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A Brief History Of The First Six Buddhist Patriarchs In China |
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The
First Patriarch Great
Master Bodhidharma In the name
Bodhidharma, "Bodhi" means enlightened and "Dharma" means
the teachings. In the sequence of great masters who enlightened to the
Dharma, Patriarch Bodhidharma was the twenty-eighth Patriarch in India. And
so why didn't he stay in India and be a Patriarch? Why did he go to China?
Well, previously Shakyamuni Buddha made a prediction that from the
Twenty-eighth Patriarch on, the Mahayana ("Great Vehicle") teaching
would be transmitted to China. And so when
Bodhidharma sail from India to China, the Buddhadharma already existed in
China, yet it was as if it were not there at all. Although there were people
who studied, there were few who lectured or recited the Sutras and repentance
ceremonies were seldom practiced. Cultivation was superficial. Scholars
engaged in debates and discussions, but none of them truly understood. When Dharma Master
Shenguang (the Second Patriarch Huike) explained the Sutras, the responses
were tremendous! The heavens rained fragrant blossoms and a golden-petalled
lotus rose from the earth for him to sit upon. However, only those with good
roots, who had opened the heavenly eye, were able to see that. There are five
eyes and six spiritual penetrations. Some had attained the five eyes, but
there wasn't anyone with the six spiritual penetrations. When Great Master
Huike began explaining the Sutra, heavenly maidens would scatter flowers and
a golden lotus would well up from the earth. Master Shenguang would sit upon
that golden lotus to explain the Sutra. Wasn't that a fine spiritual
atmosphere in which to investigate the Sutra? But, the principles
in the Sutras must be cultivated, and yet at that time in China nobody really
cultivated. Why not? It was because they were afraid of suffering. No one
truly meditated. Well, there was Venerable Patriarch Zhi, who practiced
meditation and attained the five eyes. But most people didn't seriously
practice meditation because they feared suffering. Now, in America, it is
just the same. People sit in meditation. However, as soon as their legs begin
to ache, they wince and fidget and then gently unbend and rub them. People
are just people and everyone avoids suffering as much as possible. That's the
way it was then; that's the way it is now. That's what I meant when I said,
although there was Buddhadharma, it was as if there wasn't. Patriarch Bodhidharma
saw that the roots of Mahayana, the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma, were ripe in
China. Fearing neither the distance nor the hardship of travel, he took the
Dharma there. The Chinese, who looked down on foreigners at the time, called
him a "barbarian monk" because he talked in a way no one
understood. When the children looked up at the bearded Bodhidharma, they ran
away in terror. Adults feared that he was a kidnapper and so told their
children to stay away from him. So you see, he didn't even get to teach
children, much less the adults, because nobody dared to approach him. Patriarch Bodhidharma
went to Guangzhou, and then to Nanjing, where he listened to Dharma Master
Shenguang explain the Sutras. After listening to the Sutra, Patriarch
Bodhi-dharma asked, "Dharma Master, what are you doing?" "I am explaining
Sutras," Shenguang replied. "Why are you
explaining Sutras?" "I am teaching
people to end birth and death." "Oh?"
said Bodhidharma, "Exactly how do you do that? In this Sutra which you
explain, the words are black and the paper is white. How does this teach
people to end birth and death?" What happened when he
got angry? He grabbed his weapon. What was it? His recitation beads. His
beads weren't lightweight like these "stars and moon Bodhi" beads
of mine. His recitation beads were made of iron. He had them made that way
intentionally so he could use them as a weapon when the need arose. This time
his wrath was extreme. He reddened with anger and raged like a tidal wave
smashing a mountain. As he whipped out his beads, he snapped, "You are
slandering the Dharma!" and cracked Patriarch Bodhidharma across the
mouth. Although Patriarch
Bodhidharma had some skill in the martial arts, he was caught unprepared. He
hadn't expected such a vicious attack—that
being unable to reply, the Dharma Master would resort to brute force. As a
result, the blow knocked two of Patriarch Bodhidharma's teeth loose. Now he was a sage,
and there is a legend about the teeth of sages. Don't ask me whether or not
it's true. I'm just relating the legend. Let's just get it clear first and
not ask why it's so. If you ask the reason--there's no reason. It's just what
they say--don't ask me why! Anyway, it's said that if a sage gets his teeth
knocked loose and he spits them out on the ground, it won't rain for three
years. Patriarch Bodhidharma
thought, "If it doesn't rain for three years, just image how many people
will starve! I have come to China to save living beings, not to kill
them!" And so Patriarch Bodhidharma did not let his teeth fall to the
ground. Instead, he swallowed them, just like he was eating a pancake; well,
pancakes aren't that hard--it was more like eating a bone! He swallowed them
and made his exit. Foreigners are bound to be bullied and after all, he
couldn't go to the government and file suit against Dharma Master Shenguang
for knocking his teeth out. Those who have left home have to be patient! How
much more must a Patriarch forbear! And so he just left. On the road, he met a
parrot imprisoned in a wicker cage. However, this bird was much more
intelligent than the Dharma Master Shenguang. Recognizing that Bodhidharma
was a Patriarch, the bird said. Mind from the West. Mind
from the West. Teach
me a way To
escape from this cage. Although Patriarch
Bodhidharma hadn't been able to find any people who really understood who he
was, this parrot recognized him. Hearing the bird's plea for help,
Bodhidharma was pleased and taught the bird an expedient method--a
provisional, not a real, Dharma. He said, To escape the cage, To
escape the cage, Put
out both legs, Close
both eyes. This
is the way To
escape from the cage! It was a secret
Dharma--sort of like a secret password, and so it's for sure the Patriarch
whispered it. He didn't say it so loudly as I am speaking now! He certainly
must have used a very small voice: "To get out of the cage--this is what
you must do to escape!" He spoke softly like that. Why? If he said it
out loud so that others heard him, then the method would not work. From this
we can see how much trouble the Patriarch took to be kind. The parrot listened
attentively and said, "All right! Now I understand how to get out of the
cage!" When the bird saw his owner approaching in the distance, he
applied the method--sticking his legs out straight and closing his eyes, he
waited for his owner to come close. Every day when the
owner came home, he always played with this bird that he was so fond of.
Talking to it would cheer him up. And so, as usual, upon his return, he first
went to check on his bird. But
this time when he looked in the cage he was shocked. He practically burst
into tears. How come? His little bird lay on the floor of the cage unmoving.
He couldn't have been more upset if his son had died. In fact, it's likely
that this bird meant even more to him than his own son! He pulled opened the
cage door and gently placed the little bird in his hand. It was still warm.
It must have just died, he assumed, that's why the heat hadn't yet left its
body. The owner peeked at the little thing, turning his hand this way and
that. It didn't even quiver. Slowly he open his hand... PHLLRTTPHLRTTPHLRTT!
The bird broke loose from his hand and flew away! It had escaped from the
cage! But we are still in a
cage right now! How do we escape?
As to human beings--you shouldn't think you are free. Don't
misinterpret freedom saying, "I am really free. If I want to eat, I eat;
if I want to drink, I drink. I can do anything I please. I can ignore the
rules if I want to! That's what I call freedom!" Don't think you are
quite so clever. That's a misinterpretation of freedom. To be truly free, you
must be free of birth and death, and then, if you wish to fly into space you
can fly into space, and if you wish to burrow into the earth, you can burrow
into the earth. If you can do that, you will gain the kind of freedom that
the little bird gained. As I explain the
Sixth Patriarch's Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra, I do not lecture well.
This is not polite talk; it's true. Even though I do not speak well, at least
I dare to lecture. There are many who could lecture well, but who do not dare
to speak. After I, who don't speak well, have finished lecturing, those who
are eloquent can give their explanations. Then, in the future you will have
many opportunities to hear the Sixth Patriarch Sutra. However, let's
be clear about one thing: the source of those eloquent explanations will be
this simple explanation. I don't explain well, because I'm just like you in that
I haven't opened my wisdom. And so, in the future when you people open your
wisdom, you will be able to speak better than I. But for right now, you can
take notes and then when you open your wisdom you will be able to tell if
what I am saying now is right or not! I believe that at present you have no
way to judge if I am explaining well or not. But once your wisdom opens,
then, "Aha! Basically he explained that passage wrong!" Right?
You'll understand then, but that might be twenty years from now! Dharma Master
Shenguang knocked out two of that Indian monk's teeth, and since the monk
didn't retaliate, the Dharma Master figured he had the advantage—that he'd won the victory. He'd put a
barbarian monk in his place. But not long after he struck the barbarian, the
Ghost of Impermanence, wearing a high hat, paid a call: "Dharma Master,
your life ends today," said the ghost. "King Yama has sent me to
escort you. Today you are supposed to die." Master Shenguang was
astounded. "What? I still have to die? Why must I die? I speak Sutras so
well that flowers rain down from the heavens and golden lotuses well up out
of the earth, yet I still have not ended birth and death? Tell me," he
said to the Ghost of Impermanence, "is there a person in this world who
has ended birth and death?" "There is,"
came the reply. "There's someone in this world who has ended birth and
death." "Who?"
asked Dharma Master Shenguang. "Tell me, and I'll follow him to learn
the way to end birth and death." "Oh! That monk
has ended birth and death! Fine, then, I want to follow him to learn the
Dharma-door of ending birth and death. Please, Old Brother Ghost, could you
wait a bit to take me away? I am determined to end birth and death! Could you
speak to King Yama on my behalf to see if he can't give me a little more time
so I can go learn this Dharma-door?" "All
right," said the ghost. "Since you are sincere, King Yama will
wait." Dharma Master
Shenguang was delighted. He was so quick to rush after Patriarch Bodhidharma
that he forgot to put on his shoes. On he ran, barefoot, until he met the
parrot whom Bodhidharma had freed, and suddenly he understood, "Oh!
That's what it's all about! I have to play dead. I have to be a living dead
person!" Bodhidharma walked
on, ignoring the barefoot Dharma Master following behind. Arriving at Bear's
Ear Mountain in Loyang, the Patriarch sat down to meditate facing a
wall. Patriarch Bodhidharma
sat meditating there for nine years, and for nine years Dharma Master
Shenguang knelt beside him. Earlier, when I spoke
this public record, an eleven year old child asked me, "During the nine
years he knelt, did he eat or not?" I replied, "How could anyone
kneel for nine years without eating and still live? When the Patriarch
meditated, Shenguang knelt, and when the Patriarch ate, Shenguang ate."
But this is not recorded in the books. One might think that the child was
always thinking about eating and so he worried about Dharma Master Shenguang
not getting anything to eat. Actually, the child who asked the question was
not really attached to eating. He had very good roots, and he began bowing to
his parents every day when he was only five. He was eleven when he met me and
asked me this question. One day a great snow
fell, and it rose in drifts as high as Dharma Master Shenguang's waist. Yet
he continued to kneel, seeking the Dharma. Finally Patriarch Bodhidharma
asked him, "Why are you kneeling here in such deep snow?" "What do you see
falling from the sky?" asked Bodhi-dharma. "Snow,"
said Shenguang. "What color is
it?" asked Bodhidharma. "It's white of
course." Then Patriarch
Bodhidharma gave him his test topic: "When red snow falls from the
sky," he said, "I will transmit the Dharma to you. If there's no
red snow, then you've no hope of receiving the Dharma. You're such a wicked
monk! You knocked out two of my teeth with one swipe of your recitation
beads. The fact that I haven't taken revenge already counts as being too
compassionate! Do you really expect me to give you the Dharma?" That was
the test that the Patriarch Bodhidharma gave to Master Shenguang. How did Dharma Master
Shenguang complete this test? Cultivators of the Way carry a knife to protect
the substance of their precepts. A true cultivator would rather cut off his
head than break a precept. In reply to the test
topic, Dharma Master Shenguang drew his precept knife, and with one slice,
cut off his arm. His blood flowed on the new fallen snow. He scooped up a
bucket full of crimson snow, set it before Patriarch Bodhidharma, and said,
"Patriarch, do you see? The snow is red!" Patriarch Bodhidharma
said, "So it is, so it is." He had tested Shenguang's sincerity,
and now the Patriarch was extremely happy. "My coming to China has not
been in vain. I have met a person who dares to use a true mind to cultivate
the Way, even forsaking his arm in search of the Dharma." The Patriarch
then spoke the Dharma door of "Using the mind to seal the mind." It
is the Dharma door that points straight to the mind to see the nature and
realize Buddhahood. While hearing this
Dharma, Dharma Master Shenguang didn't think about the pain in his arm, and
before that he had thought only of making the snow turn red. But once
Patriarch Bodhidharma finished speaking the Dharma for him, his discursive
thought arose: "My arm really hurts!" he said. "My mind is in
pain. Please, Patriarch, quiet my mind." Dharma
Master Shenguang searched for his mind. Where was his mind? He looked in the
north, east, south, west, in the intermediate points, and up and down. It was
simply not to be found anywhere! At last he said to Patriarch Bodhidharma,
"I can't find my mind! It is nowhere to be found." "I have already
finished quieting your mind!" said the Patriarch. At this place, if I
wanted to discuss this Dharma, the meanings would be infinite and boundless.
Those few words of Dharma spoken between Patriarch Bodhidharma and Dharma
Master Shenguang are ineffably wonderful. And so it's said, "The myriad
dharmas return to the one; the one returns to unity." Ten thousand
dharmas return to one. Where does the one return? The character for
"unity" (合) is composed of "person",
"one" and a "mouth." Shenguang did not understand, and
ran after Bodhidharma. He did not understand the meaning of
"unity" and so he pursued Patriarch Bodhidharma. Before him at Bear's
Ear Mountain he knelt nine years, seeking a little something to escape King
Yama. He didn't ask for much from Patriarch Bodhidharma; he just wanted
to end birth and death so he could avoid Yama, King of the Dead. This is some
of what transpired when Patriarch Bodhidharma and Dharma Master Shenguang
encountered each other. While Patriarch
Bodhidharma was in China, he was poisoned six times. Dharma Master Bodhiruchi
of Northern Wei who was also called Vinaya Master Guangtong was extremely
jealous of him. He prepared a vegetarian meal which contained a lethal drug,
and offered it to the Patriarch. Well, did the Patriarch Bodhidharma know
that it was poisoned? He knew! Although he knew it was poisoned, he ate it
anyway. Then he vomited the food on to a tray, and it was transformed into a
pile of writhing snakes. That was the first time. After that
unsuccessful attempt, Bodhiruchi tried again, using an even more potent
poison. Again, Patriarch Bodhidharma ate the food. Then he sat atop a huge
boulder and relieved nature. The boulder crumbled into a heap of dust. That
was the second time. After that there were
the third, fourth, fifth and sixth times he was poisoned. One day, Patriarch
Bodhidharma said to Dharma Master Shenguang, "I came to China because I
saw people with the Great Vehicle disposition. Now I have transmitted the
Dharma and I am not going to stay here any longer. I am ready to complete the
stillness." With the transmission
of the Dharma, Dharma Master Shenguang received the name "Huike" which
means "Able Wisdom," evidence that his wisdom was truly up to the
task; it was sufficient. Great Master Huike asked Patriarch Bodhi-dharma,
"In India, did you transmit the Dharma to your disciples? Did you also
give the robe and the bowl as certification?" "I transmitted
the Dharma in India," replied Bodhidharma, "but I did not use the
robe and the bowl as a token of faith. Indian people are straightforward.
When they attain the fruition, they know they must be certified. If no one
certifies them, they do not say, 'I have attained the Way! I have certified
to the fruition! I have given proof to Arhatship! I am a Bodhisattva!' They
do not speak like that. People there are upright and straight." "Chinese people,
however, are different. Many Chinese have the Great Vehicle disposition, but
there are also many people who lie. Having cultivated without success, such
people claim to have the Way. Though they have not certified to the fruition,
they claim to be certified sages. Therefore I will transmit the robe and bowl
to prove that you have received the transmission. Guard them well and take
care." Great Master Huike
listened to Patriarch Bodhidharma's instructions and thereupon understood the
Dharma transmission he had received. After his death the
Patriarch's body was placed in a coffin and buried. There was nothing unusual
about his funeral. However, right at that time, an official from Northern Wei
called Song Yun met Patriarch Bodhidharma on the road to Zhongnan Mountain in
the Congling Range. When they met, Patriarch Bodhidharma was carrying one
shoe in his hand. He said to Song Yun, "The king of your country died
today. Return quickly! There is work to be done." The official asked,
"Great Master, where are you going?" "Great Master,
to whom did you transmit your Dharma?" "In China after
forty years, there will be someone able ('Ke')." "Able" was a
reference to Great Master Huike. His countrymen
scoffed, "Bodhidharma is already dead. How could you have met him on the
road?" People didn't
believe Song Yun. "He's already dead, how could Song Yun have met him?
Let's open his coffin and take a look!" But when they dug up the grave,
they found that the coffin was empty. There was nothing inside but one shoe. Well, where did
Patriarch Bodhidharma go? No one knows. Perhaps he came to America. But no
one can recognize him, because he can change and transform according to his
convenience. When he came to China he said he was one hundred and fifty years
old, and when he left he was still one hundred and fifty years old. No one
knows where he went after that. No historical references can be found. This
has been a general discussion of Patriarch Bodhidharma's life in China. The Second Patriarch
Shenguang (Huike) cut off his arm for the sake of the Dharma. We ought to
remember this when our legs ache in meditation. We don't need to cut off our
arms now, but at the very least, we should be patient with the pain. We
should think, "The Second Patriarch Great Master Huike cut off his arm
and we don't have to do that, so the least we can do is not fear the pain
when we are meditating!" While still in India,
Patriarch Bodhidharma sent two of his disciples, Fotuo and Yeshe, to China to
transmit the sudden enlightenment Dharma-door--the principles of the Chan
School of meditation. Who would have thought that when they got to China they
would be totally ostracized and bullied. No matter where they went to speak,
everyone snubbed them. No one would talk to them; all the monks kept silent
and ignored them. Since no one would listen to them, it was meaningless to
remain, so they decided to leave. On their way out they
passed through Lu Mountain where they met the Great Master Zhiyuan (Huiyuan),
who promoted the practice of reciting the Buddha's name. Master Yuan asked,
"What Dharma do you two monks from India transmit that causes people to
pay you so little respect?" Fotuo and Yeshe used
sign language because they probably knew very little Chinese. Raising their
arms in the air, they said, "Watch! The hand makes a fist and the fist
makes a hand. Is this not quick?" Master Yuan replied,
"Quick indeed." "Bodhi
(enlightenment) and affliction," they said, "are just that
quick." At that moment, Great
Master Yuan became enlightened and said, "Aha! Bodhi and afflictions
basically are not different! They are non-dual. Bodhi is affliction and
affliction is Bodhi." Having gained such an understanding, Great Master
Yuan made abundant offerings to Fotuo and Yeshe. Shortly thereafter, the two
died on the same day, in the same place. Their graves may still be seen at Lu
Mountain. Patriarch
Bodhidharma, hearing that his two disciples had been scorned by the Chinese
and had both died, decided to go to China take a look himself. While the
Patriarch was sitting at Bear's Ear Mountain, many people came to bow to him
and were received as his disciples. Among them were three individuals whom
Patriarch Bodhidharma mentioned when he was about to enter Nirvana. He said, "I
came to China and transmitted my Dharma to three people. One received my
marrow, one received my bones, and one received my flesh." After the
transmission, the Patriarch himself no longer had a body. Great Master Huike
received the marrow and Chan Master Daoyu received the bones. And then there
was Bhikshuni Zongchi. When I lectured on the Dharma Flower Sutra
didn't I tell you about how a blue lotus flower grew from her mouth after she
died? That Bhikshuni received
Patriarch Bodhidharma's flesh. She consumed the Patriarch's flesh; Dhyana
Master Daoyu consumed the Patriarch's bones, and Patriarch Huike consumed
Patriarch Bodhidharma's marrow. In the end, Patriarch Bodhidharma had no
body at all. And so don't look for him in America; you won't find him. The
Second Patriarch Great
Master Huike "Able Wisdom"
Great Master Huike,
whose family name was Ji, was born during the Northern Qi dynasty (550-577
A.D.). Patriarch Bodhidharma was in China during the reign of Emperor Wu of
the Liang dynasty. By the time of the Second Patriarch, the government had
already changed to the Northern Qi. Great Master Huike's given name was
Shenguang "Spiritual Light" because when he was born, his parents
saw a golden-armored spiritual being emitting light. This spiritual being was
most likely Weituo Bodhisattva, coming to offer protection to this Patriarch
at his birth. Not only was the
Patriarch exceptionally intelligent, but he had an excellent memory as well.
He was one who "could read ten lines to others' one and distinguish a
hundred people's conversations." To "read ten lines to others'
one" means he was fast--a speed reader! In a gathering of one hundred
people, all talking at once, he could be clear about each conversation. The Great Master,
however, had great anger; whenever he disagreed with someone, he was ready to
fight. Forty years earlier he even wore iron recitation beads when he
lectured Sutras to level the opposition and dispense justice. Remember? He
used his iron beads to strike the Patriarch. But later, he knelt for nine
years in quest of the Dharma, and it was his great anger which enabled him to
cut off his arm and feel no pain. It was also because of this anger that he
later felt pain. Unafflicted by anger, he would have felt no pain. Pain is
just an affliction and affliction is the cause of pain. The Second Patriarch
was forty years old when he met Bodhidharma. Having obtained the Dharma, he
went into hiding for forty years. That was because Bodhiruchi--Vinaya Master
Guangtong--and his gang, who had made six attempts on the life of Patriarch
Bodhidharma, also wished to kill his disciples. So although Great Master
Huike had great anger, he nevertheless obeyed his teacher, Patriarch Bodhidharma,
who told him, "You should hide away to avoid these people who want to
make things difficult for you." That's why he went into hiding for forty
years. I mentioned earlier
that when asked to whom he transmitted the Dharma, Patriarch Bodhidharma told
Song Yun: "After forty years, there will be someone able ('Ke')."
When Great Master Huike was eighty, he began to propagate the Buddhadharma,
teaching and transforming living beings. He met and transmitted the Dharma to
the Third Patriarch Sengcan, saying, "Protect this robe and bowl well,
for they certify that you have received the Dharma Seal. You too should go
into hiding to avoid danger." Later, the disciples of Bodhiruchi (Vinaya
Master Guangtong) tried to kill Master Huike, who feigned insanity to lessen
the jealousy of his rivals. Although he pretended to be insane, he still had
tremendous affinities with living beings and so a great many people still
believed in and were taken across by him. But Bodhiruchi's disciples, still
jealous and obstructive, wouldn't leave him alone. They reported Great Master
Huike to the government, accusing him of being a weird inhuman creature.
"He confuses the people who follow him," they charged; "He is
not even human." The situation was reported to the emperor, who ordered
the district magistrate to arrest him, and Great Master Huike was locked up
and questioned: "Are you human
or are you a freak?" asked the Magistrate. "I'm a freak,"
replied Great Master Huike. The magistrate knew
that the Patriarch was saying this to avoid jealousy, so he ordered him to
tell the truth. "Speak clearly," he demanded, "what are
you?" The Great Master
replied, "I'm really, truly a freak; absolutely for sure!" Governments can't
allow strange freaks to roam the earth, and so Great Master Huike was
sentenced to a public beheading. Aii ya! This world is totally unreasonable.
The Second Buddhist Patriarch gets mistaken for weird creature! The Patriarch told
his disciples, "I must undergo this retribution. "I have
transmitted the Buddhadharma. But by the time of the Fourth Patriarch, the
Dharma will only be a name and an appearance." When he finished
speaking, he wept. He wasn't crying because he was afraid of dying. It's not
that, having been sentenced to death, he was scared and cried. The Second
Patriarch had a big temper; he feared nothing—even death. If he had been afraid to die, he would not
have claimed he was a weird creature. The Second Patriarch was a courageous
man, and so he looked death square in the eye. When he finished crying he
faced the executioner and said: "Come and kill me!" The executioner raised his ax and
swung it towards the master's neck. What do you suppose happened? You are probably
thinking, "He was a Patriarch with great spiritual power. Certainly the
blade shattered and his neck was not even scratched." No. The axe cut
off his head, and his head didn't grow back. However, instead of blood, a
milky white fluid flowed onto the chopping block. Someone says,
"Now really, that's going too far." Well, if you believe it, that
is fine. If you don't believe it, then just pass it off it as being too
unreasonable. However, for those of you who do believe, I can give you a
simple explanation of why blood did not flow from the Patriarch's neck: when
a sage enters the white yang realm his blood becomes white because his body
has completely transformed into yang, leaving no trace of yin. You say you
can't believe it? Of course you can't. If you could, you could become a
Second Patriarch! When the executioner
saw that the Master did not bleed, he exclaimed, "Hey! He really is a
freak! I chopped off his head, but what came out was not blood, it was this
milky white fluid. And his face looks exactly as it did when he was alive!
That proves he was strange." But when the emperor was informed, the
emperor knew. How did he know? He remembered that the Twenty-fourth Indian
Patriarch, Aryasimha, had also been beheaded and had not bled, but a white
milky fluid had poured forth. Since the Twenty-fourth Indian Patriarch had
been like that, it proved that this person's body was also entirely yang
without any yin. When the yin turns to yang, that's called the white yang
realm. How does one attain
the white yang realm? It's the result of no outflows. What doesn't flow out?
Well, it means he didn't have any ignorance. You may object, "But you
just said that Great Master Huike had great anger. Since he had a temper, how
could he have been devoid of ignorance?" You are certainly more clever
than I, for I did not think of this question. But now that you have brought
it up, I've increased my awareness a bit. You should understand that when I
said Great Master Huike had a temper, I meant the temperament that stems from
great humaneness, great courage, great knowledge, and great wisdom. I wasn't
talking about petty anger like yours and mine which explodes like
firecrackers, "Pop! Pop! Pop." His anger was wisdom that enabled
him to recognize the workings of cause and effect so that he never did
anything against principle.
Since you asked, I must explain: Great humaneness, great knowledge,
great courage, and great wisdom--that's what his temper was made of! Realizing that the
man he had executed was a Bodhisattva in the flesh, the emperor felt deeply
repentant. "A true Bodhisattva came to our country," he said,
"and instead of offering him protection, we kill him." Then, with
utmost shame and remorse, the emperor had all the officials take refuge with
this weird creature. Thus, even though the Second Patriarch was already dead,
he still accepted this group of disciples. The general biography of the
Second Patriarch Shenguang ends here.
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