The term monkey mind or mind monkey originates from Chinese ''xīnyuán'' or Sino-Japanese ''shin'en'' (心猿), a word that literally means " heart-mind monkey." It is a Buddhist concept that describes a state of restlessness, capriciousness, and lack of control in one's thoughts. This "mind monkey" metaphor is not only found in Buddhist writings such as Chan or

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

, Consciousness-only,

Pure Land Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...

, and

Shingon is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō- ...

, but it has also been adopted in

Daoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, which originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) i ...

Chinese poetry Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language, and a part of the Chinese literature. While this last term comprises Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Yue Chinese, and other historical and vernac ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

, and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. The expression "monkey mind" commonly appears in two reversible four-character idioms paired with ''yima'' or ''iba'' (意馬), which means "idea horse": Chinese ''xinyuanyima'' (心猿意馬) and Japanese ''ibashin'en'' (意馬心猿) illustrate the interconnectedness of a restless mind and wandering thoughts. The "Monkey King" Sun Wukong in the classic Chinese novel ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

'' is an iconic personification of feeling indecisive and unsettled.

Linguistic and cultural background

"Mind-monkey" (心猿) is an exemplary animal metaphor. Some figures of speech are cross-linguistically common, verging upon linguistic universals; many languages use "monkey" or "ape" words to mean "mimic", for instance, Italian scimmiottare "to mock; to mimic" < scimmia "monkey; ape", Japanese ''sarumane'' (猿真似 it. "monkey imitation""copycat; superficial imitation"), and English '' monkey see, monkey do'' or '' to ape''). Other animal metaphors have culture-specific meanings; compare English '' chickenhearted'' "cowardly; timid'; easily frightened" and Chinese ''jixin'' (雞心 it. "chicken heart""heart-shaped; cordate"). The four morphological elements of Chinese ''xinyuanyima'' or Japanese ''shin'en'iba'' are ''xin'' or ''shin'' (心 "heart; mind"), ''yi'' or ''i'' (意 "thought"), ''yuan'' or ''en'' (猿 "monkey"), and ''ma'' or ''ba'' (馬 "horse").

''Xin'' and ''yi''

The psychological components of the "mind-monkey will-horse" metaphor are Chinese ''xin'' or Sino-Japanese ''shin'' or ''kokoro'' ( 心 "heart; mind; feelings, affections; center") and ''yi'' or ''i'' ( 意 'thought, idea; opinion, sentiment; will, wish; meaning'). This

Chinese character Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...

心 was graphically simplified from an original

pictogram A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

of a heart, and 意 ("thought; think") is an

ideogram An ideogram or ideograph (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'idea' + 'to write') is a symbol that is used within a given writing system to represent an idea or concept in a given language. (Ideograms are contrasted with phonogram (linguistics), phono ...

combining 心 under ''yin'' ( 音 "sound; tone; voice") denoting "sound in the mind; thought; idea". In

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...

and

Japanese Buddhism Buddhism was first established in Japan in the 6th century CE. Most of the Japanese Buddhists belong to new schools of Buddhism which were established in the Kamakura period (1185－1333). During the Edo period (1603–1868), Buddhism was cont ...

, ''xin''/''shin'' (心 "heart; mind") generally translates

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

citta ''Citta'' (Pali and Sanskrit: चित्त, or in Prakrit script 𑀘𑀺𑀢𑁆𑀢, pronounced ''chitta'' ͡ɕit̚.tɐ́sup>( key)) is one of three overlapping terms used in the Nikaya to refer to the mind, the others being '' mana ...

'' "the mind; state of mind; consciousness" and ''yi''/''i'' (意) translates Sanskrit '' manas'' "the mental organ; deliberation". Some Buddhist authors have used 心 and 意 interchangeably for "mind; cognition; thought". Compare these '' Digital Dictionary of Buddhism'' glosses *心 "Spirit, motive, sense. The mind as the seat of intelligence, mentality, idea. (Skt. ''citta'') … Thought, intellect, feeling; (Skt. ''mānasa'')" *意 "Thought, intellect; (Skt. ''manas''; Tib. ''yid''); the mind; (Skt. ''citta''; Tib. ''sems'')". For example, take the Buddhist word Chinese ''xin-yi-shi'' or Japanese ''shin-i-shiki'' 心意識 it. "mind, thought, and cognition"that compounds three near-synonyms. Abhey idea-horse"] "distracted; indecisive; restless" is comparable with some other Chinese

collocation In corpus linguistics, a collocation is a series of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by chance. In phraseology, a collocation is a type of compositional phraseme, meaning that it can be understood from the words t ...

s. *''xinmanyizu'' 心滿意足 heart-full mind-complete""perfectly content; fully satisfied" *''xinhuiyilan'' 心灰意懶 heart-ashes mind-sluggish""disheartened; discouraged; hopeless" (or ''xinhuiyileng'' 心灰意冷 with ''leng'' "cold; frosty") *''xinhuangyiluan'' 心慌意亂 heart-flustered mind-disordered""alarmed and hysterical; perturbed" *''xinfanyiluan'' 心煩意亂 heart-vexed mind-disordered""terribly upset; confused and worried"

The "monkey" and "horse"

Daoyin tu - chart for leading and guiding people in exercise Wellcome L0036007

The animal components of the "mind-monkey will-horse" metaphor are Chinese ''yuan'' or Japanese ''en'' ("gibbon; monkey; ape; 猿) and ''ma'' or ''ba'' ("horse"; 馬). Chinese ''yuan'' (*猿 now 猨 or ''nao''; 猱) originally meant the " agile gibbon, black-handed gibbon, ''Hylobates agilis''" but now generally means "ape; monkey". Robert van Gulik concludes that until about the 14th century, ''yuan'' designated the gibbon, but due to extensive deforestation, its habitat shrank to remote southern mountains; from then on, "the majority of Chinese writers knowing about the gibbon only by hearsay, they began to confuse him with the macaque or other Cynopithecoids." Other common Chinese "monkey" names include ''feifei'' ("

hamadryas baboon The hamadryas baboon (''Papio hamadryas'' ; gawina;Aerts 2019 , Ar Robbaḥ) is a species of baboon within the Old World monkey family. It is the northernmost of all the baboons, being native to the Horn of Africa and the southwestern region o ...

"; 狒狒), ''hou'' ("monkey; ape"; 猴), and ''mihou'' (獼猴 or ''muhou''; 母猴) or ''husun'' ("

rhesus macaque The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally brown or g ...

"; 猢猻),

Victor H. Mair Victor Henry Mair (; born March 25, 1943) is an American Sinology, sinologist currently serving as a professor of Chinese language, Chinese at the University of Pennsylvania. Among other accomplishments, Mair has edited the standard ''Columbia His ...

reconstructs Old Sinitic *''mug-gug'', which "probably ultimately derives from the same African word as English 'macaque'" and is reminiscent of Sanskrit "maraṭāsana ('monkey posture')" (see Hanumanasana). These "monkey; ape" characters combine the "dog radical" ( 犭) with different

phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...

elements, such as the ''yuan'' ( 袁) phonetic in ''yuan'' (猿). In

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

, ''yuan'' "gibbons" were supposedly long-lived because they could "absorb life-force" ( zh, c=引氣, p=yinqi, l=pull qi, links=no), which is a ''

daoyin ''Daoyin'' is a series of cognitive body and mind unity exercises practiced as a form of Daoist ''neigong'', meditation and mindfulness to cultivate '' jing'' (essence) and direct and refine '' qi'', the internal energy of the body according t ...

'' ( zh, c=導引, p=guiding and pulling, labels=no) "Daoist gymnastic technique".

Chinese classic texts The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian tradi ...

mentioned "monkey leaping" and "monkey bowing" yoga. One of the 2nd-century BCE Mawangdui Silk Texts depicts 28 Daoist gymnastic exercises, many of which are named after animals, including number 22 ''muhou'' ("macaque"). In the present day, "

Monkey Kung Fu Monkey kung fu or Hóu Quán (猴拳, "monkey fist") is a Chinese martial arts, Chinese martial art which utilizes ape or monkey-like movements as part of its technique. Northern Chinese martial arts such as Northern Praying Mantis and Wuzuqua ...

" ( zh, labels=no, c=猴拳, p=houquan, l=monkey fist/boxing) is a

Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

style and ''xinyuanyima'' ("mind-monkey will-horse") is a Daoist breath meditation technique.

When one breathes in and out, one's concentration causes the generative force to rise and fall (in the microcosmic orbit) thus slowly turning the wheel of the law.
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
from one to ten and then from ten to one hundred breaths with the heart (mind) following the counting to prevent it from wandering outside. When the heart and breathing are in unison, this is called ''locking up the monkey heart'' and ''tying up the running horse of intellect''.

The Japanese

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

猿 is pronounced as Sino-Japanese ''en'' < ''yuan'' or native ''saru'' "monkey", especially the indigenous "

Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the g ...

, ''Macaca fuscata''". In Japanese

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

tradition, the monkey deity Sarutahiko was a divine messenger. Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney contrasts how, "in earlier periods the dominant meaning of the monkey was that of mediator between deities and humans. Later in history, its meaning as a scapegoat became increasingly dominant." Chinese ''ma'' (馬 "horse"), which was the linguistic source for Sino-Japanese ''ba'' or ''ma'' (馬 "horse"), originally referred to

Przewalski's horse Przewalski's horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered wild horse originally native to the steppes of Central Asia. It is named after t ...

and later the Mongolian horse, Ferghana horse, etc. Horses were considered divine animals in both China and Japan. For the Chinese, Edward H. Schafer says,

He was invested with sanctity by ancient tradition, endowed with prodigious qualities, and visibly stamped with the marks of his divine origin. A revered myth proclaimed him a relative of the dragon, akin to the mysterious powers of water. Indeed, all wonderful horses, such as the steed of the pious Hsüan-tsang which, in later legend ee the ''Xiyouji'' below carried the sacred scriptures from India, were avatars of dragons, and in antiquity the tallest horses owned by the Chinese were called simply "dragons."

For the Japanese, the ancient Shinto practice of offering ''shinme'' (神馬 "sacred (esp. white) horses") to shrines has evolved into the modern donation of symbolic ''

ema'' (絵馬 it. "picture horse""votive tablets"). Besides the "mind-monkey idea-horse" metaphor, monkeys and horses have further associations. In

Chinese astrology Chinese astrology is based on traditional Chinese astronomy and the Chinese calendar. Chinese astrology flourished during the Han dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theor ...

Horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

( 午; ''wu'') and

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

( 申; ''shen'') are the 7th and 9th of the 12 zodiacal animals. In Chinese animal mythology, monkeys supposedly bring good health to horses. The '' Bencao Gangmu'' records the "custom of keeping a female monkey in the horse's stable to ward off sickness (the menstrual discharge of the monkey is said to give immunity to the horse against infectious diseases)".

Early literary history of "mind-monkeys"

This section summarizes Chinese and Japanese developments of "mind-monkey" and "idea-horse" (''yima'' or ''iba'' 意馬) collocations and their synonyms. The earliest known textual usages are presented chronologically.

Chinese "mind monkey" collocations

Chinese authors coined "mind monkey" expressions from the Later Qin dynasty (384-417 CE) through the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

(960-1279 CE). In modern usage, some terms are considered

Classical Chinese Classical Chinese is the language in which the classics of Chinese literature were written, from . For millennia thereafter, the written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary ...

, but others like ''xinyuanyima'' "mind-monkey will-horse" are

Modern Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ( zh, s=现代标准汉语, t=現代標準漢語, p=Xiàndài biāozhǔn hànyǔ, l=modern standard Han speech) is a modern Standard language, standard form of Mandarin Chinese that was first codified during the Republic of ...

. Unless otherwise noted, translations are by Carr. The c. 406 ''Weimojie suoshuo jing'' (維摩詰所說經) was Kumarajiva's groundbreaking CE Chinese translation of the '' Vimalakirti Sutra''. It introduced "mind-monkey" in the

simile A simile () is a type of figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes are often contrasted with metaphors, where similes necessarily compare two things using words such as "like", "as", while metaphors often create an implicit c ...

''xin ru yuanhou'' (心如猨猴;l= 'heart/mind like a monkey/ape', with ''yuan'' 猿's

variant Chinese character Chinese characters may have several variant forms—visually distinct glyphs that represent the same underlying meaning and pronunciation. Variants of a given character are ''allographs'' of one another, and many are directly analogous to allog ...

猨). "Since the mind of one difficult to convert is like an ape, govern his mind by using certain methods and it can then be broken in". Carr suggests the subsequent line about ''xiang ma'' (象馬 "elephants and horses") having unruly natures could have affected the later ''yima'' ("idea-horse") term. The ''Mengyu chanhui shi'' (蒙預懺悔詩 "Poem Repenting Foolish Pleasure") is attributed to Emperor Jianwen of Liang (503-550 CE), who was a renowned author. This poem has the oldest known usage of ''xinyuan'' ("mind-monkey"), but with (the possibly miscopied) ''aima'' (愛馬 "love-horse") instead of ''yima'' (意馬 "idea-horse"). "The ��循/修three disciplines/cultivations expel the ��馬love-horse, and the ��意/念six recollections/ideas still the ��猿mind-monkey." This Buddhistic poem has numerous graphic variants, including these ''sanxun'' (三循 "three disciplines") for ''sanxiu'' (三修 "three cultivations"; meditation on impermanence, awareness, and selflessness) and ''liuyi'' (六意 "six ideas") for ''liunian'' (六念 "six recollections"; mindfulness about

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

, precepts, almsgiving, and heaven). Based on these contextual graphic inconsistencies, Carr suggests the possibility that a

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

transposed Jianwen's original ''yima'' (意馬 "idea-horse") as ''aima'' (愛馬 "love-horse"). The ''Daci'ensi sanzang fashizhuan'' (大慈恩寺三藏法師傳 "Biography of the Tripitaka Dharma Master of the Temple of Great Compassionate Blessings") is a biography of

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

(see the ''Xiyouji'' below) written by his disciple

Kuiji Kuiji (; 632–682), also known as Ji (), an exponent of Yogācāra, was a Chinese monk and a prominent disciple of Xuanzang.Lusthaus, Dan (undated). ''Quick Overview of the Faxiang School'' (). Source(accessed: December 12, 2007) His posthumous ...

(the namesake temple in

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

, see

Emperor Gaozong of Tang Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third Emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife ...

). This record of the Consciousness-Only (

Yogacara Yogachara (, IAST: ') is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through the interior lens of meditation, as well as philosophical reasoning (hetuvidyā). ...

) Buddhism, has a memorial dated 657 CE that parallels ''yima'' ("idea-/will-horse") with ''qingyuan'' (情猿 "emotion-/feeling-monkey"): "Now if you wish to entrust your thoughts to the Chan sect, you must make your mind as pure as still water, control your emotion-monkey's indolence and fidgeting, and restrain your idea-horse's haste and galloping." The

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

poet Xu Hun (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

832–844) wrote the first known parallel between "mind-monkey" and "idea-horse." His ''Zengti Du yinju'' (贈題杜隱居 "Poem Written for Sir Du the Recluse") says: "Nature exhausts the mind-monkey's hiding, spirit disperses the idea-horse's moving/stopping. Guests who come ought to know this: both self and world are unfeeling." The common ''xinyuanyima'' "mind-monkey will-horse" phrase dates back to a '' bianwen'' ("

Vernacular Chinese Written vernacular Chinese, also known as ''baihua'', comprises forms of written Chinese based on the vernacular varieties of the language spoken throughout China. It is contrasted with Literary Chinese, which was the predominant written form ...

transformation text") narrative version of the ''Weimojie suoshuo jing'' (above) that was discovered in the

Mogao Caves The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu p ...

. This ''jiangjingwen'' (講經文 "sutra lecture text") dated 947 CE says: "Within the indeterminable and unfathomable depths, the mind-monkey and idea-horse cease their craziness." The 1075 CE '' Wuzhen pian'', which is a

Daoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

classic on ''

Neidan Neidan, or internal alchemy (), is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. Also known as Jindan ...

''-style internal alchemy, used ''xinyuan'' ("mind-monkey") without "horse".

Thoroughly understanding the mind-monkey, the machinations in the heart, by three thousand achievements one becomes a peer of heaven. There naturally is a crucible to cook the dragon and tiger; Why is it necessary to support a household and be attached to spouse and children?

Cleary glosses ''xinyuan'' as "the unruly mind, jumping from one object to another." The Song dynasty poet (1098–1186 CE) reversed the Tang lyrical ''xinyuanyima'' expression into ''yimaxinyuan'' ("will-horse mind-monkey"). His ''Shuixuanshi'' (睡軒詩 "Sleeping Porch Poem") says: "Haste is useless with the idea-horse and mind-monkey, so take off your baggage someplace deep within dreamland." The c. 1200 ''Nan Tang shu'' (南唐書 "History of the

Southern Tang Southern Tang ( zh, c=南唐, p=Nán Táng) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Located in southern China, the Southern Tang proclaimed itself to be the successor ...

") used the simile ''yi ru ma xin ru nao'' (意如馬心如猱 "ideas like a horse and mind like a gibbon/monkey"). Congshan (從善; 939-987), seventh son of the figurehead Emperor Yuanzong of Southern Tang, confesses: "Long ago in my youth, my ideas were like a horse and my mind was like a monkey. I was indolent with happiness and enjoyed lust, was pleased with rewards and forgot toil." Xiyou

The c. 1590 ''

'' popularized "mind-monkey" more than any other text. This famous Chinese novel centers upon the pilgrimage of

to India, and frequently uses ''xinyuan'' and ''yima'' expressions. Many are found in the couplet titles of chapters, for instance, 30 "The evil demon attacks the true Dharma; The Horse of the Will recalls the Monkey of the Mind". The preeminent translator Anthony C. Yu describes controlling the mind-monkey and will-horse as "a theme central to the entire narrative and which receives repeated and varied developments." Chapter 7 has this exemplary poem:

A monkey's transformed body weds the human mind. Mind is a monkey – this, the truth profound. The Great Sage uddha Equal to Heaven, is no idle thought. For how could the post of ima "Assistant of Horses"justly show his gifts? The Horse works with the Monkey – and this means both Mind and Will, Must firmly be harnessed and not ruled without. All things return to Nirvāna, taking this one course: In union with Tathāgata uddhato live beneath twin trees.

Many ''Xiyouji'' scholars allegorically interpret ''xinyuan'' "heart-/mind-monkey" as the protagonist monkey-man Sun Wukong and ''yima'' "idea-/will-horse" as the dragon prince White Horse that enters the story in chapter 15. There are long-standing scholarly disagreements over whether Sun Wukong evolved from

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

, the monkey hero in the (3rd century BCE) ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

''. It is "imagistically proper" for Sun to be a monkey, says Mair, because "Zen thought symbolizes the restless and unbridled mind of man as an "ape/monkey-mind"."

Japanese "mind-monkey" collocations

Aoki Harutsura - Kozuka with a Horse and Show Monkey - Walters 51634

Aoki Harutsura - Kozuka with a Horse and Show Monkey - Walters 51634 - Back

Japanese Buddhist monks not only imported

Sino-Japanese vocabulary Sino-Japanese vocabulary, also known as , is a subset of Japanese vocabulary that originated in Chinese language, Chinese or was created from elements borrowed from Chinese. Most Sino-Japanese words were borrowed in the 5th–9th centuries AD, from ...

such as ''shin'en'' < ''xinyuan'' ("mind-monkey") and ''iba'' < ''yima'' ("idea-horse"), but also invented analogous Japanese words like ''i'en'' ("idea-monkey") and ''shinba'' ("mind-horse"). Unless otherwise noted, translations are by Carr. The earliest known usages of relevant "mind-monkey" terminology are shown in the table below. During the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

(794-1185 CE), the Chinese "mind-monkey" and "idea-horse" were paraphrased as ''i'en'' (意猿 "idea-monkey") and ''shinba'' (心馬 "mind-horse"). The 797 CE '' Sangō Shiiki'' was written by

Kūkai , born posthumously called , was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the Vajrayana, esoteric Shingon Buddhism, Shingon school of Buddhism. He travelled to China, where he studied Tangmi (Chinese Vajrayana Buddhism) und ...

, who founded esoteric

Shingon Buddhism is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asian Buddhism. It is a form of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism and is sometimes called "Tōmitsu" (東密 lit. "Esoteric uddhismof Tō-j ...

. Two passages introduced Japanese "mind-monkey" and "will-horse"

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

s. One used ''i'en'' with the common word ''nouma'' (野馬 "wild horse"): "The four great difficulties overexcite the wild horse's fast gallop, the twenty-six contributory causes mislead the plans of the idea-monkey." Another passage used ''shinba'' and ''isha'' (意車 "idea-chariot"): "Whip the mind-horse to gallop off in the eight directions, grease the idea chariot and gambol within the nine heavens." Mori Sosen BaikaEnkou-zu

During the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

(1185–1333 CE),

Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...

introduced the Sino-Japanese terms ''shin'en'' and ''iba'' and an early travelogue popularized them. The ''Genkyū hōgo'' 元久法語 " Genkyū era (1204–1206) Buddhist Sermons" is a collection of writings by

Hōnen , also known as Genkū, was the founding figure of the , the first independent branch of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism. Hōnen became a Tendai initiate at an early age, but grew disaffected and sought an approach to Buddhism that all people of all ...

, the founder of the Jōdo Shū. His c. 1205 "Tozanjō 登山状 "Mountain Climbing Description" uses ''iba'' with ''shin'en'': "When you wish to enter the gate of determined goodness, then your idea-horse runs wild within the bounds of the six sense objects 'rokujin'' 六塵 < Ayatana: "form, sound, smell, taste, tangibility, and

"]. When you wish to enter the gate of scattered goodness, then your mind-monkey gambols and jumps across the branches of the ten evil deeds [''jūaku'' 十悪: killing, stealing, adultery, lying, cursing, slandering, equivocating, coveting, anger, and false views]." The 1223 ''Kaidōki'' 海道記 "Record of Coast Road Travels" was a travelogue of the

Tōkaidō (road) The , which roughly means "eastern sea route," was the most important of the Edo Five Routes, Five Routes of the Edo period in Japan, connecting Kyoto to the ''de facto'' capital of Japan at Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Unlike the inland and less hea ...

from

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

. It used ''shinsen'' 心船 "heart/mind boat" meaning "imaginary journey" with ''iba'' 意馬 "idea/will horse" and wrote ''arasaru'' 荒猿 "wild monkey" for ''arasu'' (荒す "treat roughly/wildly"): "I rowed the mind-boat for make-believe. As yet, I neither poled across myriad leagues of waves on the Coast Road, nor roughly rode the idea-horse to urge it on through clouds of the distant mountain barrier." During the early

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

(1603–1868), the four-character Chinese collocations ''yimashinen'' (意馬心猿) and ''shinenyima'' (心猿意馬) were introduced into Japanese. The 1675 ''Man'an kana hōgo'' (卍庵仮名法語), which was a vernacular collection of

sermons, first used ''shin'en'iba'' (意馬心猿). "For this reason, even if you reside somewhere with remote mountain streams and desolate tranquillity, and sit in silent contemplation, you will only be passing idle time because you are isolated from the road of the mind-monkey and idea-horse." The 1699

Kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

play ''Wakoku gosuiten'' (和国五翠殿 "Japan's Five Green Palaces") repeatedly used ''ibashin'en''. For instance, the first act described two prisoners tied to a tree: "They are the idea-horse and mind-monkey themselves. So if this pine tree is the pole of Absolute Reality, then these two prisoners are a greedy monkey – no, a cat – and a horse running wild; and they are just like the idea-horse and mind-monkey."

"Mind-monkey" in English

"Mind monkey" and "monkey mind" both occur in English usage, originally as translations of ''xinyuan'' or ''shin'en'' and later as culturally-independent images. Michael Carr concludes,

''Xinyuan-yima'' 心猿意馬 "monkey of the heart/mind and horse of the ideas/will" has been a successful metaphor. What began 1500 years ago as a Buddhist import evolved into a standard Chinese and Japanese literary phrase. Rosenthal says a proverb's success "'depends on certain imponderables," particularly rhythm and phrasing. Of the two animals in this metaphor, the "monkey" phrase was stronger than the "horse" because ''xinyuan'' "mind-monkey" was occasionally used alone (e.g., ''Wuzhenpian'') and it had more viable variants (e.g., ''qingyuan'' 情猿 "emotion-monkey" in ''Ci'en zhuan''). The "mental-monkey" choice of words aptly reflects restlessness, curiosity, and mimicry associated with this animal. Dudbridge explains how "the random, uncontrollable movements of the monkey symbolise the waywardness of the native human mind before it achieves a composure which only Buddhist discipline can effect."

Translations

English translations of Chinese ''xinyuan'' or Japanese ''shin'en'' commonly include "mind monkey", "monkey mind", and "monkey of the mind". This first list compares how 11 bilingual

Chinese dictionaries There are two types of dictionaries regularly used in the Chinese language: list individual Chinese characters, and list words and phrases. Because tens of thousands of characters have been used in written Chinese, Chinese lexicographers have d ...

translate ''xinyuanyima'' 心猿意馬 and ''yimaxinyuan'' 意馬心猿. *【意馬心猿】 his will is like a horse's, and his heart like an ape's; inconstant and strong ('' A Syllabic Dictionary of the Chinese Language'', Williams 1874) *【心猿意馬】 gibbon heart and horse ideas, – unsettled and wandering ('' A Chinese-English Dictionary'', Giles 1919) *【心猿意馬】 irresolute; vacillating; fluctuating ... Inconstant; fickle in the mind (''A Complete Chinese–English Dictionary'', Tsang 1920, cf. next) *【意馬心猿】 Unsettled in mind; fluctuating; wavering in purpose (''A Complete Chinese–English Dictionary'') *【意馬心猿】The intents of the mind and heart are like the horse and ape – very difficult to bring under control; undecided (''Zhonghua Han-Ying dacidian'', Lu 1931, cf. next) *【心猿意馬】 Restless and unsettled (''Zhonghua Han-Ying dacidian'') *【心猿意馬】 the intents of the mind and heart are like the horse and the ape – very difficult to bring under control; undecided ('' Mathews' Chinese-English Dictionary'', Mathews 1943) *【心猿意馬】 cannot make up one's mind; indecision; procrastination (''A New Practical Chinese- English Dictionary'', Liang 1971) *【心猿意馬】 prone to outside attractions, temptations; in a restless and jumpy mood ('' Lin Yutang's Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage'' 1972) *【心猿意馬】 restless and whimsical; fanciful and fickle; capricious (''The Chinese–English Dictionary'', Beijing 1979) *【心猿意馬】 in a restless and jumpy mood / capricious (''A New Chinese–English Dictionary'', Ding 1985) *【心猿意馬】 restless and whimsical; fanciful and fickle; capricious; when one meant gibbon, he thinks of a horse (''A Modern Chinese–English Dictionary'', Beijing 1988) *【心猿意馬】 ① capricious; restless ② indecisive ('' ABC Chinese-English Dictionary'', DeFrancis 1996, cf. next) *【意馬心猿】 indecisive; wavering ('' ABC Chinese-English Dictionary'') Six of these 11 Chinese–English dictionaries enter only the common ''xinyuanyima'' "mind-monkey idea-horse," 2 only the reverse ''yimaxinyuan'', and 3 enter both. Three translation equivalents give English "ape" rather than "gibbon" or "monkey" for ''yuan'' 猿, and "ape" sounds metaphorically stronger than "monkey." Note how several of these dictionaries have identical translations. This second list compares how 9 bilingual

Japanese dictionaries have a history that began over 1300 years ago when Japanese Buddhist priests, who wanted to understand Chinese sutras, adapted Chinese character dictionaries. Present-day Japanese lexicographers are exploring computerized editing and electronic ...

translate ''ibashin'en'' 意馬心猿, none enters ''shin'en'iba'' 心猿意馬. *【意馬心猿】 Clamorous demands of passion (''Takenobu's Japanese–English Dictionary'', Takenobu 1918) *【意馬心猿】 overmastering passion (''A Standard Japanese–English Dictionary'', Takehara 1924) *【意馬心猿】Passions hard of control; uncontrollable passions (''Saito's Japanese–English Dictionary'', Saito 1930) *【意馬心猿】Clamorous demands of passion; ncontrollablepassions (''Kenkyusha's New Japanese–English Dictionary'', Takenobu 1931) *【意馬心猿】 clamorous demands of passion; ncontrollablepassions; wild horses of passions and flighty monkeys of desires (''Kenkyusha's New Japanese–English Dictionary'', Katsumata 1954) *【意馬心猿】 uncontrollable passions (''The Modern Reader's Japanese-English Character Dictionary'', Nelson 1974) *【意馬心猿】 clamorous demands of passion; (uncontrollable) passions (''Kenkyusha's New Japanese–English Dictionary'', Masuda 1974) *【意馬心猿】 (uncontrollable) passions (''Japanese Character Dictionary'', Spahn and Hadamitzky 1989) *【意馬心猿】 the clamorous demands of passion; (uncontrollable) passions (''Kenkyusha's New Japanese–English Dictionary'', Watanabe 2003) All 9 Japanese–English dictionaries mention "passion" or "passions." Note how Saito's "uncontrollable passions" first appeared in 1930 and was copied into 6 other dictionaries. The 5 editions of Kenkyūsha's New Japanese–English Dictionary illustrate lexicographical modifications. Editors copied the "clamorous demands of passion" phrase from the 1st edition (''Takenobu's …'' 1918) into all the subsequent versions. The 2nd (1931) first added "uncontrollable" to "passions," which was copied in later editions. The 3rd edition (1954) included a literal translation "wild horses of passions and flighty monkeys of desires", but this was omitted from the 4th (1974) and 5th (2003, which added the

definite article In grammar, an article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech. In English, both "the" ...

"the").

Popular culture

Examples of "mind monkey" are predictably common in Chinese

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

. For instance, ''Sam yuen yi ma'' (心猿意馬) – the

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

pronunciation of ''Xinyuanyima'' ("mind-monkey will-horse") – was a 1999 Hong Kong movie (known in English as "The Accident") by Stanley Kwan. However, examples of "mind monkey" are surprisingly widespread in modern English culture. For instance, there are

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

s named "Mind Monkey!", "Mind of the Monkey", "Monkey Mind", and "No monkey mind". In English-language publishing, fewer books are titled with "mind monkey", such as ''Master the Mind Monkey'', than "monkey mind". "Taming" is common among ''Taming the Monkey Mind'', ''Taming the Monkey Mind; A Guide to Pure Land Practice'', and ''Taming Our Monkey Mind: Insight, Detachment, Identity''. Other examples of book titles include ''Samba and the Monkey Mind'', ''Meeting the Monkey Halfway'', ''Your Monkey Mind Connection'', ''Still the Monkey'', and "Tales For Your Monkey's Mind".Reedy, Steve Michael, 2016, "Tales For Your Monkey's Mind", Monkey Mind Tales. The originally Buddhist "mind monkey" metaphor is also known in popular English-language music. "Mad Melancholy Monkey Mind" is a band. There are albums entitled "Mind Monkey", "Monkey Mind", and "Monkey Mind Control". Song titles include "The Monkey on the Mind" and "Monkey Mind".

References

* * * * Footnotes

External links

Go ahead, lose your mind – 'monkey mind' that is
March 14, 2008, ''Business First''.

May 9, 2008, ''The New York Times", David Lattimore

Ann Pizer
MonkeyMind
free software from Inner Peace

Gordon L. Smith
Monkey Mind & Horse Will
Muho Noelke
意馬心猿文様
Imari porcelain pattern of "will-horse mind-monkey" from ''Wakoku gosuiten'', Kyushu Ceramic Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Mind Monkey Buddhist philosophical concepts Literary archetypes Buddhism in China Buddhism in Japan Mammals in religion Monkey King