPATING TOGETHER
參同契
– CAN TONG QI (TS’AN-T’UNG-CH’I;
J. SANDOKAI)
By Shitou Xiqian (Shih-t’ou Hsi-ch’ien, J. Sekito Kisen)
(b.700 - d.790)
Beginning with mine, this webpage contains several of the many translations now available of the Can Tong Qi, known in the USA more widely by the Japanese pronunciation of "Sandokai". My comments are found in brackets.
#1 **************** #1
Translated by Gregory Wonderwheel
http://home.pon.net/wildrose/promise.htm
石頭參同契
SHITOU'S AN AGREEMENT FOR PARTICIPATING TOGETHER
竺土大仙心 東西密相付
The mind of
the great sage of the land of India
has been
intimately and mutually handed down from West to East.
人根有利鈍 道無南北祖
A person's
roots are sharp or dull;
the Way is without Northern or
Southern ancestors.
靈源明皎潔 枝派暗流注
The mysterious source is shining and clean in the light;
the branching
streams are flowing and pouring in the dark.
執事元是迷 契理亦非悟
Grasping at primary phenomena is bewilderment;
agreeing
with Principle is still not enlightenment.
門門一切境 迴互不迴互
Each and every gate corresponds to circumstances,
revolving
with each other and not revolving with each other.
迴而更相涉 不爾依位住
Revolving and alternating are mutually entangled,
they
do not rely on remaining in place.
色本殊質像 聲元異樂苦
The root of form is distinguished by substance and
appearance;
the primal
sound is differentiated as joyful or painful.
闇合上中言 明明清濁句
High and middle words unite in the dark,
clean and dirty sentences, in the brightness.
四大性自復 如子得其母
The four great elements return to their natures
like a
child to its mother.
火熱風動搖 水濕地堅固
The heat of the fire; the waving of the wind;
the wet of
the water; the solidity of the earth.
眼色耳音聲 鼻香舌鹹醋
The colors of the eye; the sounds of the ear;
the fragrances of the nose; the salt and sour of the tongue.
.然於一一法 依根葉分布
This is the way with each and every thing,
according
to the roots the leaves separate and spread out.
本未須歸宗 尊卑用其語
Roots and branches necessarily return to the ancestral
origin;
venerated
and vulgar, these are used in speech.
當明中有暗 勿以暗相遇
Right in the middle of light there is dark,
don’t use the mutuality of darkness to meet it.
當暗中有明 勿以明相睹
Right in the middle of dark there is light,
don’t use
the mutuality of the light to see it.
明暗各相對 比如前後歩
The light and dark are mutual polarities,
For
example, like front and back steps.
萬物自有功 當言用及處
The ten thousand things naturally have their function,
And are
regarded in the use and placement of words.
事存函蓋合 理應箭鋒拄
Phenomena exist like the joining of a box and lid.
Principle responds like the support of the sharp point of an arrow.
承言須會宗 勿自立規矩
In receiving words you should meet the ancestors,
and not
establish rules by yourself.
觸目不會道 運足焉知路
If your contacting eye does not meet the Way/Tao,
how do you know the path by using your feet?
進歩非近遠 迷隔山河故
Progress is not near or far;
bewilderment
causes the distance fromd mountains and rivers.
x謹白參玄人 光陰莫虚度
Sincerely, I say to people who participate in the profound
depths,
From brightness and shadow, there are none who have ferried across in vain.
#2 **************** #2
From http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/sandokai.htm
This version (without the Chinese characters) is also found on the websites of the Minnesota Zen Center, http://www.mnzencenter.org/sandokai.html , the Mountain Source Sangha, http://www.mtsource.org/chants/sandokai.html . the Bamboo in the Wind Sangha, http://bamboointhewind.org/chant_sandokai.html
[I believe that either this translation or the very similar second one is from the Soto-Shu (Soto-School) Liturgy Conference held at Green Gulch Farm, Sausalito, California in 1997. The second translation is from the Sotoshu translation project but I'm not sure if that is the same or another event than the conference held at Green Gulch Farm in 1997. Translation variation #9 below has only one word different from this one, so I believe that this is the version from the Green Gulch conference. See note below with variation #7 for more comment on this.]
參同契 Harmony of Difference and Sameness
竺土大仙心 The mind of the great sage of India
東西密相付 is intimately transmitted from west to east.
人根有利鈍 While human faculties are sharp or dull,
道無南北祖 the Way has no Northern or Southern ancestors.
靈源明皎潔 The spiritual source shines clear in the light;
枝派暗流注 the branching streams flow on in the dark.
執事元是迷 Grasping at things is surely delusion;
契理亦非悟 according with sameness is still not enlightenment.
門門一切境 All the objects of the senses
迴互不迴互 interact and yet do not.
迴而更相涉
Interacting brings involvement.
不爾依位住 Otherwise, each keeps its place.
色本殊質像
Sights vary in quality and form,
聲元異樂苦
sounds differ as pleasing or harsh.
闇合上中言
Refined and common speech come together in the dark,
明明清濁句
clear and murky phrases are distinguished in the light.
四大性自復
The four elements return to their natures
如子得其母
just as a child turns to its mother;
火熱風動搖
Fire heats, wind moves,
水濕地堅固 water wets, earth is solid.
眼色耳音聲
Eye and sights, ear and sounds,
鼻香舌鹹醋
nose and smells, tongue and tastes;
然於一一法
Thus with each and every thing,
依根葉分布
depending on these roots, the leaves spread forth.
本未須歸宗
Trunk and branches share the essence;
尊卑用其語
revered and common, each has its speech.
當明中有暗 In
the light there is darkness,
勿以暗相遇
but don't take it as darkness;
當暗中有明 In
the dark there is light,
勿以明相睹
but don't see it as light.
明暗各相對
Light and dark oppose one another
比如前後歩 like the front and back foot in walking.
萬物自有功
Each of the myriad things has its merit,
當言用及處
expressed according to function and place.
事存函蓋合
Phenomena exist; box and lid fit;
理應箭鋒拄
principle responds; arrow points meet.
承言須會宗
Hearing the words, understand the meaning;
勿自立規矩
don't set up standards of your own.
觸目不會道 If
you don't understand the Way right before you,
運足焉知路
how will you know the path as you walk?
進歩非近遠
Progress is not a matter of far or near,
迷隔山河故 but
if you are confused, mountains and rivers block your way.
謹白參玄人 I
respectfully urge you who study the mystery,
光陰莫虚度 do
not pass your days and nights in vain.
#3 **************** #3
From the Soto Zen Text Project
website at Stanford University.
[From the website about SZTP:
"The Soto
Zen Text Project is an initiative of the International Division of the
Administrative Headquarters of Soto Zen Buddhism (Sotoshu Shumucho) that seeks
to provide materials for the international study and practice of Soto
Zen."
This
translation is very similar to the one above with only minor changes. In
addition to the difference in the title, couplets 5 and 6 are different and
here use the words "transpose" instead of "interact". The
syntax of couplet 8 is changed. In the second half of couplet 12 "depending on these roots" is changed to
"according to the roots."
Couplets 18 through 21 all have
minor changes. ]
Harmony
of Difference and Equality
(Sandôkai)
The mind of the great sage of India
is intimately transmitted from west to east.
While human faculties are sharp or dull,
the Way has no northern or southern ancestors.
The spiritual source shines clear in the
light;
the branching streams flow on in the dark.
Grasping at things is surely delusion,
according with sameness is still not enlightenment.
All the objects of the senses
transpose and do not transpose.
Transposing, they are linked together;
not transposing, each keeps its place.
Sights vary in quality and form;
sounds differ as pleasing or harsh.
Darkness merges refined and common words;
brightness distinguishes clear and murky phrases.
The four elements return to their natures,
Just as a child turns to its mother.
Fire heats, wind moves,
water wets, earth is solid.
Eye and sights, ear and sounds,
nose and smells, tongue and tastes;
Thus for each and every thing,
according to the roots, the leaves spread forth.
Trunk and branches share the essence;
revered and common, each has its speech.
In the light there is darkness,
but don't take it as darkness;
In the dark there is light,
but don't see it as light.
Light and dark oppose one another
like the front and back foot in walking.
Each of the myriad things has its merit,
expressed according to function and place.
Existing phenomenally like box and cover
joining;
according with principle like arrow points meeting.
Hearing the words, understand the meaning;
don't establish standards of your own.
Not understanding the Way before your eyes,
how do you know the path you walk?
Walking forward is not a matter of far or
near,
but if you are confused, mountains and rivers block your way.
I respectfully urge you who study the
mystery,
don't pass your days and nights in vain.
#4 **************** #4
From the liturgy of the Pacific Zen Institute :
Taking Part in the Gathering
The mind of the great Indian Immortal
moves seamlessly between East and West.
It*s human nature to be quick or slow,
but in the Way there are no northern or southern ancestors.
The mysterious source of the bright is clear and unstained;
branches of light stream from that dark.
Tying to control things is only delusion,
but hanging onto the absolute isn*t enlightenment, either.
We and everything we perceive
are interwoven and not interwoven,
and this interweaving continues on and on,
while each thing stands in its own place.
In the world of form, we differentiate substances and Images;
in the world of sound, we distinguish music from noise.
In the embrace of the dark, good words and bad words are the same,
but in the bright we divide clear speech from confusion.
The four elements return to their natures
like a child to the mother,
Fire is hot, the winds blow,
water is wet, the earth solid,
The eye sees form, the ear hears voices,
the nose smells fragrance, the tongue tastes salt and sour.
Everything, depending on its root, spreads out its leaves.
Both roots and branches must return to their origin,
and so do respectful and insulting words.
The darkness is inside the bright,
but don*t look only with the eyes of the dark.
The brightness is inside the dark,
but don*t look only through the eyes of the bright.
Bright and dark are a pair,
like front foot and back foot walking.
Each thing by nature has worth,
but we notice it is shaped by its circumstances.
Things fit together like boxes and lids,
while the absolute is like arrows meeting in mid-air.
When you let these words in, you encounter the ancestors;
don*t limit yourself to your own small story.
If you don*t see the Way with your own eyes,
you won*t know the road even as you*re walking on it.
Walking the Way, we*re never near or far from it:
deluded, we are cut off from it by mountains and rivers.
You who seek the mystery,
in daylight or in the shadows of night, don*t throw away your time.
#5 **************** #5
From the book The Infinite Mirror: Commentaries on
Inquiry into Matching Halves and Song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi
By Chan Master Sheng Yen
1990 Dharma Drum Publications, Elmhurst NY
Inquiry into Matching Halves
Translated by Master Sheng-yen
The mind of the great Indian immortal
Was esoterically transmitted from West to East.
The capacity of people may be dull or sharp,
But there are no Northern and Southern Patriarchs in the Tao.
The spiritual source is bright and pure,
Branching out and secretly flowing forth.
Attachment to phenomenon has always been confusion,
Yet union with principle is not enlightenment.
Every (Dharma) door includes all realms,
Some mutually interact, others do not.
Reaction increases mutual involvement;
There should be no reliance on abiding in one place.
From original form comes shapes and images;
From primal sound comes pleasures and pains.
In obscurity, words of the high and middle (paths) are in accord;
In lucidity, expressions of purity and muddiness are apparent.
The four great elements return to their own nature
As a child finds its mother.
Fire burns, wind moves and shakes.
Water moistens, earth solidifies.
Eyes - forms, ears - sounds,
Nose - odors, tongue - salt and sour.
In accordance with each dharma,
The root gives rise to separate leaves.
Roots and branches must return to basic principle;
"Honorable" and "lowly" are merely words.
In the midst of brightness there is darkness;
Do not take darkness as darkness.
In the midst of darkness there is brightness;
Do not take brightness as brightness.
Brightness and darkness correspond,
Line one step following another,
All things have their own function
Depending on their use and location.
Phenomena stores, seals, covers, combines..
Principle yields to the arrow, the sword's edge, the stick.
Received teachings must be reconciled with basic principle;
Do not establish your own rules.
Using your eyes, the path is lost.
Using your feet, how can you know the road?
Moving forward there is no near or far;
Confusion creates mountains and rivers of obstructions.
I implore those who investigate the mysterious:
Do not waste your time!
#6 **************** #6
From http://home.att.net/~sotozen/html/recordshitou.html#1
[No attribution for translator.]
The Agreement of Difference and Unity
The mind of India's great sage
Was quietly confided from west to east.
People's abilities may be dull or sharp,
But in the Path, there are no
Southern or Northern ancestors.
The spiritual source is bright and pure.
It flows and branches out imperceptibly.
To grasp at things is basically false,
But to concentrate only on principle
Isn't enlightening either.
The senses and sense-objects in all their aspects
May interact or not.
If so, they affect each other mutually;
If not, they just remain separate.
Colors differ naturally in quality and appearance;
Sounds can be pleasant or sad.
In the darkness, you can't tell up from down,
But in brightness, you can distinguish
Between pure and defiled.
The four elements follow their own nature
As a child follows its mother: fire heats, wind shakes,
Water moistens, and the earth remains firm.
There are colors for the eyes and sound for the ear,
Fragrances for the nose, salt and vinegar for the tongue.
But according to the true law,
As leaves spread outward away from the trunk.
Whatever spreads out must come back to the source.
Thus "honorable" and "low-born" are nothing more than words.
In light there is darkness, but don't meet it as darkness.\
In darkness there is light, but don't see it as light.
Light and darkness are opposites,
Like forward and backward steps.
Each thing has its own function:
It's a question of how it is used.
Phenomena fit together like box and cover,
While principle impacts like an arrow meeting its target.
Hearing these words, you should understand
Their source CC don't make up your own rules!
If you can't see the path in front of you,
How will you follow the Way?
Progress isn't measured by near or far,
But if you get lost,
Mountains and rivers will separate you.
I humbly say to students of this profound teaching:
Don't waste time!
#7 **************** #7
From the book Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness - Zen Talks on the Sandokai
by Shunryu Suzuki
[According to Mel Weitsman and Michael Wenger, the editors of Branching Streams, the following version is "the English translation from the Soto-Shu (Soto-School) Liturgy Conference held at Green Gulch Farm, Sausalito, California in 1997, with some revisions." (Page 17.) Since this appears to have only minor changes from the versions at Sacred Texts and Minnesota Zen Center (and the current Berkeley Zen Center online version), I presume that those versions are the translation that came from the 1997 Liturgy Conference.
The revisions in this version (from version #1 above) are found in three couplets: (1) in couplet #11 the plurals are changed to the singular (e.g., "eye and sight" instead of "eye and sights") for each of the four senses that are mentioned, (2) couplet #18 which had "Phenomena exist; box and lid fit; principle responds; arrow points meet" is here changed to "Phenomena exist; like box and lid joining; principle accords; like arrow points meeting", and (3) in couplet #21 "progress" is changed to "practice." As I see it, the second and third changes are unfortunate in that they move away from the original meanings of the characters and adopt more free translations. This translation also appears online in a prose paragraph format at the emptyuniverse website http://www.empty-universe.com/zen/sandokai.htm
Here is a link to a 1971 film clip of Suzuki Roshi commenting on couplet #7 on the difference between sound and noise. Thise is one of the talks that are the basis for the book Branching Streams.]
Sandokai
The Harmony of Difference and Equality
The mind of the great sage of India
is intimately transmitted from west to east.
While human faculties are sharp or dull,
the Way has no Northern or Southern ancestors.
The spiritual source shines clear in the light;
the branching streams flow on in the dark.
Grasping at things is surely delusion;
according with sameness is still not enlightenment.
All the objects of the senses
interact and yet do not.
Interacting brings involvement.
Otherwise, each keeps its place.
Sights vary in quality and form,
sounds differ as pleasing or harsh.
Refined and common speech come together in the dark,
clear and murky phrases are distinguished in the light.
The four elements return to their natures
just as a child turns to its mother;
Fire heats, wind moves,
water wets, earth is solid.
Eye and sight, ear and sound,
nose and smell, tongue and taste;
Thus with each and every thing,
depending on these roots, the leaves spread forth.
Trunk and branches share the essence;
revered and common, each has its speech.
In the light there is darkness,
but don't take it as darkness;
In the dark there is light,
but don't see it as light.
Light and dark oppose one another
like the front and back foot in walking.
Each of the myriad things has its merit,
expressed according to function and place.
Phenomena exist; like box and lid joining;
principle accords; like arrow points meeting
Hearing the words, understand the meaning;
don't set up standards of your own.
If you don't understand the Way right before you,
how will you know the path as you walk?
Practice is not a matter of far or near,
but if you are confused, mountains and rivers block your way.
I respectfully urge you who study the mystery,
do not pass your days and nights in vain.
#8 **************** #8
[This next version appears at the end of Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness. Weitsman and Wenger say it is their rendition of how they think Shunryu Suzuki Roshi might have translated it. They say the talks by Suzuki included character-by-character translations, so as they write, "We have sifted through these talks as well as sources not included in the present work (e.g., private discussions with students) and created a composite English version of the Sandokai." (Page 17.)]
Oneness of One and Many
Translated by Mel Weitsman and Michael Wenger
The mind of the great sage of India
was handed down closely from west to east.
People may discriminate the dull from the keen,
but in the true way there is no Ancestor of the North or South.
The true source is pure and stainless.
The branch streams flow in the dark.
Clutching at things is delusion.
To recognize the truth is not always enlightenment either.
The five sense gates and he five sense objects
are interdependent and absolutely independent;
interrelated endlessly,
yet each states in its own position.
Things have various natures, various forms.
There is good and bad taste, sound, and feeling.
In darkness, superior and inferior cannot be distinguished;
in brightness, the duality of pure and impure is apparent.
The four elements resume their nature
as a child has its mother.
Fire is hot, wind blows,
water wets, and earth is solid.
For eyes there is color and form, for ears there is sound,
for the nose there is smell, and for the tongue there is taste;
Each being comes out from the root
as branches and leaves come out from the trunk.
But both root and end should return to their original nature.
The words we use are different -- good and bad, respectful and
mean -- but through these words we should understand
the absolute being or source of the teaching.
Within brightness actually there is utter darkness;
but you should not meet someone just with darkness.
Witin darkness there is brightness
but you should not see others only with the eyes of brightness.
Darkness and brightness stand with each other
like one foot forward and the other behind in walking.
Everything -- all beings -- have their own virtue.
You should know how to apply this truth.
Things and emptiness are like a container and its cover
fitting together,
like two arrows meeting head-on.
When you listen to the words, you should understand
the source of the teaching.
Don't establish your own rules.
If you don't practice in your everyday life as you walk,
how can you know the way?
The goal is neither far nor near.
If you stick to the idea of good or bad, you will be
separated from the way by high mountains or big rivers.
Seekers of the truth,
don’t' spend your time in vain.
[This version is so free that I can't help but think that Weitsman and Wenger got confused by Suzuki's translation comments on the Sandokai. This is not anything approaching a character-by-character translation. For example, for the second half of couplet 21 they have "If you stick to the idea of good or bad, you will be separated from the way by high mountains or big rivers." However, there are only five characters which mean "lost-separate(s)-mountain(s)-river(s)-cause." So the whole phrase "If you stick to the idea of good or bad" iw whole cloth interpolation. Also the "the way" and the adjectives "high" and "big" are nowhere in the text and are the translators' interpolations. I have no sympathy for translations that insert the translator's view of mountains and rivers by calling them "high mountains or big rivers" when the author did no such thing.
As another example, for the second half of couplet 13, Weitsman and Wenger have "The words we use are different -- good and bad, respectful and mean -- but through these words we should understand the absolute being or source of the teaching." Again, this line is only five characters long and literally would be "venerate(d)-vulgar-employ-these-words." There are no characters for "are different", "good and bad", "but" or " through these words we should understand the absolute being or source of the teaching'" all of which are the insertions of the translators.
With interpolations great and small occurring in virtually every other sentence, I find this translation to be too free and overly wordy and certainly not as advertised to be a character-by-character translation.]
#9 **************** #9
From Berkeley Zen Center.
http://www.berkeleyzencenter.org/Texts/sandokai.shtml
[Berkeley Zen Center now has the Soto standard version (above variation #2) with two changes. First, BZC currently has the title as "Harmonious Song of Difference and Unity," and second, in the second half of the first couplet BZC has the word "communicated" instead of "transmitted."
Previously BZC had the following version titled "Merging of Difference and Unity", dated 2000, on their website. The Puerto Vallarta Zen Group still has this previous BZC translation on their website.]
Also at Puerto Vallarta Zen Group
http://www.pvzen.org/sandokai-eng.html
Merging of Difference and Unity
Sandokai
composed by Sekito Kisen
The mind of the great sage of India
is intimately communicated between East and West.
People's faculties may be keen or dull,
but in the Path there are no southern or northern ancestors.
The spiritual source shines clearly in the light.
Branching streams flow in the darkness.
Grasping things is basically delusion.
Merging with principle is still not enlightenment.
Each sense and every field interact and do not interact.
When interacting they also merge.
Otherwise they remain in their own states.
Forms are basically different in material and appearance.
Sounds are fundamentally different in pleasant or harsh quality.
Darkness is a word for merging upper and lower.
Light is an expression for distinguishing pure and defiled.
The four gross elements return to their own natures
like a baby taking to its mother.
Fire heats, wind moves,
water wets, earth is solid.
Eye and form, ear and sound,
nose and smell, tongue and taste.
Thus in all things
the leaves spread from the root.
The whole process must return to the source.
Noble and base are only manners of speaking.
Right in light there is darkness,
but don't confront it as darkness.
Right in darkness there is light,
but don't see it as light.
Light and dark are relative to one another
like forward and backward steps.
All things have their function.
It is a matter of use in the appropriate situation.
Phenomena exist like box and cover joining.
Principle accords like arrow points meeting.
Hearing the words you should understand the source.
Don't make up standards on your own.
If you don't understand the path as it meets your eyes,
how can you know the way as you walk?
Progress is not a matter of far or near,
but if you are confused mountains and rivers block the way.
I humbly say to those who study the mystery:
Don't waste time.
#10 **************** #10
From http://www.zencentrum.nl/sandoe.html
[This is another very free interpretation of the Sandokai with almost as much of the translator's interpolations as there is of the original.]