lshin-denshin Jap., lit. “transmitting mind [shin, kokoro] through mind”; a Zen expression for the authentic transmission of buddha-dharma from master to students and dharma successors (hassu) within the lineages of transmission of the Zen tradition (also soshigata, inka-shōmei). This term, which is usually translated “transmission from heart-mind to heart-mind” became a central notion of Zen. It comes from the Sūtra [spoken} from the Highlttai Seat of the Dharma Treasure (Platform Sūtra, Liu-tsu ta-shih fa-pao-t’an-ching) of the sixth patriarch of Ch’an (Zen) in China, Hui-neng.
He points out that what is preserved in the lineage of the tradition and “transmitted” is not book knowledge in the form of “teachings” established in sacred scriptures but rather an immediate insight into the true nature of reality, one’s own immediate experience, to which an enlightened master (enlightenment, rōshi) can lead a student through training in the way of Zen (zazen).
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
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