Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Calming The Mind (Hsi Hsin Ming) - Sheng Yen

    Uploaded by

    Amalie Woproschalek
    249 views4 pages
    1) The document is a poem titled "Calming the Mind" that discusses the benefits of stilling one's thoughts and senses. 2) It states that too much thinking causes confusion and vexation while a calm, unified mind avoids harm. 3) The poem encourages blocking out external senses and discarding attachment to worldly pursuits in order to achieve a tranquil state free from birth and death.

    Original Description:

    Original Title

    Calming the mind (Hsi Hsin Ming)_Sheng Yen

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    TXT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    1) The document is a poem titled "Calming the Mind" that discusses the benefits of stilling one's thoughts and senses. 2) It states that too much thinking causes confusion and vexation while a calm, unified mind avoids harm. 3) The poem encourages blocking out external senses and discarding attachment to worldly pursuits in order to achieve a tranquil state free from birth and death.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as txt, pdf, or txt
    249 views4 pages

    Calming The Mind (Hsi Hsin Ming) - Sheng Yen

    Uploaded by

    Amalie Woproschalek
    1) The document is a poem titled "Calming the Mind" that discusses the benefits of stilling one's thoughts and senses. 2) It states that too much thinking causes confusion and vexation while a calm, unified mind avoids harm. 3) The poem encourages blocking out external senses and discarding attachment to worldly pursuits in order to achieve a tranquil state free from birth and death.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as txt, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    Calming the mind (Hsi Hsin Ming)

    Shih Wang Ming

    《息心铭》
    僧亡名

    多知多事，
    不如息意；
    多虑多失，
    不如守一。

    Too much knowledge leads to overactivity,


    Better to calm the mind.
    The more you consider, the greater the loss,
    Better to unify the mind.

    虑多志散，
    知多心乱；
    心乱生恼，
    志散妨道。

    Excessive thinking weakens the will,


    The more you know, the more your mind is confused.
    A confused mind gives rise to vexation,
    The weakened will obstructs the Tao.

    勿谓何伤，
    其苦悠长；
    勿言何畏，
    其祸鼎沸。

    Don’t say there is no harm in this,


    The ensuing pain may last forever.
    Don’t think there is nothing to fear,
    The calamities churn like bubbles in a boiling pot.

    滴水不停，
    四海将盈；
    纤尘不拂，
    五岳将成。

    Water dripping ceaselessly,


    Will fill the four seas.
    Specks of dust not wiped away,
    Will become the five mountains.

    防末在本，
    虽小不轻；
    关尔七窍，
    闭尔六情。

    Protect the branches to save the roots,


    Though a small matter, it is not trivial.
    Close the seven orifices,
    Shut off the six senses.

    莫视于色，
    莫听于声；
    闻声者聋，
    见色者盲。

    Pay no heed to forms,


    Do not listen to sounds.
    Listening to sounds you become deaf,
    Observing forms you become blind.

    一文一艺，
    空中小蚋；
    一伎一能，
    日下孤灯。

    Literature and art


    Are but busy gnats in the air.
    Technique and ability,
    A solitary lamp in the sun.

    英贤才艺，
    是为愚蔽；
    舍弃淳朴，
    耽溺淫丽。

    Those able and talented ones


    Are really stupid fellows.
    Discarding the pure and simple,
    They drown in too much beauty.

    识马易奔，
    心猿难制；
    神既劳役，
    形必损毙。

    Consciousness is an untamed horse,


    The mind an unruly monkey.
    If the spirit is overactive,
    The body will sicken and die.

    邪行终迷，
    修涂永泥；
    莫贵才能，
    日益惛瞢。

    Wrong conduct ends in delusion,


    Those treading this path become mired in mud.
    To regard ability as precious
    Is called confusion.

    夸拙羡巧，
    其德不弘；
    名厚行薄，
    其高速崩。

    To exaggerate clumsiness and covet skill


    Does not lead to great virtue.
    Of much fame but little contribution,
    Their reputations quickly crumble.
    内怀憍伐，
    外致怨憎。

    Being inwardly proud


    Brings the enmity of others.

    或谈于口，
    或书于手；
    邀人令誉，
    亦孔之丑。

    Using speech
    Or written words
    To gain the praise of others
    Is something most repulsive.

    凡谓之吉，
    圣谓之咎；
    赏玩暂时，
    悲哀长久。

    What common people regard as auspicious


    The sage takes as evil.
    The enjoyment gained is fleeting
    But the sorrow is everlasting.

    畏影畏迹，
    逾远逾极；
    端坐树阴，
    迹灭影沈。

    Beware of shadows and tracks,


    The farther you leave them the better.
    Sitting upright in the shade of a tree,
    Neither traces nor shadows remain.

    厌生患老，
    随思随造；
    心想若灭，
    生死长绝。

    Worries of birth and distress of old age


    Are products of your own thoughts.
    If the mind’s thinking is ended,
    Birth and death are forever cut off.

    不死不生，
    无相无名；
    一道虚寂，
    万物齐平。

    Not dying, not born,


    Without names and form,
    The Tao is empty and tranquil,
    The myriad phenomena are equal.

    何贵何贱，
    何辱何荣；
    何胜何劣，
    何重何轻。

    What is of value? What is cheap?


    Where is there shame or glory?
    What is excellent or inferior?
    How can there be heavy and light?

    澄天愧净，
    皎日渐明；
    安夫岱岭，
    同彼金城。

    The sky puts purity to shame,


    No brightness compares with the brilliant sun.
    Stable as Mount T’ai,
    Steady as a golden wall.

    (Translation adapted from The Poetry of Enlightenment: Poems by Ancient Chan


    Masters by Chan Master Sheng Yen.)

    You might also like