佛祖歷代通載 9.35

9.35

(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: