續高僧傳 16.30

16.30

Bodhidharma was of the Brahmin caste of South India. His spiritual discernment was clear and radiant; whatever he heard, he understood. His aspirations were set upon the Mahāyāna, and he submerged his mind in emptiness and silence. He penetrated subtlety and grasped inner principles; his meditative learning was supreme. Lamenting [the ignorance of] this remote borderland, he guided them with the Dharma. He first arrived in Nanyue in the Song realm, and later crossed north to the Wei. Wherever he stayed, he instructed through the teachings of dhyāna. At that time, the entire country was actively promoting scholastic exposition and lecture; upon suddenly hearing the Dharma of dhyāna meditation, many gave rise to ridicule and slander. There were Daoyu and Huike, two śramaṇas who, although younger in years, possessed sharp aspiration that was lofty and far-reaching. Upon first encountering this commander of the Dharma, they recognized that the Way had found its master. They immediately attended on him closely for four or five years, offering provisions and requesting instruction. Moved by their sincerity, he instructed them in the true Dharma: calming the mind like this is termed ‘wall-gazing’; initiating practice like this is termed the ‘four dharmas’; according with worldly beings like this is taught to prevent criticism and resentment; employing skillful means like this is taught to ensure non-attachment. Thus, though there are many pathways into the Way, essentially there are only two: namely, principle and practice. Entering through principle means awakening to the fundamental truth through the teachings, deeply believing that all sentient beings share the same true nature, which is obscured by adventitious defilements. It leads one to abandon the false and return to the true, to abide stably in wall-gazing, where self and other do not exist, and ordinary beings and sages are equal and one. Remaining steadfast without wavering, never following other teachings, one silently accords with the Way, serene and unconditioned—this is called entering through principle. Entering through practice means the four practices, which subsume the myriad practices. First is the practice of requiting enmity: when one who cultivates the Way encounters suffering, they should reflect on past kalpas when they abandoned the fundamental and pursued the trivial, giving rise to abundant attachment and aversion. Though they may commit no offense now, this is the result of their own past deeds; they accept it willingly with no resentment or opposition. The sūtra says: ‘Meeting with suffering, one does not grieve, because understanding has penetrated.’ When such a mind arises, it does not conflict with the Way; it realizes the nature of enmity and advances along the Way. Second is the practice of according with conditions: sentient beings have no self; suffering and joy accord with conditions. Even if one obtains glory and honor, these are structured by past causes and only attained now; when the conditions are exhausted, they return to nothing, so what joy is there? Gaining and losing accord with conditions, while the mind neither increases nor decreases; the winds of adversity and prosperity calm down, and one silently accords with the Dharma. Third is the practice of seeking nothing: worldly people are long deluded, greedily attached at every turn, which is termed ‘seeking’. A person of the Way awakens to the true principle, which runs counter to worldly ways; calming their mind in non-action, their physical form follows the revolutions of fate. All three realms are suffering; who can attain ease? The sūtra states: ‘All that is sought is suffering; seeking nothing is bliss.’ Fourth is the practice of according with the Dharma: this is the principle of inherent purity. Dharma used these methods to convert and instruct the land of Wei. Those who recognized the truth followed, took refuge in, and awakened to it. His sayings and teachings were recorded into scrolls that circulated in the world. He said of himself that he was over one hundred and fifty years old. Making itinerant transformation his task, his end could not be fathomed.