#bodhidharma

[lionofchaeronea]

The Moon through a Crumbling Window (Bodhidharma), woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi from the series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, 1887

[mahayanapilgrim]

"My friends will become nothing,

My foes will become nothing,

I too will become nothing.

Just like a dream experience,

whatever things I enjoy will not be seen again.

The Buddhas neither wash ill deeds away with water, Nor remove beings suffering with their hands.

Beings are released through the teachings of the truth, the final reality.

Thus by the virtue of all that I have done,

May the pain of all living beings be cleared away."

~ Shantideva

From: «The Way of the Bodhisattva»

[mountain-sage]

If you use your mind to try and understand reality. you will understand neither your mind nor reality.

If you try and understand reality without using your mind. you will understand both your mind and reality.

- Bodhidharma

[boyjumps]

“No merit. When you expect something in return, any action becomes a hardship. Zen rejects merit.” - Zen teachings

Bodhidharma (5th-6th century: date of birth and death unknown) was a Buddhist monk who, though born the third prince of the king of India, went to China and was the first to introduce Zen.

Legend has it that Master Bodhidharma's limbs rotted away after nine years of zazen (sitting zen meditation) against a wall. It is a myth. Zazen is not about sitting all the time. Monks walk in certain areas to prevent drowsiness and for exercise, known as kinhin (meditation performed while walking). So they can never lose their limbs.

When Bodhidharma first arrived in China, he met Emperor Wu of Liang (464-549). Emperor Wu asked him, “Since thee entered the service, thee have built many temples, copied sutra scrolls and ordained monks and nuns, what merit do these deeds have?” To which he replied, “No merit (There is no such thing as merit).” The Wu Emperor hurriedly asked another question, “Then what is the Supreme First Truth?” “Open, empty and unremarkable,” said Bodhidharma. “Then I ask thee, who is against thee?” “No idea,” Bodhidharma replied, gave up on the Wu Emperor and left, entering the Shaolin Monastery in the Northern Wei Kingdom. He then spent nine years in zazen (sitting zen meditation) at the Shaolin temple.

By the way, why did Bodhidharma say those his deeds had great merit were 'no merit'? Simply put, because Zen abhors merit.

Bodhidharma is saying “You should enjoy the act of doing whatever you do. Why are you thinking so foolishly? Don't worry about merit, just enjoy your work.”

In any case, acts done with a sense of merit are impure. For example, even when being kind to others, do it while enjoying the act of kindness and appreciating the other person. It is not the person who is being kind that should be grateful, but the person who has done the kindness.

Disappointed by Emperor Wu of Liang, who did not understand this, Bodhidharma entered the Shaolin Temple, where he spent nine years in zazen against the wall.

[terracemuse]

[jareckiworld]

Kanō Hōgai (1828-1888) — Daruma (Bodhidharma)  [ink, hanging scroll, ca. 1880]

[lesondupapillon]

— Question : " Comment le Buddha sauve-t-il les êtres ? "

— Réponse : " Lorsque les images dans un miroir sauveront les êtres, le Buddha sauvera les êtres. "

/ Le Traité de Bodhidhama

[thepersonalwords]

Not engaging in ignorance is wisdom.

Bodhidharma

[putah-creek]

Not thinking about anything is Zen.

Bodhidharma

[kamala-laxman]

The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included. - Bodhidharma

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Bodhidharma, the first patriarch of Chan (Zen) Buddhism | Artwork by Yoshitoshi / courtesy Wikipedia

[Tricycle: The Buddhist Review]

* * * *

"Loneliness is the feeling that one is not complete alone. What if it turns out nothing is missing at all? What if nothing changes when another person is near?" 

— Sallie Jiko Tisdale 

[mahayanapilgrim]

"Normally we operate under the deluded assumption that everything has some sort of true, substantial reality. But when we look more carefully, we find that the phenomenal world is like a rainbow — vivid and colorful, but without any tangible existence.

When a rainbow appears we see many beautiful colors - yet a rainbow is not something we can clothe ourselves with, or wear as an ornament; it simply appears through the conjunction of various conditions. Thoughts arise in the mind in just the same way. They have no tangible reality or intrinsic existence at all. There is therefore no logical reason why thoughts should have so much power over us, nor any reason why we should be enslaved by them."

- Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

[mountain-sage]

But people of the deepest understanding look within, distracted by nothing. Since a clear mind is the Buddha, they attain the understanding of a Buddha without using the mind.

- Bodhidharma

[buddhismnow]

Morning meditation — If you attain anything at all.

Morning meditation — If you attain anything at all. https://wp.me/pFy3u-8KH

‘Followers of the way: If you attain anything at all, it’s conditional, it’s karmic. It turns the Wheel birth And death.’ Bodhidharma Serbian Bellflower. Morning Meditation: Followers of the way: If you attain anything at all, it’s conditional, it’s karmic. It turns the Wheel birth And death. Bodhidharma On our Twitter account, Buddhism Now @Buddhism_Now, most mornings we post a ‘morning…

[chinneths]

[nicksalius]

Se desiderate vedere il Buddha

Oggi vi propongo la lettura di un brano attribuito a Bodhidharma, il fondatore del buddhismo Zen. In questo testo, il maestro ci invita a scoprire il nostro vero sé, la nostra natura buddhica, che è la fonte di ogni saggezza e felicità. Non basta seguire le pratiche esteriori della religione, come recitare i sutra o osservare i precetti, se non siamo capaci di guardare dentro di noi e di…