Mr. Dharma, the founder of and the first generation-master of Chinese Zen.

Writer: Tao Qing Hsu

A legend person who lived 150 years

The name of Mr. Dharma in Sanskrit is बोधिधर्म and is named as Bodhidharma, who is born in south India about the year A.D. 382 and is dead in China about the year A.D. 535. According to the records, documents and the legend, he is a Buddhist monk and has the life for 150 years. When he is young, he is a prince and educated well by his family of Royal. When he arrives in China and begins to transmit the Zen-Law, it is the 67 years after the death of his teacher of Zen in India.

Therefore, we can speculate that he is already over 80 years old when he arrives in China. At that time, the average life expectancy of humans is less than 50 years. Mr. Dharma is indeed a longevity person. But, do you know why he lives so long? There are some stories about him and the documents recorded by his oral teachings, which can make us know why he lives so long.

It is not easy to understand Mr. Dharma's oral teachings.

His oral teachings are very valuable and important for us and could help us solve our puzzle in learning Buddha. To understand his oral teachings, we must have the basic concept and experience in practicing the Buddha’s teaching. However, if we want to realize his oral teachings, we even have to own the profound concept of Buddhism and deeply experience in learning Buddha.

Even though those who have the basic concept and experience in practicing the Buddha’s teaching, they may be unable to understand what Mr. Dharma has talked about and what he has taught. That is also why his oral teachings are unable to be spread widely in the environment of Buddhism in the history.

The wise is always alone.

Do you know? It is not easy to be a founder and transmitter of Zen in the oversea. Meanwhile, it is very lonely to experience the process of Zen-transmitting, because no one could understand what Mr. Dharma is doing and what is the purpose. Secondly, it is also not easy to find the like-minded people who are willing to follow him. But, why he wants to do that? It is because that he is authorized by his teacher to come with a mission.

The Chinese Emperor Liang Wu who devotes himself in Buddhism

When Mr. Dharma takes a boat and comes in China, he meets the Emperor Liang Wu, who believes in Buddhism and supports the Buddha’s teaching a lot. But, it ’s a pity that the Emperor Liang Wu doesn't know what Zen is. The Emperor Liang Wu is good at the poems and martial arts. He has ever been the Buddhist monk and is a vegan.

When he becomes the Emperor, he devotes himself in Buddhism, spends a lot of money to support the collation of literature, history and Buddhism. Meanwhile, he supports to build temples and statues of Buddhism, to copy scriptures and to offer things to numberless Buddhist monks (or nuns).

The wonderful conversation about merit in Buddhism

When he knows that Mr. Dharma learns Buddhism well, he asks him, "How much merit did I do for these things?" Mr. Dharma says, "No merit." The Emperor Liang Wu asks, "Why is there no merit?" Mr. Dharma says, "These things are the doing things, which are belonged to the blessing effect and repaying of human and heaven. It ’s not a real merit. ” The Emperor Liang Wu asks,“ How is the true merit? ” Mr. Dharma replies,“ The pure wisdom is the wonderful perfect. The body itself is empty and silent. Such merit could not be asked by us by means of the world. ”   

After hearing that, the Emperor Liang Wu is very unhappy. The host and guest are thus broken up. The unsuccessful meeting between Mr. Dharma and the Emperor Liang Wu does not make Mr. Dharma lose faith. Mr. Dharma decides to cross the river and goes toward the north to transmit the Zen-Law.

The legend by a reed to cross the river

It is getting late, and there are no boats on the vast river. Mr. Dharma faced the West with his palms closed, He murmurs: I come here from the west with deeply secret connotation. If the Zen-Law could not be born, I would sink into the river; if the Zen-Law could be prosperous, the god of heaven will help me too.

Then, Mr. Dharma picks a reed and throws it into the river, and immediately picks up the monk's robe, stands on the reed, and drives straight towards the heart of the river, floating across the river. Mr. Dharma crosses the river to Luoyang, enters the Shaolin Temple in Songshan, and seats quietly for nine years.

The founder of the Shaolin Kung Fu

According to the legend, Mr. Dharma is the founder of the Shaolin Kung Fu (the Chinese Kung Fu). The related documents and tips are preserved and transmitted for the following generations. These parts would help those (who learn Buddhism) strong their physical body to be healthy.

Motion and stillness are as one.

From the above mentioned, we may have the concept why Mr. Dharma has the longevity life. We could find that he focuses on the practice in mental and physical body. That is, the mental body is in the stillness. However, the physical body is in the motion. When the physical body moves to do anything, the mental body keeps peaceful.

The verse is left by Mr. Dharma.

Finally, Mr. Dharma transmits the Zen-Law to his disciple, the Zen-master Huike. The following verse is left by Mr. Dharma:

I originally come to this land,

For spreading the Zen-Law

To save those beings who lose the self-nature,

One flower blooms five leaves,

The result will be completed naturally.

This verse tells the purpose and also predicts the future of Chinese Zen, which is the prosperous of the Zen-Law.

The related articles:

The Origin of Zen

Why Zen can be developed and flourished well in the history of China, but not in India?

How to Improve Stress Resistance from Learning Buddhism

Author: Tao Qing Hsu

Children's inadequate thinking ability, coupled with inadequate life experience, cannot identify the source of negative emotions of parents or family members.

In life, we are faced with many phenomena. If we do not think positively, any of our emotions and thoughts will be easily affected by the facts. In Buddhist terms, they are transferred by the facts. For example, in a family, underage children are particularly susceptible to the negative emotions of parents or other family members. When they are inexplicably scolded or bullied by their family members, they even suspect their own fault or do it themselves Not good enough. Because children's inadequate thinking ability and lack of life experience, they cannot identify the source of negative emotions of parents or family members.

If these children do not have the ability, or have never reflected on these events to identify the cause of any negative emotions in their family members, they will spend their entire lives in this tragedy and ignorance affected by the negative emotions of their families. Some people are even used by their families and don't even know it. In other words, unless they have the ability to reflect consciously, or they are fortunate to be positively directed and influenced by others, even if they are adults, even in old age, they will be restrained by this family's negative emotions.

How to observe negative emotions of family members?

How to observe negative emotions of family members? There is an observed indicator, that is, accusations and complaints. Their attitude towards things is not their own self-review, self-learning and change. Instead, they achieve their desired goals by blaming, angering, and complaining about others. And people who usually take this negative way, what their ability to do things is usually insufficient. Unfortunately, such people exist not only in the family, but also in society and the country. In fact, a country or a society is a big family.

How can we not be affected by negative events?

If a family, a society, or even a country is full of people with these negative emotions, then if these numbers are accumulated, one can imagine the misery of a family, society, and country. This usually often happens in a self-closed family, society, and country.

So how can we not be affected by negative events? In other words, how can we not be dragged by negative events? How can we not be restrained by negative events? Or, how can we not be people with such negative emotions? That is to learn Buddha well. Three Buddhist Studies: disciple, the Power of Inner Stability, and Wisdom.

Buddhism is teaching us how to live a positive life

Buddhism is telling us why we should learn the disciple, the power of inner stability, and wisdom. In other words, Buddhism is teaching us how to live a positive life. To live a positive life can make us have enough resistance to our lives when facing various negative phenomena, so that we will not be affected by any negative phenomena.

So how can we improve the resistance to negative phenomena from the study of Buddha? That is, follow the Buddha's teaching well, internalize it into your own thinking, and implement it in your life.

Chinese: 如何从学佛中提升抗压性