1/17/2024 0 Comments Shin zen meaning in chinese![]() So both xin and kokoro carry the physical and spatial meaning of heart, center, or essence, and the psychological meaning of mind. These three can all be translated into the catchall English word “mind.” Another Sanskrit word, hrdaya, means the heart, center, or essence. In Yogacara, though, citta refers to the alaya, or storehouse consciousness, while manas refers to the seventh consciousness, and vijnana refers to the function of the first six consciousnesses. In the Sarvastivadin view, these three were considered to be different names for basic mind. The Chinese xin has an important spiritual and philosophical history, since it was used in Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures for such Sanskrit terms as: citta, manas, and vijnana. Kokoro, then, has three basic meanings: the heart and its functions mind and its functions and center, or essence. By extension, kokoro refers to all human activities affecting the outside world through intention, emotion, and intellect. Originally, kokoro referred to the beat of the heart, which was considered to be the essential organ of life and the source of all activities. The entry for kokoro in a dictionary of classic Japanese words communicates similar notions: Since ancient Chinese people thought the heart was where psychological function took place, the character conveyed a range of meanings including the heart organ, heart generally, mind, feeling, intention, center, and core. The Chinese ideogram for xin depicts the shape of the heart-the actual organ in the human body. The Japanese use Chinese characters to write Japanese, and have also studied Chinese literature as an essential part of both secular and Buddhist education for more than 1,500 years, which has led to a convergence of meaning between Chinese and Japanese for many classical words. Kokoro is a common Japanese word that carries meanings conveyed by the English words “mind” and “heart.” It is used as an equivalent of the Chinese word xin and covers almost the same range of meanings. She pointed to her head and said, “Kokoro is here.” I was amazed to discover that she was already translating the Japanese word kokoro into the English word “mind.” I pointed to my heart as we usually do in Japan to show where kokoro is. One time, when she was seven or eight, we were talking about the Japanese word kokoro. ![]() And while she learned English at school, at home we tried to talk in Japanese. She went to kindergarten and then elementary school there. When I moved to Minneapolis from Japan in 1993 to teach at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, my daughter Yoko was five years old. ![]() Kokoro as defined by Shohaku Okumura, a Soto Zen priest. Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window).Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window).Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window).Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). ![]()
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