神僧傳 4.17

4.17

Bodhidharma was of a brahmin caste of South Tianzhu. His divine wisdom was vast and clear; whatever he heard, he understood. His aspiration lay in the Mahāyāna, his mind merged in empty stillness. He penetrated subtlety and mastered arts, and was eminent in the study of dhyāna. At the beginning of the Putong reign era of Emperor Wu of the Liang, he reached Guangzhou. The regional inspector memorialized the matter, and Emperor Wu sent an envoy with an edict to welcome him to Jinling. The Emperor personally questioned him: "Since our accession, we have built monasteries, copied sūtras, and ordained monks beyond count. What merit and virtue is there?" The Master said, "There is no merit and virtue at all." The Emperor asked, "Why is there no merit and virtue at all?" The Master said, "These are merely small fruits of humans and devas, causes with defilements (āsrava); though they exist, they are not real." The Emperor asked, "What is true merit and virtue?" The Master said, "Pure wisdom is wondrous and perfect, its essence naturally empty and still. Such merit and virtue cannot be sought in the world." The Emperor asked, "What is the supreme truth of the noble truths?" The Master said, "Vast emptiness, with nothing holy." The Emperor asked, "Who is facing us?" The Master said, "I do not know." The Emperor did not comprehend the profound meaning. The Master knew that conditions did not align; on the nineteenth day, he left the Liang. Snapping a single reed, he crossed the Yangtze River, and on the twenty-third day headed north into the territory of the Wei, soon reaching Luoyang. At first he resided at Shaolin Monastery on Mount Song, sitting facing a wall all day long for nine years. Thereupon he passed away and was buried on Mount Xiong'er. When Song Yun of the Wei was returning from his mission to the Western Regions, he met the Master in the Pamir Mountains (Congling), and saw him lightly departing alone, carrying a single shoe in hand. Yun asked where he was going. He said, "Going to the Western Heavens." He also said to Yun, "Your lord has already grown weary of the world." Hearing this, Yun was perplexed; he parted from the Master and traveled east. When he reported back on his mission, Emperor Ming had already passed away. When Emperor Xiaozhuang ascended the throne, Yun fully reported the matter. The Emperor ordered his tomb opened: only an empty coffin and a single leather shoe remained.