Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

of anything is called "Xin."
We see that some of these meanings are connected with
Buddhism and some are not. It would be a simple matter
if all Buddhists accepted each term as having one
Buddhist meaning, but we see that in Chinese this is not
so, for followers of the Yogacara School understand the
first definition as hrdaya, the second as citta (mind) and
the third as mano-vijnana. But the situation is more
complicated since other schools take the meanings of
Xin quite differently. The Chan School uses this term to
signify "nature, essence." Nor is that all, for apart from
the schools and their uses, Xin may have quite distinct
meanings in different yanas. After discussing different
types of meditation, then we shall settle the various
meanings of Xin according to context (see Appendix I,
Part Two, A. 6).
Another complicating factor is that the Chinese
language has been greatly influenced by Confucian
teachings which have altered the connotation of many
words from that which a Buddhist text tries to express.
This is further confusing, leading to even worse
mixtures of meanings unless great care is taken.
How difficult indeed is the task of a translator from
Chinese into English! He has always to watch that he:
selects the correct meaning of a term; gives it the
precise shade of interpretation according to the
individual schools' explanations; knows clearly with
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