釋氏稽古略 2.202

2.202

The Twenty-Eighth Patriarch of the Western Heaven, the First Patriarch of the Eastern Land, the Venerable Bodhidharma. He was the third son of the king of Sugandha in South India, of the kṣatriya caste. His original name was Bodhitāra. When the Twenty-Seventh Patriarch, Prajñātāra, came to that country, he received the offerings of the prince's royal father. Receiving the pearl that had been offered, [Prajñātāra] tested what [Bodhitāra] said [about it]. The Patriarch said to him, "You have already obtained comprehensive understanding of all phenomena. Now, 'dharma' has the meaning of 'penetrating the great.' It is fitting that you be named Bodhidharma." Bodhidharma inquired of him, "Having attained the Dharma, to which country should I go to perform Buddhist works?" The Patriarch said, "Although you have attained the Dharma, you must not yet travel far. For now remain in South India. Wait sixty-seven years after my passing away, and then you should go to Cīnasthāna (the Eastern Land) to provide the great joy of the Dharma, where those who protect bodhi will be beyond count." Bodhidharma thereupon reverently received his teachings and doctrines, diligently attending upon him at his side for nearly forty years. When the Patriarch passed away, [Bodhidharma] expounded and transformed in his native country. At that time there were two masters: one named Fodaxian (Buddhaprabhāva?) and the other named Fodashengduo (Buddhottara?). Both had studied together under Buddhabhadra the contemplation of the Lesser Vehicle. Having encountered the Venerable Prajñātāra, Fodaxian abandoned the lesser to hasten toward the great, converting alongside Bodhidharma; they were called the two gates of nectar. Meanwhile, Fodashengduo divided his disciples into six schools: the first was called the School of Form; the second, the School of Formlessness; the third, the School of Samādhi and Wisdom; the fourth, the School of Preceptual Conduct; the fifth, the School of Non-Attainment; and the sixth, the School of Quiescence. Each confined themselves to their own understanding and opened a separate stream of transformation. Bodhidharma lamented that those six schools were entangled in wrong views. He went to each one in turn to enlighten and transform them; the six assemblies awakened and all took refuge under vow. At that time the king of the country was named Yijian (Dṛṣṭivirodha?), who was Bodhidharma's nephew. Initially he had faith in non-Buddhist paths, but Bodhidharma transformed him to return to orthodoxy. Thereafter, reflecting that conditions in Cīnasthāna were ripe and the time to conduct transformation had arrived, he took leave of his nephew, the king. The king prepared a large ship for him, filled it with precious jewels, and set it afloat upon the deep ocean. After three changes of winter and summer, he reached the South Sea. This was the twenty-first day of the ninth month in the first year of the Putong reign era of the Liang (the Transmission of the Lamp says the seventh year; we now follow the Zhengzong ji). Xiao Ang, the regional inspector of Guangzhou, welcomed him with courtesy and presented a memorial to the throne. Emperor Wu reviewed the memorial and dispatched an envoy to invite him. On the first day of the tenth month of the following year, he arrived in Jiankang. The Emperor asked, "Since ascending the throne, We have built temples, transcribed scriptures, and ordained monks beyond count. What merit is there in this?" The Patriarch said, "This is merely a petty fruit of humans and gods, like a shadow following the form; though it exists, it is not real." The Emperor asked, "What is true merit?" The Patriarch said, "Pure wisdom, wondrous and perfect, whose essence is intrinsically empty and quiescent." The Emperor asked, "What is the highest truth of the holy truths?" The Patriarch said, "Vast and void, with nothing holy." The Emperor asked, "Who is facing Us?" The Patriarch said, "I do not know." The Emperor did not grasp it. The Patriarch knew that the affinity did not match. On the nineteenth day of that month, he slipped away north of the Yangtze River. On the twenty-third day of the eleventh month, he arrived in Luoyang. This was the second year of the Zhengguang reign era of Emperor Xiaoming of the Wei. He stayed at Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, sitting facing a wall. Emperor Ming of the Wei summoned him three times, but the Patriarch never arose. [The Emperor] then bestowed a mona robe upon him, but the Patriarch also would not accept it; the envoy returned three times, and the Emperor forcefully conferred it upon him. At that time there was a monk named Shenguang who was well versed in various books and skilled at discussing profound principles. Hearing where the Patriarch resided, he went to consult and pay homage to him. On the night of the ninth day of the twelfth month of that year, heavy snow fell. Shenguang stood firmly in the courtyard until dawn, with the accumulated snow rising above his knees. The Patriarch took pity on him and asked, "Standing long in the snow, what matter do you seek?" Shenguang wept and said, "May the Upādhyāya be compassionate and open the gate of nectar to broadly liberate the multitude of beings." Reaching the point of severing his arm in sorrowful pleading, the Patriarch accordingly changed his name to Huike. Ke then said, "May I hear the Dharma-seal of the Buddhas?" The Patriarch said, "The Dharma-seal of the Buddhas is not obtained from another." Ke said, "My mind is not at peace; I beg the master to pacify my mind." The Patriarch said, "Bring your mind here, and I will pacify it for you." After a long pause, Ke said, "I have sought the mind, but it is utterly unobtainable." The Patriarch said, "I have pacified your mind for you." After a long time, the Patriarch briefly explained to Huike and the others the four practices for entering the Path in the Great Vehicle. His words said: 'Now, there are many avenues for entering the Path, but to state their essentials, they do not go beyond two kinds: the first is entry through principle, and the second is entry through practice. Entry through principle means relying on the teachings to awaken to the doctrine, having deep faith that all sentient beings share the identical true nature, which is merely covered over by adventitious defilements and false thoughts, unable to be revealed. If one abandons the false and returns to the true, firmly abides in wall contemplation without self or other, regarding the ordinary and holy as equal, holding fast and unmoving, no longer following written teachings, this then subtly accords with principle: without discrimination, quiescent and unconditioned, it is named entry through principle. As for entry through practice, there are four: first, the practice of requiting enmity; second, the practice of following conditions; third, the practice of seeking nothing; fourth, the practice of according with Dharma. The practice of requiting enmity means: when any cultivator of the Path suffers torment, he should reflect: "From countless kalpas in the past, I have abandoned the fundamental and pursued the trivial, wandering through various existences, repeatedly giving rise to enmity and hatred, causing infinite discord and harm. Though I commit no offense now, this is the ripening of the bad karma of my past calamities, not something that gods or humans can bestow upon me. I willingly endure it, without any resentment or hatred at all." When one makes this contemplation, it accords with principle; embodying enmity to advance on the Path, it is therefore named the practice of requiting enmity. The practice of following conditions means: sentient beings have no self; they are all turned by conditions and karma. Suffering and joy are received together, all born of conditions. If one attains superior retribution, honor, and such matters, these are all induced by past causes; when conditions are exhausted, they return to nothing, so what joy is there? Gain and loss follow conditions, with no increase or decrease in the mind. The wind of delight does not stir it; it subtly accords with the Path. This is named the practice of following conditions. The practice of seeking nothing means: worldly people are perpetually deluded, everywhere attached in greed. The wise awaken to the true, pacifying their minds in non-action; the myriad things are all empty, with nothing to hope for. Dwelling long in the triple world is like a burning house; having a body is altogether suffering, so who can attain peace? Fully realizing this, one ceases thoughts and seeks nothing. Therefore a sūtra says: "All seeking is suffering; seeking nothing is bliss." Thus seeking nothing is truly the practice of the Path; therefore it is named the practice of seeking nothing. The practice of according with Dharma means: the principle of intrinsic purity is consequently called the Dharma. In this principle, all characteristics are empty; there is no defilement and no attachment, no this and no that. A sūtra says: "The Dharma has no self, because it is free of the defilement of self." The wise who faithfully understand this principle should act in accord with the Dharma. Since the essence of the Dharma has no stinginess toward physical body, life, or wealth, one practices giving and relinquishment with a mind devoid of parsimony. Thoroughly understanding the three kinds of emptiness, neither leaning nor attaching, one simply transforms sentient beings for the sake of the stainless, yet without grasping at characteristics. This is self-cultivation, and it also benefits others, adorning the path to bodhi. Just as it is with giving, so it is with the remaining five [perfections]. In order to eliminate false thoughts, one cultivates the six perfections yet without any practice; this is named the practice of according with Dharma.' After this, the Patriarch wished to return to India. He commanded his disciples, saying, "The time is near. Why do you not each speak of what you have attained?" At that time, each of those attending presented what he had seen. Finally, Huike came forward, bowed three times, and stood according to his rank. The Patriarch then looked at Huike and told him, "In the past, the Tathāgata entrusted the Eye of the True Dharma to the Great Being Kāśyapa, successively bequeathing and transmitting it until it reached me. I now entrust it to you; you should protect and uphold it. I also confer upon you the robe as the token of faith in the Dharma. Each has its representation, which you ought to know." Ke said, "Please, Master, point it out." The Patriarch said, "Internally, the Dharma-seal is transmitted to tally with the realized mind; externally, the robe is conferred to establish the school's tenet. This is out of concern for the doubts and contentions of later generations, who would point out that I am a man of the Western Heaven and say that you are a son of this region, asking upon what you obtained the Dharma, and with what you verify it. Now that you receive this robe and Dharma, when difficulties arise later on, you need only bring out this robe and my Dharma verse to make it clear, and your transformation will be unhindered. Two hundred years after my passing away, the transmission of the robe shall cease, but the Dharma shall spread throughout sands of worlds. Those who understand the Path will be many, but those who practice the Path will be few; those who speak of principle will be many, but those who penetrate principle will be few. Those who secretly tally and mysteriously verify it will be more than tens of thousands. You should propagate it and not despise those who have not yet awakened. With a single thought of turning the mechanism, they are identical to having originally attained it. Listen to my verse: 'I originally came to this land / To transmit the Dharma and save deluded beings. / A single flower opens into five petals; / The fruit forms naturally.' The Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra in four fascicles is the Tathāgata's ultimate discourse on the essentials of the Dharma, and it can also open, display, awaken, and enter [the Buddha's knowledge and vision] for the world. I now confer it upon you along [with the robe]. I originally left South India and came to this Eastern Land to seek people for the sake of the Dharma. The circumstances had not yet matched, so I was as if foolish, as if halting in speech. Now that I have obtained you to transmit it, my intention is fulfilled." He then went with his disciples to Qiansheng Temple at Yumen, staying for three days. Yang Xuanzhi, the governor of Qicheng, asked the Patriarch, "In the Five Indies of the Western Heaven, masters inherit from one another to be patriarchs. What is their Path like?" The Patriarch said, "Clarifying the mind-doctrine of the Buddhas, with practice and understanding mutually according: this is named being a patriarch." He asked further, "Beyond this, what else is there?" The Patriarch said, "One must know the minds of others and know their past and present; neither loathing existence and non-existence nor grasping at phenomena; neither wise nor foolish, neither deluded nor awakened. If one can understand like this, one is therefore called a patriarch." He also said, "I, your disciple, have turned my heart to the Three Jewels for years. Just now listening to the Master's words, I do not know where to turn. May the Master compassionately show the school's tenet." The Patriarch, knowing his sincerity, immediately spoke a verse: 'Neither beholding evil and giving rise to dislike, / Nor observing good and diligently striving; / Neither abandoning wisdom to approach folly, / Nor casting off delusion to take up awakening. / Penetrating the Great Path, one transcends all measure; / Comprehending the Buddha-mind, one surpasses limits. / Not following the same tracks as ordinary or holy, / Being transcendent, one is named a patriarch.' Xuanzhi, hearing the verse, was filled with mingled sorrow and joy, and said, "May the Master dwell long in the world to transform and guide the multitude of beings." The Patriarch said, "I shall soon depart and cannot remain long." Xuanzhi bowed, took his leave, and departed. The Patriarch thereupon passed away peacefully, during the abdication and enthronement between the young ruler Zhao of the Wei and Emperor Xiaozhuang, falling on the fifth day of the tenth month in the second year of the Datong reign era of the Liang. On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month of that year, he was buried at Mount Xiong'er in Songzhou, Luoyang; a stūpa was erected at Dinglin Temple. Wei then reported his death to Liang. Emperor Wu of Liang immediately bestowed precious silks and ordered all the royal scions and princes to make offerings to him with sacrificial rites. The Crown Prince composed a text for him, which said in brief: 'Greatly we contemplate the Great Master of holy lineage, bearing the wisdom-seal of the ten powers, riding the six supernormal powers to sail across the ocean. Exercising compassion and wisdom in the Indian land, he rescued those falling and imperiled in the realm of China.' Three years later, the Wei envoy Song Yun, returning from his mission to the Western Regions, encountered the Patriarch in the Pamir Mountains carrying a single shoe in his hand, striding away solitary and light. Yun asked him, and he answered, saying, "I am going to the Western Heaven." When Yun returned, he recounted it fully. The disciples opened the burial mound: the coffin was empty, and only a single shoe remained. An imperial decree ordered that the remaining shoe be taken and given offerings at Shaolin Temple. Emperor Wu of Liang, hearing of the Patriarch's traces of transformation, personally composed an inscription for him. In the reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang, he was given the posthumous title 'Great Master Yuangue' (Perfect Awakening), and the stūpa was named Kongguan (Contemplation of Emptiness) (Zhengzong ji).