The following anecdote was told to myself, a few months after the curious event, by the three witnesses in the case. They were connections of my own, the father was a clergyman of the Anglican Church; he, his wife and their daughter, a girl of... Read more of The Girl In Pink at Scary Stories.ca

Privacy

Samurai

Nature Favours Nothing In Particular
There is another point of view of life, which gave the presen...

Zazen Or The Sitting In Meditation
Habit comes out of practice, and forms character by degrees, ...

Change As Seen By Zen
Zen, like Hinayanism, does not deny the doctrine of Transienc...

Buddha Is Unnamable
Give a definite name to Deity, He would be no more than what ...

Life And Change
A peculiar phase of life is change which appears in the form ...

Buddha-nature Is The Common Source Of Morals
Furthermore, Buddha-nature or real self, being the seat of lo...

Enlightenment Implies An Insight Into The Nature Of Self
We cannot pass over, however, this weighty problem without sa...

The Law Of Balance
Nature governs the world with her law of balance. She puts t...

The Fourth Patriarch And The Emperor Tai Tsung (tai-so)
The Third[FN#40] Patriarch was succeeded by Tao Sin (Do-shin)...

The Examination Of The Notion Of Self
The belief in immortality is based on the strong instinct of ...

Life Consists In Conflict
Life consists in conflict. So long as man remains a social a...

The Sermon Of The Inanimate
The Scripture of Zen is written with facts simple and familia...

Idealistic Scepticism Concerning Objective Reality
But extreme Idealism identifies 'to be' with 'to be known,' a...

Bodhidharma's Disciples And The Transmission Of The Law[fn#31]
[FN#31] For details, see Chwen Tang Luh and Den Ka Roku, b...

Decline Of Zen
The blooming prosperity of Zen was over towards the end of th...

Man Is Good-natured According To Mencius
Oriental scholars, especially the Chinese men of letters, se...

True Dhyana
To sit in Meditation is not the only method of practising Zaz...

Zen And Idealism
Next Zen makes use of Idealism as explained by the Dharmalaks...

Difficulties Are No Match For The Optimist
How can we suppose that we, the children of Buddha, are put a...

Zen After The Restoration
After the Restoration of the Mei-ji (1867) the popularity of ...

Introduction Of Zen Into China By Bodhidharma

An epoch-making event took place in the Buddhist history of China by
Bodhidharma's coming over from Southern India to that country in
about A.D. 520.[FN#23] It was the introduction, not of the dead
scriptures, as was repeatedly done before him, but of a living faith,
not of any theoretical doctrine, but of practical Enlightenment, not
of the relies of Buddha, but of the Spirit of Shakya Muni; so that
Bodhidharma's position as a representative of Zen was unique. He
was, however, not a missionary to be favourably received by the
public. He seems to have behaved in a way quite opposite to that in
which a modern pastor treats his flock. We imagine him to have been
a religious teacher entirely different in every point from a popular
Christian missionary of our age. The latter would smile or try to
smile at every face he happens to see and would talk sociably; while
the former would not smile at any face, but would stare at it with
the large glaring eyes that penetrated to the innermost soul. The
latter would keep himself scrupulously clean, shaving, combing,
brushing, polishing, oiling, perfuming, while the former would be
entirely indifferent to his apparel, being always clad in a faded
yellow robe. The latter would compose his sermon with a great care,
making use of rhetorical art, and speak with force and elegance;
while the former would sit as absolutely silent as the bear, and kick
one off, if one should approach him with idle questions.

[FN#23] Buddhist historians differ in opinion respecting the date of
Bodhidharma's appearance in China. Compare Chwen Fah Chan Tsung Lun
(Den bo sho ju ron) and Hwui Yuen (E-gen).

Next: Bodhidharma And The Emperor Wu
Previous: Origin Of Zen In India

Report
Privacy

SHARE

BOOKMARK

Viewed 598