The real Bodhidharma Patriarch: Born as a king of India, he didn't know kung fu, and he was poisoned to death and did not live to be 150 years old. Buddhism is flourishing in China, and there is a rare pioneer behind it. He is the Bodhidharma Patriarch, a high monk from India who is regarded as the founder of Zen Buddhism. However, there are many discrepancies between his real life and later descriptions.
How much do you know about this ancient master? For example, is he a prince or a son of a nobleman? Do you really have the skills of "crossing the river with a reed"? More importantly, what is his final end? Poisoned or mysteriously missing? Let's solve the mysteries of this patriarch together!
Speaking of Bodhidharma Patriarch, everyone's impression of him may stay in the image of heroic and brave in film and television dramas. It is joked that he was born as a prince of South India, learned martial arts since he was a child, and later gave up the throne to become a monk, passed all the way, and finally founded Chinese Zen Buddhism in Songshan Shaolin Temple. But that's not the case.
In fact, Bodhidharma was not born a prince, but the son of a young prince in the South Indian royal family, whose status is equivalent to that of today's royal nobles. When he was young, he did not practice martial arts, but lived a carefree life of brocade clothes and food. Until one day, he came into contact with Buddhism by chance, became interested in it, and decided to become a monk.
After becoming a monk, Bodhidharma began to learn art and concentrate on practicing Buddhism. Because of his talent and diligence, he quickly understood the essence of Buddhism. In middle age, he had a great wish: to spread Buddhism to Aurora (China).
Bodhidharma's master did not object to this, but told him that he must wait until 67 years after his death. It turned out that it was a great time to promote Buddhism after a catastrophe in China. At the same time, the master also made a few prophecies for him, including "although the heart is auspicious, the outside is fierce", that is, Bodhidharma will encounter difficulties and dangers after going to China.
Bodhidharma obeyed his master's orders until 67 years after his death, and then took a boat to the east and arrived in Guangzhou. At that time, Emperor Wu of Liang of the Southern Dynasty was devout and seemed to be a bosom friend of Bodhidharma. However, as soon as the two met, Emperor Wu of Liang had a wrong understanding of the true meaning of Bodhidharma's Buddhism, thinking that he was "a Buddha without a Buddha in the world". Eventually, Bodhidharma had to leave the south and head north to the Songshan Shaolin Temple.
In the Shaolin Temple, Bodhidharma created a new method of Buddhism "facing the wall for nine years". It didn't take long for him to accept the mantle of a Chinese disciple, Master Shenguang. The latter traveled thousands of miles to study, and eventually became a disciple of Bodhidharma's mind.
It's a pity that Bodhidharma was poisoned in the end and died unjustly. This coincides with his master's prophecy of "the outside murderer". There is a theory that after Bodhidharma's death, the monks opened his coffin, and it was empty, except for a straw sandal, as if he was not really dead.
This anecdote also left a historical case: only to return to the West. Thinking about it carefully, the ending of Bodhidharma is too mysterious. However, compared with the statement of "poisoned", everyone seems to be more inclined to believe that the master just returned to China after "destining" with China, and the ending is more mysterious and more desirable anyway.
The life of Patriarch Bodhidharma has gradually blurred the truth with the torrent of years. All we know is that this high monk from Tianzhu spent his whole life to cross the ocean and sow Buddhism in the fertile soil of China. Today, Chinese Buddhism is what it is today, and its roots are rooted in his ambition and ambition.
Even though Bodhidharma's true life is shrouded in mythology, his achievements in pioneering Zen Buddhism and spreading Buddhism are real. His influence on later generations of Chinese Buddhism was enough to immortalize this patriarch. Bodhidharma's life is full of mysteries, and perhaps it is this sense of mystery that has made his legend endure and become a classic of Buddhism through the ages.