Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings Read Online Free PDF

existence such as humans, bodhisattvas, and gods, to help beings in the lower realms of existence such as hungry ghosts, hell-dwellers, and animals—and even demons. This ceremony is still performed in Buddhist temples throughout China every year. Emperor Wu himself authored much of the liturgy used in these ceremonies, and eminent Buddhist monks of his day organized and carried them out with Emperor Wu’s participation. According to legend, Emperor Wu’s wife thereupon escaped from her rebirth as a snake, and Emperor Wu devotion to Buddhism became ever stronger in the years that followed.
    Early in Emperor Wu’s rule (502–549 C.E.) he embraced vegetarianism, began to practice celibacy, and studied Buddhist scriptures in depth. In the year 519, at a ceremony in the Flowered Woods Garden at the rear of his palace complex, he formally took the vows of a Buddhist monk and gave up his position as emperor. Soon, however, the country’s aristocracy paid a “ransom” to make him return to his position leading the country. In total, Emperor Wu formally became a “home-leaver” (as Buddhist renunciants are called) four times during his long reign, but returned to become emperor after a short period on each occasion.
    Emperor Wu built or refurbished hundreds of Buddhism temples in his empire. Around his capital, now the city of Nanjing, he constructed temples that honored his late parents, plus a large number of other new temples and monasteries. One temple built to honor his father sat perched on the peak of nearby Bell Mountain, and required extensive resources for its construction and the maintenance of the large number of monks that resided there. Emperor Wu continued this building campaign for decades and consumed a large amount of the country’s wealth for this purpose.
    Through his devotion to the study and expounding of Buddhist scriptures and doctrine, Emperor Wu spent much time that might otherwise have been spent governing the country. Old records indicate he slept on a simple mat in a plain room inside his palace, where he spent long hours studying Buddhist texts and composing his own commentaries on their contents. He built ordination platforms where members of the aristocracy, along with the general public, together received the bodhisattva precepts in vast public assemblies. He devotedly studied the Prajnaparamita Sutra, and paid special attention to the Lotus and Nirvana sutras, among others.
    Bearing in mind the great chasm in the Buddhist beliefs and practices between Bodhidharma and Emperor Wu, what follows is the standard account of their meeting in the Compendium of Five Lamps :

    After sailing for three years, [Bodhidharma] arrived at Nanhai [Guangzhou]. The date was the twenty-first day of the ninth [lunar] month of [the year 527]. The governor of Guangzhou, [named] Xiao Angju received him ceremoniously and made his arrival known to Emperor Wu. When the emperor learned of this report, he dispatched an invitation [for Bodhidharma to come to the capital Nanjing]. [On the first day of the tenth lunar month of 528] Bodhidharma arrived in Nanjing.
    The emperor spoke to him as follows: “Since I’ve assumed the throne I’ve built temples and written [about] scriptures, plus I’ve brought about the ordination of an incalculable number of monks. What merit does this [activity] have?”
    Bodhidharma replied, “No merit whatsoever.”
    The emperor then asked, “Why does this have no merit?”
    Bodhidharma said, “These are matters of small consequence in the affairs of men and gods that are caused by transgressions [literally, outflows ]. It’s like shadows chasing form, nothing real about it [literally, although it’s there it’s not real ].”
    The emperor then asked, “What is genuine merit?”
    Bodhidharma said, “Pure wisdom of sublime perfection, experiencing one’s [personal] solitary emptiness, seeking nothing in the world.”
    The emperor then asked, “What is the first principle of the