The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma (English and Chinese Edition): Bodhidharma, Pine, Red: 9780865473997: Books: Amazon.com
The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma (English and Chinese Edition) Paperback – November 1, 1989
Chinese Edition by Bodhidharma (Author), Red Pine (Translator)
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A fifth-century Indian Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma is credited with bringing Zen to China. Although the tradition that traces its ancestry back to him did not flourish until nearly two hundred years after his death, today millions of Zen Buddhists and students of kung fu claim him as their spiritual father.
While others viewed Zen practice as a purification of the mind or a stage on the way to perfect enlightenment, Bodhidharma equated Zen with buddhahood and believed that it had a place in everyday life. Instead of telling his disciples to purify their minds, he pointed them to rock walls, to the movements of tigers and cranes, to a hollow reed floating across the Yangtze.
This bilingual edition, the only volume of the great teacher's work currently available in English, presents four teachings in their entirety. "Outline of Practice" describes the four all-inclusive habits that lead to enlightenment, the "Bloodstream Sermon" exhorts students to seek the Buddha by seeing their own nature, the "Wake-up Sermon" defends his premise that the most essential method for reaching enlightenment is beholding the mind. The original Chinese text, presented on facing pages, is taken from a Ch'ing dynasty woodblock edition.
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About the Author
Bodhidharma (c. early fifth century CE) was the Buddhist monk traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chán to China.
Red Pine lives and work in Taiwan. He is the translator of The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain andof The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Zen Teaching of BodhidharmaBy Bodhidharma
North Point PressCopyright © 1989 Bodhidharma
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780865473997
The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma
Outline of PracticeMANY roads lead to the Path,1 but basically there are only two: reason and practice. To enter by reason means to realize the essence through instruction and to believe that all living things share the same true nature, which isn't apparent because it's shrouded by sensation and delusion. Those who turn from delusion back to reality, who meditate on walls,2 the absence of self and other, the oneness of mortal and sage, and who remain unmoved even by scriptures are in complete and unspoken agreement with reason. Without moving, without effort, they enter, we say, by reason.To enter by practice refers to four all-inclusive practices:3 suffering injustice, adapting to conditions, seeking nothing, and practicing the Dharma.First, suffering injustice. When those who search for the Path encounter adversity, they should think to themselves, "In countless ages gone by, I've turned from the essential to the trivial and wandered through all manner of existence, often angry without cause and guilty of numberless transgressions. Now, though I do no wrong, I'm punished by my past. Neither gods nor men can foresee when an evil deed will bear its fruit. I accept it with an open heart and without complaint of injustice." The sutras say, "When you meet with adversity don't be upset, because it makes sense." With such understanding you're in harmony with reason. And by suffering injustice you enter the Path.Second, adapting to conditions. As mortals, we're ruled by conditions, not by ourselves. All the suffering and joy we experience depend on conditions. If we should be blessed by some great reward, such as fame or fortune, it's the fruit of a seed planted by us in the past. When conditions change, it ends. Why delight in its existence? But while success and failure depend on conditions, the mind neither waxes nor wanes. Those who remain unmoved by the wind of joy silently follow the Path.Third, seeking nothing. People of this world are deluded. They're always longing for something--always, in a word, seeking. But the wise wake up. They choose reason over custom. They fix their minds on the sublime and let their bodies change with the seasons. All phenomena are empty. They contain nothing worth desiring. Calamity forever alternates with Prosperity.4 To dwell in the three realms5 is to dwell in a burning house. To have a body is to suffer. Does anyone with a body know peace? Those who understand this detach themselves from all that exists and stop imagining or seeking anything. The sutras say, "To seek is to suffer.To seek nothing is bliss." When you seek nothing, you're on the Path.Fourth, practicing the Dharma.6 The Dharma is the truth that all natures are pure. By this truth, all appearances are empty. Defilement and attachment, subject and object don't exist. The sutras say, "The Dharma includes no being because it's free from the impurity of being, and the Dharma includes no self because it's free from the impurity of self." Those wise enough to believe and understand this truth are bound to practice according to the Dharma. And since that which is real includes nothing worth begrudging, they give their body, life, and property in charity, without regret, without the vanity of giver, gift, or recipient, and without bias or attachment. And to eliminate impurity they teach others, but without becoming attached to form. Thus, through their own practice they're able to help others and glorify the Way of Enlightenment. And as with charity, they also practice the other virtues. But while practicing the six virtues7 to eliminate delusion, they practice nothing at all. This is what's meant by practicing the Dharma.Copyright © 1987 by Red Pine
Continues...
Excerpted fromThe Zen Teaching of BodhidharmabyBodhidharmaCopyright © 1989 by Bodhidharma. Excerpted by permission.
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Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Product details
Publisher : North Point Press; Bilingual edition (November 1, 1989)
Language : English, Chinese
Paperback : 144 pages
Red Pine
Bill Porter (aka "Red Pine") is widely recognized as one of the world's preeminent translators of Chinese poetry and religious texts; he assumes the pen name "Red Pine" for his translations.
Bill Porter was born in Los Angeles in 1943 and grew up in the Idaho panhandle. He served a tour of duty in the U.S. Army (1964-67), graduated from the University of California with a degree in anthropology in 1970, and attended graduate school at Columbia University. Uninspired by the prospect of an academic career, he dropped out of Columbia and moved in 1972 to a Buddhist monastery in Taiwan. After four years with the monks and nuns, he struck out on his own and eventually found work at English-language radio stations in Taiwan and Hong Kong, where he produced over one thousand programs about his travels in China. In 1993 he returned to America with his family and has lived ever since near Seattle, Washington.
Writing as Bill Porter, he is the author of several travelogues, including Road to Heaven, which focuses on his interactions with Taoist hermits in the mountains of China; Zen Baggage; and his Guggenheim project, Finding Them Gone: Visiting China's Poets of the Past.
Writing as Red Pine, he was the first translator to ever translate the entirety of Han-shan's oeurve into English, published as The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain. Red Pine was also the first to translate into English the entirely of The Poems of the Masters. He has also translated several of the major Buddhist sutras, including the Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, and Platform Sutra.
4.8 out of 5 stars
Biloba
5.0 out of 5 stars Constant CompanionReviewed in the United States on October 3, 2018
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Given that the teachings of the Lankavatara Sutra were the only words of interest to Bodhidharma.. and these are the teachings of Bodhidharma following a lifetime of study.. this book is of great value to anyone looking for either a companion piece to the Sutra, or a stand-alone nicely packaged summary. The Sutra is obviously a wordy epic that some find off-putting [distracting] and may not translate well to some minds.. this is the bare bones gist, and is how I prefer my teachings. This in combination with the Zen teachings of Huang Po could easily be the only text you need. I have recommended this book several times to several people.. and is always at the top of my list, it is in my hands numerous times a day [nearly memorized], I only wish it came in a more sturdy hardcover.
*There aren't many available.. but if you can find an original copy [hand bound soft cover] get it! It is lovely, feels great, double folded pages that are hand stitched! I have purchased numerous copies to give away, sorry about the now limited supply :)
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Jake Kosinski
5.0 out of 5 stars Pure ZenReviewed in the United States on September 17, 2015
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Not even many Buddhists read this thing. A shame as it is one of the classics of world religious literature! Stop looking outside your own mind for the Buddha! Very easy to read. If you were totally bewildered by the Lotus/Heart Sutras, and a bit tired of the craziness of the Hindu scriptures, this austere little book may be just what you're looking for.
19 people found this helpful
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Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to understand translationReviewed in the United States on August 19, 2020
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I'm no expert, but it seems like a great translation. Fairly short book but I will be returning to some passages as well as full re-readings. It's the essentials of Zen Buddhism, seems like a lot of overlap with Taoist principles. Read this book to learn about Emptiness and the true meaning of buddha!
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Luis Alvarez
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly reccomendedReviewed in the United States on September 26, 2019
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Excellent read
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Peter Steven
5.0 out of 5 stars The Zen Teaching of BodhidharmaReviewed in the United States on July 30, 2010
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Essential reading of Zen and the practice of Zen. The perpective has practical informative offerings to the student or for those on the path. Illuminating and clear. Right from the first chapter I found this book engrossing. A joy to read. A must have zen offering.
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Juan
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect little bookReviewed in the United States on February 21, 2013
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A book for knowing the teachings of Bodhidharma. It is very well translated and it contains the original Chinese tablets printed on it.
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JP_DRAGON
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States on December 6, 2015
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GREAT BOOK !!!
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S. Vadya
5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK !!!Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2019
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for the Greatest Zen Master. if you like or follow the zen path you must buy this book. Thank you
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Tariki
5.0 out of 5 stars It has to be fiveReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 18, 2021
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Yes five stars. The "Outline of Practice", one of the four sermons found here, is readily available in many another place - some cheaper than others. So many books now on zen by masters with strange sounding names, just as Jim Smith must sound strange to many born in Asia. Of course, some of the names are assumed and hide the identity of a Bob or a Tom. But best to sound exotic these days. Anyway, most of the books don't come cheap. This one on Kindle is relatively so but then you must put up with some strange gaps after every inverted comma, as in can' t or don' t or it' s.
Red Pine here does a good job. Nice picture of Bodhidharma, I assume as he stares at a wall. Maybe not.
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Albert
5.0 out of 5 stars RecommendedReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2019
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Worth reading if you like Zen. I do not know how historically accurate its claim of being by Bodhidharma, but anyway the Zen philosophy in it is valuable.
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MR N CARESWELL
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential to your understanding of Ch'an.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2022
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Everything Red Pine touches is golden. I love this book, there is profundity on every page.
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Mr. D. J. Seymour
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2016
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Great translation really brings home a true masters teaching
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frp
5.0 out of 5 stars A Zen PrimerReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2019
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As for the third vow (to study all the dharmas) I've read books wide and large,in Buddhism.This book is the essential book of Zen Buddhism teaching and is teached by The first Patriarch.From this you can understand how the Five Houses were created.
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===
The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma
by Bodhidharma, Red Pine (Translator)
4.34 · Rating details · 1,636 ratings · 80 reviews
A fifth-century Indian Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma is credited with bringing Zen to China. Although the tradition that traces its ancestry back to him did not flourish until nearly two hundred years after his death, today millions of Zen Buddhists and students of kung fu claim him as their spiritual father.
While others viewed Zen practice as a purification of the mind or a stage on the way to perfect enlightenment, Bodhidharma equated Zen with buddhahood and believed that it had a place in everyday life. Instead of telling his disciples to purify their minds, he pointed them to rock walls, to the movements of tigers and cranes, to a hollow reed floating across the Yangtze.
This bilingual edition, the only volume of the great teacher's work currently available in English, presents four teachings in their entirety. "Outline of Practice" describes the four all-inclusive habits that lead to enlightenment, the "Bloodstream Sermon" exhorts students to seek the Buddha by seeing their own nature, the "Wake-up Sermon" defends his premise that the most essential method for reaching enlightenment is beholding the mind. The original Chinese text, presented on facing pages, is taken from a Ch'ing dynasty woodblock edition. (less)
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what are the tricks that were told by bodidharma?
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Giacomo Mantani It is not a step-by-step or how-to guide to Zen. It is a philosophical text that require thinking and meditate on Bodhidharma thoughts. A key concept …more
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muthuvel
Sep 01, 2020muthuvel rated it it was amazing
Shelves: spiritual-stuffs
One primary thing to remember reading any religious or spiritual philosophies atleast from the antiquities is that there's this susceptibility of a lot of symbolisms involved. They are not meant to be read and interpreted literally but poetically and symbolically.
Religion is basically a misunderstood poetry when interpreted with reason, Joseph Campbell says so. If we see it as it is, insights could be reaped for the individuals. The kind of insights that could never be revealed from the rational positivist world. And yes, this was a meditating read.
_____
"Buddha is Sanskrit for what you call aware, miraculously aware. Responding, perceiving, arching your brows, blinking your eyes, moving your hands and feet, it’s all your miraculously aware nature."
"The Way is basically perfect. It doesn’t require perfecting. The Way has no form or sound. It’s subtle and hard to perceive. It’s like when you drink water: you know how hot or cold it is, but you can’t tell others."
"Using the mind to look for reality is delusion. Not using the mind to look for reality is awareness. Freeing oneself from words is liberation. Remaining unblemished by the dust of sensation is guarding the Dharma. Transcending life and death is leaving home."
"If you use a trap to catch fish, once you succeed you can forget the trap. And if you use language to find meaning, once you find it you can forget language." (less)
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Mista
Nov 20, 2008Mista rated it it was amazing
"IT" cannot be stated clearer... (less)
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Maddie
Nov 04, 2012Maddie rated it it was amazing
Shelves: excellent-read
Excellent clear interpretation of the dharma - "one mind" as transmitted by Gautama the Buddha, Red Pine does an awesome job recounting the the history, myth and legend surrounding the mystical figure of Bodhidharma. Straight forward and very easily understood, the "precepts" are powerful and profound - cuts straight to the heart of Buddhism. It dispels Buddhist "Idol worship" ceremonies, mystique, traditions like a great cliff notes should. No offense, but Catholics could use a dude like this to shake the cobwebs off a dying religion, make Christianity relevant once more... Christ' original pure message of LOVE and SALVATION through the father.
Love it and highly recommended reading. Short, so you can absorb the zen/chan nourishment in one afternoon. Total fulfillment of emptiness.
(less)
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Jon Nakapalau
Sep 01, 2016Jon Nakapalau rated it it was amazing
Shelves: religion, favorites, classics
Four teachings of the founder of Zen are presented here in English for the first time. As with most foundational works I am surprised at how simple complex concepts are presented; strips Zen down to the bone. One of the best books on Buddhism I have ever read. Holds up against newer books on the subject.
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Peycho Kanev
Jan 08, 2018Peycho Kanev rated it it was amazing
MANY roads lead to the Path, but basically there are only two: reason and practice. To enter by reason means to realize the essence through instruction and to believe that all living things share the same true nature, which isn’t apparent because it’s shrouded by sensation and delusion. Those who turn from delusion back to reality, who meditate on walls, the absence of self and other, the oneness of mortal and sage, and who remain unmoved even by scriptures are in complete and unspoken agreement with reason. Without moving, without effort, they enter, we say, by reason.
To find a buddha all you have to do is see your nature. Your nature is the buddha. And the buddha is the person who’s free: free of plans, free of cares. If you don’t see your nature and run around all day looking somewhere else, you’ll never find a buddha. The truth is, there’s nothing to find.
And without effort you’ll gain possession of an infinite number of virtues, perfections, and doors to the truth. Seeing through the mundane and witnessing the sublime is less than an eye-blink away. Realization is now. Why worry about gray hair? But the true door is hidden and can’t be revealed. I have only touched upon beholding the mind. (less)
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Vanessa
May 23, 2012Vanessa rated it it was amazing
Shelves: dharma
this book is FUN! written by a 5th century Zen monk yet the tone feels very current and refreshing to me.
"Buddhas don't save buddhas. If you use your mind to look for a buddha, you won't see the buddha. As long as you look for a buddha somewhere else, you'll never see that your own mind is the buddha. Don't use a buddha to worship a buddha. And don't use the mind to invoke a buddha. Buddhas don't recite sutras. Buddhas don't keep precepts. And buddhas don't break precepts. Buddhas don't keep or break anything. Buddhas don't do good or evil."
like a riddle or tongue twister reading aloud the simple and profound message comes through the playful writing. a reminder to come down to earth from the intellectual, esoteric and ritualized aspects of Buddhism to its heart of self-awareness...points the way clearly by telling you everywhere to Not look and to not get seduced by cultural trappings and idolizing. a good reality check and doorway into the mind's true state. the at times angry tone towards the deluded is humorous...
"A buddha is an idle person. He doesn't run around after fortune and fame. What good are such things in the end? People who don't see their nature and think reading sutras, invoking buddhas, studying long and hard, practicing morning and night, never lying down, or acquiring knowledge is the Dharma, blaspheme the Dharma. Buddhas of the past and future only talk about seeing your nature. All practices are impermanent. Unless they see their nature, people who claim to have attained unexcelled complete enlightenment are liars."
"Arhats don't know the Buddha. All trapped by cause and effect. Such is a mortal's karma: no escape from birth and death. By doing the opposite of what he intended, such people blaspheme the Buddha. Killing them would not be wrong." (!!!!)
"The stupa is your body and mind. When your awareness circles your body and mind without stopping, this is called walking around a stupa. The sages of long ago followed this path to nirvana. But people today don't understand what this means. Instead of looking inside they insist on looking outside. They use their material bodies to walk around material stupas. And they keep at it day and night, wearing themselves out in vain and coming no closer to their real self." (less)
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Achint Kumar
Jun 28, 2017Achint Kumar rated it it was amazing
This book deals mostly with the mind,delusion,karma etc.Book is very small and each sentence is meaningful.Not a single sentence is without a purpose.Some paragraph was not easy to understand for me.Still i am feeling delighted after reading this book.
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Serdar
Jun 17, 2017Serdar rated it really liked it
A short book, but a tremendously useful one. One commonly misunderstood aspect of Buddhism is how it used elements of the Brahmanic belief systems in a metaphorical way, not a literal way. One of the texts in this book explicitly spells that out, and shows this was a tradition that accompanied Zen Buddhism from its early days in China. The translation is also highly readable.
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Chris
Aug 29, 2014Chris rated it it was amazing
Shelves: eastern-philosophy, religion
The book started off with a description of the four noble truths. While the Bodhidharma is kind of severe through his teachings, I enjoyed how he broke the Buddha's metaphors down. I remember an instructor once saying that by cleaning the house you are at the same time polishing your soul. As if the physical things we do can improve our spiritual growth. The Bodhidarma kind of puts the metaphor into the context of a spiritual teaching not to be taken literally.
The mind is the Buddha.
This is a good thought. It reminds me of the quote by Emerson, "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." That is to say it's pointless to look for enlightenment outside of your own mind. It reminds me of the Upanishads that said we are already enlightened. The Bodhidarma teaches that it is our desire, anger, and delusion that keep us from realizing that fact. If the mind is an ocean, the Buddha is a fish in the ocean. As a fisherman catches the fish from the ocean, he no longer needs the ocean. How can you get to the point of catching the fish? By cultivating virtue, believing in the Mahayana, contemplation of body and mind, "severing the bonds of ignorance", and lastly always being aware. (less)
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ordanJ
Jun 26, 2019ordanJ added it
Bodhidharma was an Indian man who lived in India and China around the year 400.
Dude seemed a bit cryptic, but I like where he's going with it. Here are some passages from the book:
"When you don't understand, you're wrong. When you understand, you're not wrong. This is because the nature of wrong is empty. When you don't understand, right seems wrong. When you understand, wrong isn't wrong, because wrong doesn't exist. The sutras say, "Nothing has a nature of its own." Act. Don't question. When you question, you're wrong. Wrong is the result of questioning."
...
"When you understand, reality depends on you. When you don't understand, you depend on reality. When reality depends on you, that which isn't real becomes real. When you depend on reality, that which is real becomes false. When you depend on reality, everything is false. When reality depends on you, everything is true."
...
"True vision isn't just seeing seeing. It's also seeing not seeing. And true understanding isn't just understanding understanding. It's also understanding not understanding. If you understand anything, you don't understand. Only when you understand nothing is it true understanding. Understanding is neither understanding nor not understanding."
My closing thoughts:
- I don't understand (less)
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Darjeeling
Apr 27, 2016Darjeeling rated it really liked it
These are the writings of the man credited with the founding of the first Shaolin Temple, and the invention of Zen Buddhism. By all accounts this dude was mad as a bucket of fish but it certainly makes an interesting read for anyone curious about the worlds religions. Miracles attributed to him include coming back from the dead and using a single twig as a boat.
From the "Bloodstream Sermon"
'Arhats don’t know the Buddha. All they know are so many practices for realization, and they become trapped by cause and effect. Such is a mortal’s karma: no escape from birth and death. By doing the opposite of what lie intended, Such people blaspheme the Buddha. Killing them would not be wrong. The sutras say, "Since icchantikas(deluded ones) are incapable of belief, killing them would be blameless, whereas people who believe reach the state of Buddhahood."'
This is the only text I know of in the entirety of Buddhist literature that encourages this kind of behavior, and the bible and koran contain such proclamations with alarming frequency, but this single passage has probably caused a great deal of harm. I would also recommend Zen at War by Brian Daizen Victoria. (less)
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Claire
Apr 16, 2016Claire rated it it was amazing
I have so much difficulty not absolutely adoring bilingual texts. (Then again, I absolutely adore what seems like most human records, come to think of it.) I find it so pleasing to identify the characters for whatever with the hint of the English translation on the other side. This is the first reason I particularly appreciated this book.
Then the other, perhaps more important reason, regards what was actually being translated between the two tongues. It seems the dominant language of the text is Red Pine's English, as the endnotes are in English. Anyway, what it was is Zen Buddhism, which is an important philosophy to embrace. I found it so helpful to have the hànzì on the left clarify what the dense blabber on the right was trying to say.
干杯! (Cheers!) ...which is gānbēi, yes. *off now* (less)
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Tim
Jan 31, 2008Tim rated it it was amazing
As a Christian maybe I shouldn’t be recommending this book, but it’s probably the best Buddhist book I’ve read (and there was a time when I read a lot of them), and one of the better books I’ve read in general. Talk about the diamond that cuts through illusion – the Diamond Sutra doesn’t really cut the way this book does. It’s pretty powerful, straight-ahead stuff. Incidentally, I once read that part of this book was a source for a section of TS Eliot’s The Waste Land, but that’s a fuzzy old memory. (less)
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Scott
Oct 03, 2016Scott rated it liked it
The format here is English text with the Chinese of which it's a translation on the facing pages.
So if you're working on learning to read Chinese, this could be a help. I'm not learning Chinese
so the main result for me was that it boosts the page count to that of a short book from what otherwise
would be a ridiculously short book, coming in at about 60 pages.
Even so, this seems overly long for a doctrine that claims to go beyond scriptures. As Zen writing
goes, this one doesn't stand out from the crowd much. (less)
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John
Oct 18, 2007John rated it it was amazing
This is an especially awesome, extremely short, tersely-written book. Rereading it now, I think about the first time I read it, at work in the parking lot, a night that it was raining. Sitting in the booth, watching the reflection of the streetlight in a puddle by the speed bump, seeing the image disturbed by raindrops.
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Jason Gregory
Oct 23, 2016Jason Gregory rated it it was amazing
In this short but crystal clear translation of Bodhidharma, Red Pine takes you on the old Zen masters journey from India to China where he began to teach the dharma. This book is full of profound insights into the nature of Zen through the mind of Bodhidharma. It is one of those books you could finish in an afternoon but contemplate for a lifetime.
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Stephen McDonough
Aug 27, 2012Stephen McDonough rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorite-books
You will need to have a basic to intermediate understanding of Zen Buddhism to catch on. Until I studied Buddhism, Zen Buddhism and it's historical foundations, I could not understand nor fully appreciate the Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma. (less)
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Catie
Jul 06, 2014Catie rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites
"Seeing through the mundane and witnessing the sublime is less than an eye-blink away. Realization is now." (less)
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Algernon
Apr 03, 2015Algernon rated it really liked it
Shelves: buddhism, zen
Red Pine (Bill Porter), author of Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits and a celebrated translator of Buddhist poetry and scripture, gives us a spirited translation of four talks attributed to Bodhidharma even though debates over authorship, and even the existence of Bodhidharma as more than a legend, have not rested.
Bodhidharma's "Outline of Practice" outlines the dharma as this Brahman-born monk taught it in China after being sent there by his teacher, Prajnatara. A confusing distinction made in these talks, especially the "Outline," has to do with what Bodhidharma calls "reason" (again, in this translation) and meditation practice. They are presented as two avenues to "zen," but the definitions make it hard to distinguish them. Throughout, there is an inside/outside (or mind/body) kind of thinking which may be expedient thinking for the sake of his students, or his own enduring mind-habit.
Otherwise, his teaching is very clear: attain your true self, attain what the Heart Sutra is talking about; and at that point, what is there to do? Realizing the paramitas without a trace of actor or action, the student can use form with a clear mind and help others.
In the "Bloodstream Sermon," there are questions and answers, as Bodhidharma teaches and occasionally spars with monks in China (at a time when Buddhism in China was heavily philosophical). Bodhidharma is able to turn cognitive understanding on its ear and make it point these sleepy students to "just doing it." If you do not find your true self, he says, all invocations, offerings and precepts are useless. "The thousands of sutras and shastras only amount to a clear mind."
With the "Breakthrough Sermon," the conceptualizing gets pretty convoluted. Dharma speeches are like acupuncture needles, and what may have pointed directly 1,500 years ago sounds mysterious. This talk refers to the Nirvana Sutra and the Sutra of the Ten Stages, which were revolutionizing Buddhism in China.
It is interesting to watch how Bodhidharma intercepts questions which are often reverently Buddhist and spin them around to the three poisons (anger, greed, delusion) and our need to practice just now. And yet one might wonder that even as he criticizes external devotions, he seems to be making something special about "inner" work and enlightenment. Is there such thing as practice without inside and outside? (less)
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Giacomo Mantani
Oct 01, 2017Giacomo Mantani rated it it was amazing
Shelves: kindle
Not an easy text as introduction to Zen teachings but definitely recommended. Like other old text, additional readings clarify concepts, inspire more and improve your understanding. You always find something to learn from them.
The teachings are essential and there are not useless words. Insights bring the reader to deeply understand sacred text and Sutra, in my humble opinion.
Often you must read carefully and you must pay attention and put lots of effort in order to get the idea.
Bodhidharma explains in the last few chapters the real meaning behind sages teachings. In order to reach enlightenment you do not focus on external practices. Sages use metaphors to facilitate beginners mind to understand the Way. Bodhidharma says that you must focus on your perceptions and your inner grow.
As others before me said, disciple must not be a repeater. He must renew the teachings and find new formulations that are right at the moment and in such new conditions. He must accomplish much more. Bodhidharma succeed on it and the reader must do the same. (less)
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Goran Powell
Dec 09, 2009Goran Powell rated it really liked it
Shelves: zen
Bodhidharma is the 6th Century Indian monk who is credited with founding Zen Buddhism and Kung Fu at the Shaolin temple. Also known as Da Mo in Chinese, and Daruma in Japanese, he is the spiritual father of countless martial artists whose systems trace their origins to Shaolin.
In this slim volume Red Pine (an American monk living in Taiwan) gives an outline of the history, myth and legend surrounding the mystical figure of Bodhidharma and translates these short, enigmatic writings attributed to him.
While others viewed Buddhism as a steady practice on the way to enlightenment, Bodhidharma’s Zen pointed directly to reality, to everyday life. Instead of telling his disciples to purify their minds, he pointed them to rock walls, to the movements of tigers and cranes, to a hollow reed floating in the Yangtze. (less)
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Ahmad A.
Feb 10, 2018Ahmad A. rated it it was amazing
Shelves: buddhism
I have attempted to read this book a couple of years ago but I couldn't make sense of it, simply because I didn't study Buddhism and its practices thoroughly. Having studied Buddhism, in addition to reading other books on Zen, re-reading this book was more enjoyable and eye-opening. This is by far the best book I have read on Chan and Zen. Bodhidharma's works are full of metaphors and references to the Sutras, which this book greatly help outline, in addition to interpreting classical Buddhist practices in a metaphorical way that points back to the basic concepts of Buddhism itself, i.e.: the 4 noble truths (Bodhidharma has his own version of these), the 3 marks of existence, the 6 sense doors, the 6 precepts and the noble eightfold path. I find this book highly recommended for anyone who wants to study Chan/Chinese Zen. (less)
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Jean
Apr 15, 2011Jean rated it really liked it
Going through this short book very, very slowly. We just spent eight weeks at my local Zen center going over *just* the Outline of Practice chapter, line by line. What does it mean to enter the path by reason (alternate translations include "principle" or "insight")? What does it mean to "suffer injustice"?
This is not a long book, and you can get through it quickly, but I found it much more gratifying to go through slowly and deliberately with a spirit of inquiry. This is likely to stay on my "currently reading" shelf for some time. (less)
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Sharon Moriarty
Oct 09, 2016Sharon Moriarty rated it it was amazing
A short book that packs a powerful punch. I would say this book is flawless! It continuously inspires me, even over a decade later. Bodhidharma was never one to waste words and the clarity, depth and succinctness of his powerful transmission is prominently evident. He illuminates, like no other. If you never picked up another book on Zen, this is the one to get. He understands abundantly the nature of mind, penetrates the world of perception and is hardly fooled by the world of appearances.
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Stephen Rafferty
Jan 13, 2008Stephen Rafferty rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Teaches the basics of Zen. Points the direction to go and is quite humble in his statements. It is a book that can be read on a superficial level or one that can be read and re read to gain deeper understanding.
It has a good glossary at the back to enlighten the reader on things such as the 5 precepts, etc.
Easy, and difficult and enjoyable to read!
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Mark
Mar 04, 2013Mark rated it it was amazing
Shelves: zen
This is one of my favorite zen books. Red Pine is a terrific translator, and Bodhidharma was the first patriarch of Zen. I read this in 2011 and reviewed it then on Epinions. A must read for students of Zen!
The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma ...more
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Matt Reese
Nov 29, 2012Matt Reese rated it it was amazing
I've told people that after reading this I don't need any more Buddhist literature. Bodhidharma has completed my Buddhist library with a single diamond clear text. It was like getting punched in the face by a log on a chain. Perfect. (less)
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Rich
Jan 06, 2013Rich rated it it was amazing
Excellent and shiningly clear. The very heart of zen - cut off all additional doctrine, dogma and mindless ritual - just see your true mind. Very much recommended for zen practitioners. Except for the bit about the icchantikas, which is shockingly dispicable (killing unbelievers is okay - wtf?!)
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Jane
Feb 26, 2009Jane rated it it was amazing
A primer on Zen. I worked for three years with a Berkeley Zen teacher interpreting this 125 page book from English/Chinese for he and his Korean students. It was a life-changing experience.
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Tchatchke
Oct 02, 2010Tchatchke rated it it was amazing
Absolutely mind blowing.
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