信心铭

《信心铭》，禅宗著作，以颂偈体说明开悟的方法与境界。出自《景德传灯录》卷30，传统认为它的作者是禅宗三祖僧璨。《景德传灯录》中，有另一篇著作《心铭》，与信心铭内容相近，为牛头宗初祖法融所做。近代学者相信它是《信心铭》的姐妹篇，可能同是法融所作。

作者考证

最早认为《信心铭》为僧璨所做，为《百丈广录》，《景德传灯录》接受《百丈广录》的说法，以僧璨为《信心铭》作者。但更早的文献如《历代法宝记》、《宝林传》、《续高僧传》都没有提到僧璨作信心铭，《楞伽师资记》引用《续高僧传》，认为僧璨没有文字著作传世。

在《景德传灯录》卷30中，提出有《三祖僧璨大师信心铭》与《牛头山初祖法融禅师心铭》两篇。两篇的主题相近，内容相近，文句相近，因此近代学者怀疑此两篇著作的来源相同。

永明延寿作《宗镜录》中，以法融为信心铭的作者。但在《宗镜录》引用的信心铭中，有部分文句是属于《心铭》。印顺法师认为，心铭与信心铭都是由法融所作，可能心铭是初传本，而信心铭为后人的精治本。

日本学者西谷启治与柳田圣山认为是8世纪时的禅宗僧人，伪托僧璨之名所做。

历史

百丈怀海禅师是禅宗里最早以《信心铭》来教授学徒的祖师，赵州禅师经常引“至道无难，唯嫌捡择”来接引学人。此后此书在历代一直受到重视。

Xinxin Ming (alternate spellings Xin Xin Ming or Xinxinming) (Chinese: 信心銘; Pīnyīn: Xìnxīn Míng; Wade–Giles: Hsin Hsin Ming; Rōmaji: Shinjinmei), meaning literally: "Faith-Mind Inscription," is a poem attributed to the Third Chinese Chán Patriarch Jianzhi Sengcan (Chinese: 鑑智僧璨; Pīnyīn: Jiànzhì Sēngcàn; Wade–Giles: Chien-chih Seng-ts'an; Romaji: Kanchi Sōsan) and one of the earliest Chinese Chan expressions of the Buddhist mind training practice. It is located in section T2010 of the Taisho Tripitaka.

The poem expresses the practice of taking pleasant and unpleasant life experiences with a sense of equanimity. Broadly speaking, the Xinxin Ming deals with the principles and practice of non-duality, that is, with the application of nonduality and the results of its practice. As an early expression of Chan Buddhism, the Inscription on Faith in Mind reveals the Buddhist missionary use of expedient means (upaya) in China by adapting Daoist terminology to the Buddhist context of awakening. It also draws on the Wisdom sutras as well as the Avatamsaka Sutra and Lankavatara Sutra to express the essential unity of opposites and the basic nature of emptiness (śūnyatā). The Xinxin Ming has been much beloved by Chan (Zen) practitioners for over a thousand years and is still studied in Western Zen circles.

Authorship

Although Sengcan has traditionally been attributed as the author, modern scholars believe that the work was written well after Sengcan's death, probably during the Tang dynasty (Chinese: 唐朝; pinyin: Tángcháo) (618–907) (Dumoulin, p 97). Some scholars note the similarity with a poem called the Xin Ming (Mind Inscription or Song of Mind) attributed to Niu-t'ou Fa-jung (594–657) of the Oxhead school of Chan and have speculated that the Xinxin Ming is an abridged version of the Mind Inscription. Sharf observes that the Xinxin Ming may have been intended as an "improvement" on the earlier Xin Ming (Mind Inscription). The Xinxin Ming can be found in chapter 30 of the Transmission of the Lamp (Chinese: 景德傳燈錄; Pinyin: Jǐngdé Chuándēng-lù; Wade–Giles: Ching-te Ch'uanteng-lu; Japanese: Keitoku Dentō-roku).

Themes

Bernard Faure observes that the Xinxin Ming exhibits criticism of the Northern School practice known as "maintaining the one" or "guarding the one" (shouyi 守一), which was falling out of fashion with the eclipse of Northern Chan. Such criticism can be seen in the following passage from the Xinxin Ming: "If there is even a trace of ‘is’ or ‘is not,’ the mind will be lost in confusion. Although the two comes from the One, do not guard even this One." It has also been pointed out that the Xinxin Ming closely resembles the short Oxhead School work, the Xin Ming (Mind Inscription), a text taken to contain criticisms of the similar Northern School practice of "maintaining (or guarding) the mind" (shouxin 守心) by some scholars, such as Kuno Hōryū and Henrik Sorensen.

Likewise, Dusan Pajin observes that both the Xinxin Ming and the Xin Ming contain similar admonitions against using the mind to hold the mind and using the mind to maintain tranquility. Pajin also points out that the Xinxin Ming exhibits influences from Daoism and he notes the inclusion in the text of such terms as wuwei (non-action), as well as ziran (naturalness, spontaneity), which Pajin says "has a completely Taoist meaning." Pajin writes that this aligns with the Chan tendency, influenced by Daoism, "to stress spontaneity, at the expense of rules, or discipline." Pajin also writes that the Xinxin Ming's emphasis on faith in mind could be understood as a Chan response to Pure Land practice in which one puts one's faith in Buddha Amitābha.

Meaning of xinxin

Xinxin has commonly been interpreted as "faith" or "trust." For example, one translation is "Faith in Mind" (See The Poetry of Enlightenment: Poems by Ancient Ch'an Masters, Ch'an Master Sheng-Yen).