To reject the reality of form is to fall victim to its illusory nature;
To uphold belief in the void implies denial of its void-ness.

The more one talks and the more one thinks,
The further one strays from the natural response of the mind .

Stop talking and stop thinking,
And there is no place that cannot be passed through.

By returning to the source meaning is found;
In the pursuit of appearances understanding is lost.

In one moment of true introspection,
One transcends both appearance and emptiness.

Previous (concepts of) emptiness give way (to truth),
All having been mistaken views.


*


All things exist together as one.
Dualities arise only through inference.
Phantasms and flowers in the air;
How tiring it is to grasp at them!

Gain and loss, right and wrong:
Do away with such notions once and for always.

If the eye never sleeps,
All dreams will cease of themselves.

If the mind makes no distinctions,
All things (are understood to be) of one nature.

This one nature is an enigma.
In stillness one finds release from entanglements.

*





From “On Trust in the Heart” (Hsin Hsin Ming) by Seng-t’san, the Third Patriarch of China. Translated by Russell Imbach.