佛祖歷代通載 9.35

9.35

（二十二）　初祖菩提達磨大師。天竺南印度國香至王第三子也。王薨師出家。遇二十七祖般若多羅付以大法。因問。我既得法。宜化何國。多羅曰。汝得法已。俟吾滅度六十餘年。當往震旦國闡化。曰彼有法器堪繼吾宗。千載之下有留難否。多羅曰。汝所化方。得菩提者不可勝數。吾滅度後彼有劫難。水中文布善自降之。汝至時南方不可久留。聽吾偈曰。路行跨水復逢羊。獨自悽悽暗度江。日下可怜雙象馬。二株嫩桂久昌昌。復演八偈。皆預為讖。至多羅示寂。師演化本國。會其姪異見王者輕毀三寶。師遣其徒波羅提。微現神力攝化歸正。師以震旦緣熟即別其眾。而異見王枉駕見師。曰告之曰。當勤修福行護持三寶。吾去非晚一九即回。王泣曰。叔既有緣在彼。非吾所留。唯願不忘父母之國。事畢早回。遂具大舟實以眾寶。王躬率臣僚送至海濱。師同商馭舟達于南海。廣州刺史蕭昂舘之。以表聞奏。有詔迎見。師入朝。帝問。朕即位以來。造寺寫經度僧。不可勝數。有何功德。師曰。並無功德。帝曰。何以並無。師曰。人天小果有漏之因。雖有非實。帝曰。何謂真功德。師曰。淨智妙明體自空寂。如是功德不於世求。帝曰。何為聖諦第一義。曰廓然無聖。帝曰。對朕者誰。曰不識。帝不省玄旨。師遲留數日。遂度江之魏。止於嵩山少林寺。終日壁觀而已。有僧神光者。因神人發起來見師。師端坐不顧。會天大雪。光立雪中。至積雪過膝。師憫而問曰。汝久立雪中。求何事耶。光曰。唯願大慈開甘露門廣度群品。師曰。諸佛無上妙道曠劫難逢。豈小德小智輕心慢心欲冀真乘徒勞勤苦。光聞誨勵喜不自勝。即以利刀自斷左臂置於師前。師曰。諸佛最初求道重法忘身。汝今斷臂吾前。求亦可矣。光承其言即易名惠可。復問曰。諸佛法印可得聞乎。師曰。諸佛法印匪從人得。曰。我心未寧。乞師與安。師曰。將心來與汝安。可曰。覓心了不可得。師曰。與汝安心竟。久之為可等略辨大乘入道四行。其辭曰。

(22) The First Patriarch, Great Master Bodhidharma, was the third son of King Xiangzhi of South India in Tianzhu. After the king passed away, the Master went forth from household life. Meeting the twenty-seventh patriarch Prajñātāra, he was entrusted with the Great Dharma. He then asked, "Now that I have attained the Dharma, which land should I convert?" Prajñātāra said, "After you receive the Dharma, wait sixty-odd years after my parinirvāṇa, then you should go to the land of Cīnasthāna to propagate and convert." He asked, "Are there Dharma vessels there capable of continuing our lineage? After a thousand years, will there be hindrances?" Prajñātāra said, "In the region you convert, those who attain bodhi will be countless. After my parinirvāṇa, that land will suffer calamities; in water, the patterned cloth—subdue it well. When you arrive, you must not stay long in the south. Listen to my gāthā: / 'Traveling the path across water, you will meet a sheep again; / Alone and melancholy, you secretly cross the river. / Under the sun, how pitiable the pair of elephant and horse! / Two shoots of tender cassia will flourish long.' / He further expounded eight gāthās, all serving as foretelling prophecies. When Prajñātāra showed nirvāṇa, the Master spread the teachings in his native land. It happened that his nephew, King Yijian, disparaged and slandered the Three Jewels. The Master dispatched his disciple Bodhi to slightly manifest supernatural powers to guide and convert him back to correctness. Seeing that the conditions in Cīnasthāna were ripe, the Master took leave of his assembly. King Yijian came in person to see the Master, who addressed him, saying: "You should diligently cultivate meritorious practices and protect the Three Jewels. My departure will not be long; in ninety-nine days I shall return." The king wept and said, "Since my uncle has conditions there, it is not for me to detain you. I only wish that you do not forget the land of your parents. When your task is done, return early." He then equipped a large ship, loaded it with myriad treasures, and the king personally led his ministers to see him off at the seashore. The Master sailed with merchants and reached the Southern Sea. Xiao Ang, the regional inspector of Guangzhou, accommodated him and reported the matter to the throne in a memorial. An imperial decree summoned him for an audience. The Master entered the court. The Emperor asked, "Since ascending the throne, we have built temples, transcribed scriptures, and ordained monks beyond number. What merit is there?" The Master said, "No merit whatsoever." The Emperor asked, "Why is there none?" The Master said, "These are small fruits of humans and devas, causes with outflows. Though they exist, they are not real." The Emperor asked, "What is true merit?" The Master said, "Pure wisdom, wondrous and bright, its essence fundamentally empty and quiescent. Such merit cannot be sought through the world." The Emperor asked, "What is the primary meaning of the holy truths?" He said, "Vast and void, with nothing holy." The Emperor asked, "Who faces us?" He said, "I do not know." The Emperor did not comprehend the abstruse purport. The Master lingered for a few days, then crossed the Yangtze River into Wei and stayed at Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, spending the whole day in wall contemplation and nothing else. There was a monk named Shengguang who, inspired by a spirit, came to see the Master. The Master sat upright without looking back. It happened to snow heavily; Shengguang stood in the snow until it piled past his knees. Pitying him, the Master asked, "You have stood in the snow for a long time; what matter do you seek?" Guang said, "I only wish that out of Great Compassion you open the gate of nectar and broadly deliver all beings." The Master said, "The unsurpassed, wondrous path of all Buddhas is difficult to encounter in vast kalpas. How could one of minor virtue and minor wisdom, with a light and haughty mind, hope for the True Vehicle? It will merely be labor in vain." Hearing this admonition, Guang was overjoyed. He immediately took a sharp knife, severed his own left arm, and placed it before the Master. The Master said, "When all Buddhas first sought the path, they valued the Dharma and forgot their bodies. Now that you have severed your arm before me, your seeking may indeed be accepted." Receiving these words, Guang changed his name to Huike. He then asked, "May I hear the Dharma-seal of all Buddhas?" The Master said, "The Dharma-seal of all Buddhas is not obtained from others." He said, "My mind is not at peace; please, Master, pacify it." The Master said, "Bring your mind here, and I will pacify it for you." Ke said, "I have searched for my mind, but it is completely unobtainable." The Master said, "I have pacified your mind for you." Later, he briefly distinguished for Huike and others the Four Practices for entering the Path of the Great Vehicle. His words were: