The inner and the outer,
The senses and their objects,
Are thoroughly lucid.
In a complete turnabout I smashed the Great Emptiness.
The ten thousand manifestations Arise and disappear Without any reason.


For many years as a wandering monk, he studied Ch'an under several leading masters and spent long periods living in solitude in the mountains. He engaged in altruistic acts, propagated the Dharma, and lectured on Sutras. He was a scholar and prolific writer, leaving behind many works on all aspects of Buddhism. He exemplified the bodhisattva ideal of developing wisdom through meditation, study, and compassionate action. In the spirit of his times, he did not make a strong distinction between the sects of Buddhism and was eclectic, incorporating elements of Confucianism. His style was a fusion of the austerity of Ch'an with the inclusive view of the Hua-Yen sect. To this day his undecayed body remains intact in the monastery of the Sixth Patriarch on mainland China.

"Contemplating Mind" is one among many of Master. Han Shan's poems and songs which deal with the approach one should take to practice. This short ming, or verse, describes practice as not going beyond mind and body-that there is nothing other than mind or body that can be used as tools of practice.

Look upon the body as unreal,
An image in a mirror,
Or the reflection of the moon in water.
Contemplate the mind as formless,
Yet bright and pure.