Sosan, remembered through the text *Xinxin Ming* or “Faith in Mind,” stands as a kind of quiet axis around which much of modern Zen understanding turns. His verses articulate a radical non-duality in which distinctions such as right and wrong, sacred and profane, enlightenment and delusion are seen as products of discriminating thought rather than features of reality itself. This non-dual vision undergirds the contemporary Zen sense that awakening is not an exotic attainment but the clear recognition of present-moment mind. In this way, Sosan’s teaching offers a philosophical foundation that continues to shape how practitioners understand emptiness, suchness, and Buddha-nature.

One of the most frequently cited lines, “The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences,” has become almost a shorthand for Zen’s approach to clinging and aversion. It points to a way of being in which like and dislike are not suppressed, yet no longer rule the mind. Modern meditation instructions that emphasize non-reactive awareness, “just sitting,” and the relinquishment of picking and choosing all echo this principle. Here Sosan’s teaching becomes eminently practical: it speaks directly to the subtle ways preference and resistance complicate both meditation and daily life.

Equally significant is the theme of “faith in mind” as trust in an already-complete original nature. Rather than encouraging a project of self-improvement, Sosan’s verses invite confidence that the fundamental mind is whole from the outset. This perspective tempers striving and the search for special experiences, and it supports the modern Zen emphasis on recognizing inherent Buddha-nature rather than fabricating some new spiritual identity. Practice, in this light, becomes a process of revealing rather than acquiring.

Sosan’s text is also valued for its direct, experiential style. It does not dwell in abstract scholasticism, but points straight to how mind can be experienced when freed from grasping and rejection. Because of this, *Xinxin Ming* is often chanted or studied in Zen communities as an accessible yet profound guide to non-dual awareness. Its verses function as a bridge between early Buddhist insights into attachment and emptiness and the later, story-rich forms of Zen, supporting both historical continuity and contemporary methods that emphasize sudden recognition over gradual construction.

Finally, Sosan’s influence can be felt in the way modern Zen integrates practice with ordinary life. His teaching suggests a mind that remains free amid changing conditions rather than apart from them, encouraging engagement with work, relationships, and the full range of human experience. By pointing out the futility of restless seeking and the completeness of present awareness, Sosan offers a compass for practitioners who wish to embody Zen not only on the cushion but in every aspect of daily existence.