Zen in Ten: No Knowing
Bodhidharma: First Ancestor of Zen
Although Buddhism came to China as early as 65 C.E., Bodhidharma (Jap. Daruma) is the legendary monk from Southern India who is considered the founder of Ch’an in 6th century China. Some scholars say that he is pure myth. Others say he existed but question whether he actually ever traveled to China. Nevertheless, he is considered the First Patriarch of Zen.
Bodhidharma was born into a Brahmin family in the 5th century. He converted to Buddhism when he was young and his teacher was Prajnatara, who is considered a male ancestor in the Ch’an and Zen lineage. However, in 2008 Rev. Koten Benton stirred things up when he wrote an article stating that according to the oral traditions of lay practitioners in Southern India and Korean Zen monks, Bodhidharma’s spiritual teacher was female (hooray!).1
Bodhidharma spent 40 years with his teacher. It was Prajantara who encouraged her disciple to travel to China because she foresaw the decline of Buddhism in India. When Bodhidharma arrived, monks were studying the sutras and engaging with Buddha’s teachings from a scholarly perspective. Bodhidharma taught that studying the Buddha’s words were not enough “to awaken one to the Buddha Nature.”2
Bodhidharma’s exchange with a Chinese emperor is one of the most famous koans in Zen Buddhism and is the first case in the Blue Cliff Record (Jap., Hekiganroku).
Emperor Wu of Liang asked Bodhidharma, “What is the first principle of the holy teachings?” Bodhidharma said, “Emptiness, no holiness.”
The Emperor asked, “Who is this standing before me?” [Bodhidharma responded] “No knowing.” The emperor did not grasp his meaning. Then Bodhidharma crossed the river and entered the Land of Wei.3
The Rinzai Zen Master Shodo Harada says this about the above koan: “Nothing splendid. Only emptiness everywhere, like a vast fall sky. . . . We all have to sit until we can experience this. We must sit straight like Mount Fuji rising out of the sea and do zazen that raises our entire body and touches our deepest center!”4
Legend has it that he meditated for nine years facing a wall in a cave near the famous Shaolin Temple. Some people credit Bodhidharma with founding the martial art of kung-fu, though the Buddhist scholar and translator Red Pine says there’s no early records of this.5
The Second Ancestor in the Ch’an/Zen lineage was Bodhidharma’s sole successor, Taiso Eka (487-593). When as a middle-aged seeker of The Way, Eka arrived at Bodhidharma’s temple, the patriarch wouldn’t allow him inside. Eka stood outside all night in a snowstorm. In the morning, when Bodhidharma still refused him, Eka cut off his forearm to demonstrate his unwavering determination to study The Way. Although this story is recorded in the Transmission of the Light, who knows if it actually happened. (I hope not for Master Eka’s sake!)
Bodhidharma asked the pilgrim: “What do you want?” Eka said, “My mind is not at peace. Please pacify it for me, Master.” Bodhidharma said, “Bring me your mind, and I’ll pacify it for you.” Eka responded, “I’ve searched for it for many years, but I can’t find it.” Bodhidharma replied, “There. I’ve pacified it for you.” 6 (Case 41, The Gateless Gate)
Shortly after transmitting the Buddha Mind Seal to Taiso Eka, Bodhidharma was poisoned by a jealous monk and died in 528.
Bodhidharma on Zen: “Responding, perceiving, arching your eyebrows, blinking your eyes, moving your hands and feet, it’s all your miraculously aware nature. And this nature is the mind. And the mind is Buddha. And Buddha is the path. And the path is zen. . . . Seeing your nature is zen. Unless you see your nature, it’s not zen.”7
https://sakyadhita.org/docs/resources/newsletters/16-2-2008.pdf
Harada, Shodo. The Path to Bodhidharma. Boston & Tokyo, Tuttle Publishing, 2000.
Sekida, Katsuki. Two Zen Classics. Boston & London, Shambhala, 2005.
Harada, Shodo. The Path to Bodhidharma. Boston & Tokyo, Tuttle Publishing, 2000.
Red Pine. The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma. New York, North Point Press, 1989.
Sekida, Katsuki. Two Zen Classics. Boston & London, Shambhala, 2005.
Red Pine. The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma. New York, North Point Press, 1989.