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