
                              INTRODUCTION




 In the records of Ch'an masters, there is no full account of the life
 of Seng Ts'an, the Third Patriarch, who died in A.D. 606. He is
 mentioned, however, in the T'ang dynasty (618-907) Kao Seng Chua
 (Biographies of Eminent Monks) written by master Fa Ts'ung; "After
 Ch'an master (Hui) K'o, there was Ch'an master (Seng) Ts'an." The Leng
 Ch'ieh Shih Tzu Chi (Records of the Masters of the Lankavatara Sutra),
 which contains early historical material of the Ch'an school, says that
 after entering retreat in the mountains Seng Ts'an never emerged, nor
 did he ever write about or transmit the Dharma. This statement is
 problematic considering that the Sui dynasty history, in Er Shih Wu
 Shih (The Twenty-five History Books) states that in 592 he transmitted
 the Dharma to Tao Hsin, the Fourth Patriarch. It also calls into
 question the authorship of the poem Faith in Mind, which has
 historically been attributed to Seng Ts'an. Contemporary scholars doubt
 whether he was, in fact, the author. Niu T'ou Fa Jung, a disciple of
 Tao Hsin, wrote a poem entitled Song of Mind. Noticing the similarity
 between the two poems, some suggest that Faith in Mind was actually
 written after the time of the Sixth Patriarch, Nui Neng, as an
 improved, condensed version of Song of Mind. The thought expressed in
 Faith in Mind is indeed better organized, more concise and seems
 complete compared to Niu T'ou's poem.

 The question of attribution, however, has no relevance to my
 commentaries on Faith in Mind. The importance of the poem to us lies in
 its value as a guide to Ch'an meditation, and its significance in the
 history of Ch'an (Zen), both in China and Japan. Among the many poems
 on enlightenment, the most highly regarded are Yung Chia's Song of
 Enlightenment, and Faith in Mind, because of the clear guidance they
 provide on the method of Ch'an.

 For this reason, I do not comment on Faith in Mind on ordinary
 occasions. I choose to lecture on it only during the seven-day Ch'an
 retreat. The twenty chapters of this book are based on translated
 lectures spanning four retreats, subsequently edited for publication.
 Since the talks were given within the context of intensive meditation
 practice, I did not adopt a scholarly point of view or analytical
 approach. It is not a formal commentary on the text; rather, I use the
 poem as a taking-off point to inspire the practitioner and deal with
 certain issues that arise during the course of practice.

 There are at least five published English translations of Faith in
 Mind. All have their merits. I offer a new translation which is similar
 in many respects to previous ones; however, portions of it are quite
 different, reflecting my own understanding of the poem. When commenting
 on Faith in Mind, I often say to my students, "Now that you are
 practicing, it matters little whether or not I speak on Faith in Mind.
 But I am using the poem to instruct you on the method of practice." The
 progress and condition of a given group of practitioners differs from
 day to day and from retreat to retreat. Thus I adapt my discussion of
 the poem to the situation at hand, while remaining within the scope of
 the text. I believe these talks can serve as a helpful guide both to
 the aspiring and experienced practitioner. It has also helped me
 personally, by giving me new insights into the poem as various
 situations arose.

 The phrase "faith in mind" contains the two meanings of "believing in"
 and "realizing" the mind. "Mind" is especially emphasized in Ch'an.
 True faith in mind is the belief grounded in realization that we have a
 fundamental, unmoving, unchanging mind. This mind is precisely Buddha
 mind; it is also Tathagatagarbha (womb of Tathagata) in every sentient
 being. But the mind experienced by ordinary beings in the midst of
 vexations is deluded mind, not true mind. Those who seek to rid
 themselves of vexations imagine that there is a true mind to attain.
 However, from the perspective of Buddha mind, there is only one mind,
 neither true nor false. There is no need to discriminate, for
 everything, everywhere, is mind everlasting.  When we fully realize
 Buddha mind, the believing mind and the mind which is believed in merge
 into one; since they are the same, the need for mere belief in this
 mind disappears.

 The paradox is that one must be enlightened to have true faith in this
 mind. The author is speaking from a deeply enlightened perspective to
 the practitioner who seeks to discover true mind. Seng Ts'an shows us
 how to transform our ordinary discriminating mind into the Buddha mind
 which does not discriminates; how to get from existence to emptiness,
 from defilement to purity. He tells us how we should practice and what
 kind of mental attitude to avoid during practice: we should not give in
 to our likes and dislikes, neither trying to negate our vexations nor
 seeking enlightenment. The practice should be pursued for its own sake,
 but while there should be no other purpose, in the end the mind of
 equanimity (ping deng hsin is realized -- there is no discrimination,
 no need for language (yen yu tao tuan), or, indeed, of practice.

 The poem contains phrases that will later on assume importance in the
 Ts'ao Tung (Soto) sect of Ch'an, for instance, "One thought for ten
 thousand years" (i nien wan nien), which expresses the idea of one
 thought not moving and yet illuminating. This idea is to become the
 hallmark of Hung Chih Cheng Chueh's Silent Illumination Ch'an. This
 tendency is also repeated in the only other written record of Seng
 Ts'an's teachings which was found on a stone tablet commemorating him.
 The essence of the inscription is: Simultaneously practice stillness
 (chi) and illumination (chao). Carefully observe, but see no dharmas
 (phenomena), see no body, and see no mind. For the mind is nameless,
 the body is empty, and the dharmas are a dream. There is nothing to be
 attained, no enlightenment to be experienced. This is called
 liberation.


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