Trust In Mind

by Mu Soeng
Foreword by Jan Chozen Bays

“The Great Way is not difficult / for those who have no preferences. / When love and hate are both absent / everything becomes clear and undisguised. / Make the smallest distinction, however / and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.”

So begins “Trust in Mind,” the beloved poem that has again and again welcomed generations to their practice of Zen Buddhism. Traditionally attributed to the third Chinese ancestor of Zen (Sengcan, d. 606), it is often considered the first historical “Zen” document and remains an anchor of Zen Buddhist practice to this day.

Here, scholar and commentator Mu Soeng explores the poem’s importance and impact in three sections: The Dharma of Trust in Mind, The Tao of Trust in Mind, and The Chan of Trust in Mind. Finally, a brilliant line-by-line commentary brings the elements of this ancient work completely to life for the modern reader.