2026/10/10 Meditation with Sengcan Xinxinming poem

The Xinxinming, the poem of faith in mind, invites us to stop being trapped between what we desire and what we reject. In this meditation workshop, we will listen to Master Sengcan’s poem while seated in zazen, allowing its verses to penetrate our minds. Listening to this poem during zazen opens the doors of nonduality and allows us to discover the meaning of true freedom.

Xinxinming, the poem of faith in mind

“The Way of Zen is not difficult; it only avoids preferences.”

The Xinxinming (信心銘) poem, known as Shinjinmei in Japanese, begins with these verses. It is one of the most cherished and influential poems in the Zen tradition. Its title can be translated as Poem of Faith in Mind or Poem of the Faith-Mind. The first translation may come closer to the meaning of trusting our original mind.

In direct and essential language, it shows us that the Way is not far from us. It manifests when we stop clinging to what we like and struggling against what we dislike.

But can we live without our preferences? Does this mean becoming indifferent? How can we allow judgements, fears and desires to pass without repressing them? Reflecting on the Xinxinming can help us.

In this Zen meditation workshop, we will listen to the Xinxinming poem from within the experience of zazen. The aim is not merely to understand an ancient text, but to allow its words to illuminate our practice and everyday lives. A deep understanding of the Xinxinming therefore becomes a living and present tool.

The mind that chooses and rejects

A large part of our suffering arises from continually dividing our experience: I like this, I do not like that; this should happen, that should not have happened; I am right, the other person is wrong. This movement is natural, but when we identify with it completely, we become trapped in an endless struggle. Remembering the message of the Xinxinming, on the other hand, allows us to transcend this division.

The Xinxinming poem does not ask us to lose our ability to discern. It invites us to see our preferences without turning them into a prison. During zazen, thoughts, emotions and pleasant and unpleasant sensations arise. We do not need to pursue them or push them away. We return to our posture and breathing, allowing each phenomenon to appear and disappear.

This attitude opens up a space of freedom. We can act clearly without constantly feeding attraction and rejection. This is the essential wisdom of the Xinxinming.

Trust in mind

In the poem’s title, the Chinese word xin can mean trust, heart and mind at the same time. It does not refer to blind faith or adherence to a belief. It is the trust that arises from direct experience: when we stop grasping and rejecting, we discover that we are not separate from the reality we are living.

Those who trust the mind do not need to manufacture a special state. They do not try to make the mind blank or escape from the world. They welcome whatever arises without clinging to it. This trust is cultivated in the stillness of zazen and is later expressed in how we walk, work, listen and relate to others. This is the spirit of the Xinxinming poem.

Beyond duality

The poem helps us observe the oppositions through which we organise the world: gain and loss, success and failure, self and others, existence and non-existence. These distinctions are useful in practical life, but they do not explain the whole of reality.

When we stop fixating on one of the two extremes, we can perceive the interdependence that unites them. It is not a matter of choosing unity over diversity, because that would create a new opposition. As the Xinxinming poem expresses in many of its verses, nonduality means fully experiencing differences without turning them into separation.

A teaching for everyday life

The Xinxinming poem speaks directly to our lives today. We want to control circumstances, secure results and protect the image we have of ourselves. When reality does not match our expectations, frustration and conflict arise.

Practice does not eliminate difficulties, but it transforms our relationship with them. It allows us to respond calmly instead of reacting compulsively. We can make decisions and defend what we believe to be right without being dominated by aversion. We can enjoy what is pleasant without trying to hold on to it forever. This is what the Xinxinming poem shows us.

Master Sengcan and the Xinxinming

Tradition attributes the Xinxinming poem to Master Sengcan, the Third Ancestor of budism Chan in China. Historical information about his life is scarce, and modern scholarship considers it possible that the poem was composed at a later date. Nevertheless, for centuries Zen has transmitted it in association with Sengcan as a profound expression of faith, nonduality and inner freedom. Many koans in the Zen tradition are inspired by verses from the Xinxinming.

Xinxinming poem meditation workshop

Saturday, 10 October 2026, at 5:00 p.m., in person at Zen Kannon and online via Zoom.

The workshop lasts two hours and will alternate between zazen and kinhin. During zazen, Zen master Lluís Nansen Salas will give a teaching, or Zen kusen, based on the Xinxinming —Shinjinmei in Japanese—.

This workshop forms part of the meditation course based on Zen poems and koans. The distinctive nature of the Xinxinming makes it an essential experience for students of Zen.

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