The Buddhist monk Seng Ts’an lived in China in the late 5th c. CE, and was the third Chan (Zen) patriarch. It is said that he once went to his teacher, the Chan patriarch Hui K’o, and asked him to purify him of his sins. Hui K’o answered, “Bring me your sins and I will purify you of them.” Seng Ts’an studied himself for a time and then said, “I have searched for my sins but I can’t find them anywhere,” to which Hui K’o replied, “Then I have purified you.” Upon hearing this, Seng Ts’an’s mind opened in enlightenment. The lines below are the beginning of his poem “Verses on the Faith-Mind.“

The great way isn’t difficult
     for those who are unattached to their preferences.
Let go of longing and aversion,
     and everything will be perfectly clear.
When you cling to a hairbreadth of distinction,
     heaven and earth are set apart.
If you want to realize the truth,
     don’t be for or against.
The struggle between good and evil
     is the primal disease of the mind.
Not grasping the deeper meaning,
     you just trouble your mind’s serenity.
As vast as infinite space,
     it is perfect and lacks nothing.
But because you select and reject,
     you can’t perceive its true nature.
Don’t get entangled in the world;
     don’t lose yourself in emptiness.
Be at peace in the oneness of things,
     and all errors will disappear by themselves.

Translation Stephen Mitchell