hsin2 Chinese term meaning ‘trust’, ‘faith’, ‘trustworthiness’, ‘honest’. In early texts, hsin is the mutual trust of sincerity between worshiper and spirit. The Chinese character for this word consists of two elements representing ‘person’ and ‘speech’, and this provides a reliable guide to its root sense: being true to one’s word. Hsin became one of the cardinal Confucian virtues: trustworthiness or honesty (but only in service to what is right). In Buddhist contexts, hsin can mean ‘faith’ in the religious sense, e.g., the Pure Land School’s practice of faith in Amitabha Buddha. This influenced Neo-Confucianism and is manifested in their faith in a perfect, innate moral faculty. See also CHINESE PHILOSOPHY, NEO – CONFUCIANIS. P.J.I.