I’ve been a fan of the Hsin Hsin Ming (aka Xin Xin Ming), “Verses on the Faith Mind ” by Seng-ts’an, the Third Zen Patriarch [d. 606 CE] , since Sailor Bob first introduced me to it 35 years ago. There are several translations of it into English, but I don’t think any of them completely do it justice. So here’s my version.
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Finding permanent peace of mind is not difficult for those who do not discriminate.
When discrimination between what you like and do not like is absent, life becomes simple and straightforward.
Make the smallest discrimination, however, and life becomes difficult and complicated.
If you wish to have peace of mind, simple hold no opinions for or against anything.
To set up what you like against what you dislike, is the disease of the mind.
If you don’t understand how the universe works, then your mind’s essential peace is disturbed and you will have no peace.
The universe is perfect. Nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess. It is exactly how it has to be in every single moment – all of the atoms are always obeying the laws of nature.
However, when we discriminate between what we like and what we don’t like, we are rejecting the true nature of things and this causes us distress.
Learn to live in peace and harmony with the state of the universe as it is in the moment and you will be serene and the discrimination will stop by itself.
Don’t dwell either on material things nor on feeling of emptiness. Just accept things as they are.
Don’t fall into the trap of trying not to do anything. Trying to do nothing is actually doing something. Just do what comes naturally. Remaining in one extreme or another will never bring you peace.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking nothing really exists. To deny the reality of things is to miss their reality. Everything really exists even though it may not exist in the way it appears to our senses. The universe exists. And you are it.
The more you talk and think about it, the further you are from just abiding in the reality of the present moment. Just accept everything about the reality of the present moment and be in it completely. Completely surrender yourself to the present moment without thinking about it. Just BE the present moment.
At the moment of enlightenment, all thoughts of emptiness and appearances disappear into the recognition that there is only THIS – the complete universe.
The changes that appear to occur in the world are due to our ignorance about the nature of reality.
Do not search for enlightenment, only stop discriminating between this and that. Even the slightest discrimination will confuse your mind. Practice extreme acceptance of everything that is happening in the here and now.
When the mind stops discriminating, nothing can bother you. Everything is just accepted as it is. And when we stop discriminating, the mind becomes quiet and stops thinking of itself as the doer. It realises that things are just happening according to the laws of nature.
We think there are objects that are separate from us because we think of ourselves as the doer / subject. When the mind becomes quiet, we realise there are no objects because we are no longer the doer / subject. There is a unity of subject and object. We realise that we are just part of the happening of the universe obeying natural laws. The conceptual separation between me and the world vanishes.
To live with enlightenment is neither difficult nor easy. It is effortless. But people who have not stopped discriminating are fearful of letting go of the ego.
Don’t even discriminate when it comes to wanted enlightenment. Let things happen in their own way and in their own time. If you cling even to the desire for enlightenment, your mind will not find peace.
Obey the nature of things and life will be effortless. When we discriminate, life is endlessly tiring and difficult because things are never the way we think they should be for very long. Accept things completely as they are.
Don’t even dislike the world of the senses and ideas. Accept them fully as you accept everything else. This is enlightenment.
The wise person realises the universe obeys its own laws. It doesn’t care about your goals and dreams or what you think is fair and just. Be at peace with what you have and where you are. Goals and dreams are illusions. Gain and loss, right and wrong – abolish these thoughts. Do what is natural for you to do. Accept the results of what you do as being natural outcomes of your efforts.
With the single step of stopping discrimination, all doubts and fears vanish. Life becomes clear and effortless with no exertion. All ideas of self and non-self disappear.
To being the practice of non-discrimination, just say to yourself “I accept this as it is”. Whatever is happening around you or inside your mind, just accept it as it is in the present moment. Do not like or dislike anything. Do this until it becomes your natural state. As your mind gradually learns to stop discriminating, subject and object will disappear and there will only remain the Oneness of the universe. This is the only path worth following. Ignore everything else.
Don’t get caught up in words or ideas. Just stop discriminating.
Enlightenment is the complete acceptance of right now.
In it there is
no yesterday.
no tomorrow.
no today.
Only now.