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The Religion of the Samurai

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[FN#18] The following is the list of the names of the twenty-eight
patriarchs:

1. Mahakacyapa.
2. Ananda.
3. Canavasu.
4. Upagupta.
5. Dhrtaka.
6. Micchaka.
7. Vasumitra.
8. Buddhanandi.
9. Buddhamitra.
10. Parcva.
11. Punyayacas.
12. Acvaghosa.
13. Kapimala.
14. Nagarjuna.
15. Kanadeva.
16. Rahulata.
17. Samghanandi.
18. Samghayacas.
19. Kumarata.
20. Jayata.
21. Vasubandhu.
22. Manura.
23. Haklanayacas.
24. Simha.
25. Vacasuta.
26. Punyamitra.
27. Prajnyatara.
28. Bodhidharma.

The first twenty-three patriarchs are exactly the same as those given
in 'The Sutra on the Nidana of transmitting Dharmapitaka,' translated
in A.D. 472. King Teh Chwen Tang Iuh (Kei-toku-den-to-roku), a
famous Zen history of China, gives two elaborate narratives about the
transmission of Right Dharma from teacher to disciple through these
twenty-eight patriarchs, to be trusted without hesitation. It would
not be difficult for any scholar of sense to find these statements
were made from the same motive as that of the anonymous author who
gives a short life, in Dirghagama-sutra, of each of the six Buddhas,
the predecessors of Shakya Muni, if he carefully compare the list
given above with the lists of the patriarchs of the Sarvastivada
school given by San Yin (So-yu died A.D. 518) in his Chuh San Tsung
Ki (Shutsu-san zo-ki).

[FN#19] One of the founders of Mahayana Buddhism, who flourished in
the first century A.D. There exists a life of his translated into
Chinese by Kumarajiva in A.D. 401-409. The most important of his
works are: Mahayanacraddhotpada-castra, Mahalankara-sutra-castra,
Buddha-caritakavya.

[FN#20] The founder of the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism,
who lived in the second century A.D. A life of his was translated
into Chinese by Kumarajiva in A.D. 401-409. Twenty-four books are
ascribed to him, of which Mahaprajñaparamita-castra, Madhyamika-castra,
Prajnyadipa-castra, Dvadacanikaya-castra, Astadacakaca-castra, are
well known.

[FN#21] Sometimes called Aryadeva, a successor of Nagarjuna. A life
of his was translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva in A.D. 401-409.
The following are his important works: Cata-castra, 'Castra by the
Bodhisattva Deva on the refutation of four heretical Hinayana schools
mentioned in the Lankatvatara-sutra'; 'Castra by the Bodhisattva Deva
on the explanation of the Nirvana by twenty Hinayana teachers
mentioned in the Lankavatara-sutra.'

[FN#22] A younger brother of Asamga, a famous Mahayanist of the
fifth century A.D. There are thirty-six works ascribed to
Vasubandhu, of which Dacabhumika-castra, Aparimitayus-sutra-castra,
Mahapari-nirvana-sutra-castra, Mahayana-catadharmavidyadvara-castra,
Vidya-matrasiddhi-tridaca-castra, Bodhicittopadana-castra,
Buddha-gotra-castra, Vidyamatrasiddhivincatigatha-castra,
Madhyantavibhaga-castra, Abhidharma-koca-castra, Tarka-castra, etc.,
are well known.



2. 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).



3. Bodhidharma and the Emperor Wu.

No sooner had Bodhidharma landed at Kwang Cheu in Southern China than
he was invited by the Emperor[FN#24] Wu, who was an enthusiastic
Buddhist and good scholar, to proceed to his capital of Chin Liang.
When he was received in audience, His Majesty asked him: "We have
built temples, copied holy scriptures, ordered monks and nuns to be
converted. Is there any merit, Reverend Sir, in our conduct?" The
royal host, in all probability, expected a smooth, flattering answer
from the lips of his new guest, extolling his virtues, and promising
him heavenly rewards, but the Blue-eyed Brahmin bluntly answered: "No
merit at all."
This unexpected reply must have put the Emperor to shame and doubt in
no small degree, who was informed simply of the doctrines of the
orthodox Buddhist sects. 'Why not,' he might have thought within
himself, 'why all this is futile? By what authority does he declare
all this meritless? What holy text can be quoted to justify his
assertion? What is his view in reference to the different doctrines
taught by Shakya Muni? What does he hold as the first principle of
Buddhism?' Thus thinking, he inquired: "What is the holy truth, or
the first principle?" The answer was no less astonishing: "That
principle transcends all. There is nothing holy."


[FN#24] The Emperor Wu (Bu-Tei) of the Liang dynasty, whose reign
was A.D. 502-549.]


The crowned creature was completely at a loss to see what the teacher
meant. Perhaps he might have thought: 'Why is nothing holy? Are
there not holy men, Holy Truths, Holy Paths stated in the scriptures?
Is he himself not one of the holy men?' "Then who is that confronts
us?" asked the monarch again. "I know not, your majesty," was the
laconic reply of Bodhidharma, who now saw that his new faith was
beyond the understanding of the Emperor.

The elephant can hardly keep company with rabbits. The petty
orthodoxy can by no means keep pace with the elephantine stride of
Zen. No wonder that Bodhidharma left not only the palace of the
Emperor Wu, but also the State of Liang, and went to the State of
Northern Wei.[FN#25] There he spent nine years in the Shao
Lin[FN#26] Monastery, mostly sitting silent in meditation with his
face to the wall, and earned for himself the appellation of 'the
wall-gazing Brahmin.' This name itself suggests that the
significance of his mission was not appreciated by his
contemporaries. But neither he was nor they were to blame, because
the lion's importance is appreciated only by the lion. A great
personage is no less great because of his unpopularity among his
fellow men, just as the great Pang[FN#27] is no less great because of
his unpopularity among the winged creatures. Bodhidharma was not
popular to the degree that he was envied by his contemporary
Buddhists, who, as we are told by his biographers, attempted to
poison him three times,[FN#28] but without success.


[FN#25] Northern Gi dynasty (A.D. 386-534).

[FN#26] Sho-rin-ji, erected by the Emperor Hiao Ming of Northern Wei
A.D. 497.

[FN#27] Chwang-tsz in his famous parable compares a great sage with
the Pang, an imaginary bird of enormous size, with its wings of
ninety thousand miles. The bird is laughed at by wrens and sparrows
because of its excessive size.

[FN#28] This reminds us of Nan Yoh Hwui Sz (Nan-gaku-e-shi, died
A.D. 577), who is said to have learned Zen under Bodhidharma. He says
in his statement of a vow that he was poisoned three times by those
who envied him.



4. Bodhidharma and his Successor the Second Patriarch.

China was not, however, an uncultivated[FN#29] land for the seed of
Zen--nay, there had been many practisers of Zen before Bodhidharma.


[FN#29] The translation of Hinayana Zen sutras first paved the way
for our faith. Fourteen Zen sutras, including such important books
as Mahanapanadhyana-sutra, Dhyanacarya-dharmasanyjnya-sutra,
Dhyanacarya-saptatrimcadvarga-sutra, were translated by Ngan Shi Kao
(An-sei-ko) as early as A.D. 148-170. Cullamargabhumi-sutra was
translated by K' Yao (Shi-yo) in A.D. 185; Dharmatara-dhyana-sutra by
Buddhabhadra in A.D. 398-421;
Dhyananisthitasamadhi-dharma-parygya-sutra by Kumarajiva in A.D. 402;
'An Abridged Law on the Importance of Meditation' by Kumarajiva in
A.D. 405; Pancadvara-dhyanasutra-maharthadharma by Dharmamitra in
A.D. 424-441. Furthermore, Mahayana books closely related to the
doctrine of Zen were not unknown to China before Bodhidharma.
Pratyutpanna-buddhasammukhavasthita-samadhi was translated by K' Leu
Cia Chan (Shi-ru-ga-sen) in A.D. 164-186; Vimalakirttinirdeca-sutra,
which is much used in Zen, by Kumarajiva in A.D. 384-412;
Lankavatara-sutra, which is said to have been pointed out by
Bodhidharma as the best explanation of Zen, by Gunabhadra in A.D.
433; Saddharma-pundarika-sutra, in its complete form, by Kumarajiva
in A.D. 406; Avatamsaka-sutra by Buddhabhadra in A.D. 418;
Mahaparinirvana-sutra by Dharmaraksa in A.D. 423.

If we are not mistaken, Kumarajiva, who came to China A.D. 384, made
a valuable contribution towards the foundation of Zen in that
country, not merely through his translation of Zen sutras above
mentioned, but by the education of his disciples, such as Sang Chao
(So-jo, died A.D. 414), Sang Shang (So-sho, whose writings
undoubtedly influenced later Zen teachers. A more important
personage in the history of Zen previous to the Blue-eyed Brahmin is
Buddhabhadra, a well-known Zen master, who came over to China A.D.
406. His translation of Dharmatara-dhyana-sutra (which is said to
have been preached by Bodhidharma himself when he was in India) and
that of Avatamsaka-sutra may be said without exaggeration to have
laid the corner-stone for Zen. He gave a course of lectures on the
Zen sutra for the first time in China in A.D. 413, and it was through
his instruction that many native practisers of Zen were produced, of
whom Chi Yen (Chi-gon) and Huen Kao (Gen-ko) are well known. In
these days Zen should have been in the ascendant in India, because
almost all Indian scholars-at least those known to us-were called Zen
teachers-for instance, Buddhabhadra, Buddhasena, Dharmadhi, and some
others were all Zen scholars.

Chinese Buddhist scholars did no less than Indian teachers toward the
uprising of Zen. The foremost among them is Hwui Yuen (E-on, died
A.D. 414), who practised Zen by the instruction of Buddhabhadra. He
founded the Society of the White Lotus, which comprised eighteen
eminent scholars of the age among its members, for the purpose of
practising Meditation and of adoring Buddha Amitabha. We must not
forget that during the Western and the Eastern Tsin (Shin) dynasties
(A.D. 265-420) both Taoism and Buddhism grew prosperous to no small
extent. And China produced, on the one hand, Taoists of an eccentric
type, such as the Seven Wise Men of the Bamboo Forest, while she gave
birth to many recluse-like men of letters, such as Tao Yuen Ming
(To-yen-mei, died A.D. 427) and some others on the other. Besides
there were some scholars who studied Buddhism in connection with
Taoism and Confucianism, and led a secluded life. To the last class
of scholars belonged Chwen Hih (Hu dai shi), known as Chwen the
Great. He is said to have been accustomed to wear a Confucianist
hat, a Buddhist robe, and Taoist shoes. It was in A.D. 534 that he
presented a memorial to the Emperor Wu, in which he explained the
three grades of good. "The Highest Good consists," says he, "in the
emptiness of mind and non-attachment. Transcendence is its cause,
and Nirvana is its result. The Middle Good consists in morality and
good administration. It results in a peaceful and happy life in
Heaven and in Earth. The Lowest Good consists in love and protection
of sentient beings." Thus his idea of good, as the reader will see
without difficulty, is the result of a compromise of Taoism and
Buddhism. Sin Wang Ming (Sin-o-mei, On the Mind-King), one of his
masterpieces, together with other minor poems, are still used as a
textbook of Zen. This fact unmistakably proves that Taoist element
found its way into the constituents of Zen from its very outset in
China.


All that he had to do was to wait for an earnest seeker after the
spirit of Shakya Muni. Therefore he waited, and waited not in vain,
for at last there came a learned Confucianist, Shang Kwang (Shin-ko)
by name, for the purpose of finding the final solution of a problem
which troubled him so much that he had become dissatisfied with
Confucianism, as it had no proper diet for his now spiritual hunger.
Thus Shang Kwang was far from being one of those half-hearted
visitors who knocked the door of Bodhidharma only for the sake of
curiosity. But the silent master was cautious enough to try the
sincerity of a new visitor before admitting him to the Meditation
Hall. According to a biography[FN#30] of his, Shang Kwang was not
allowed to enter the temple, and had to stand in the courtyard
covered deep with snow. His firm resolution and earnest desire,
however, kept him standing continually on one spot for seven days and
nights with beads of the frozen drops of tears on his breast. At
last he cut off his left arm with a sharp knife, and presented it
before the inflexible teacher to show his resolution to follow the
master even at the risk of his life. Thereupon Bodhidharma admitted
him into the order as a disciple fully qualified to be instructed in
the highest doctrine of Mahayanism.


[FN#30] King Teh Chwen Tang Luh (Kei-toku-den-to-roku), published by
Tao Yuen (Do-gen) A.D. 1004, gives a detailed narrative concerning
this incident as stated here, but earlier historians tell us a
different story about the mutilation of Shang Kwang's arm. Compare
Suh Kas San Chwen (Zoku-ko-so-den) and Hwui Yuen (E-gen).


Our master's method of instruction was entirely different from that
of ordinary instructors of learning. He would not explain any
problem to the learner, but simply help him to get enlightened by
putting him an abrupt but telling question. Shang Kwang, for
instance, said to Bodhidharma, perhaps with a sigh: "I have no peace
of mind. Might I ask you, sir, to pacify my mind?" "Bring out your
mind (that troubles you so much)," replied the master, "here before
me! I shall pacify it." "It is impossible for me," said the
disciple, after a little consideration, "to seek out my mind (that
troubles me so much)." "Then," exclaimed Bodhidharma, "I have
pacified your mind." Hereon Shang Kwang was instantly Enlightened.
This event is worthy of our notice, because such a mode of
instruction was adopted by all Zen teachers after the first
patriarch, and it became one of the characteristics of Zen.



5. Bodhidharma's Disciples and the Transmission of the Law.[FN#31]


[FN#31] For details, see Chwen Tang Luh and Den Ka Roku, by Kei Zan.
As for the life of Bodhidharma, Dr. B. Matsumoto's 'A Life of
Bodhidharma' may well be recommended to the reader.


Bodhidharma's labour of nine years in China resulted in the
initiation of a number of disciples, whom some time before his death
he addressed as follows: "Now the time (of my departure from this
world) is at hand. Say, one and all, how do you understand the Law?"
Tao Fu (Do-fuku) said in response to this: "The Law does not lie in
the letters (of the Scriptures), according to my view, nor is it
separated from them, but it works." The Master said: "Then you have
obtained my skin." Next Tsung Chi (So-ji), a nun, replied: "As
Ananda[FN#32] saw the kingdom of Aksobhya[FN#33] only once but not
twice, so I understand the Law". The master said: "Then you have
attained to my flesh." Then Tao Yuh (Do-iku) replied: "The four
elements[FN#34] are unreal from the first, nor are the five
aggregates[FN#35] really existent. All is emptiness according to my
view." The master said: "Then you have acquired my bone." Lastly,
Hwui Ko (E-ka), which was the Buddhist name given by Bodhidharma, to
Shang Kwang, made a polite bow to the teacher and stood in his place
without a word. "You have attained to my marrow." So saying,
Bodhidharma handed over the sacred Kachaya, [FN#36] which he had
brought from India to Hwui Ko, as a symbol of the transmission of the
Law, and created him the Second Patriarch.


[FN#32] A favourite disciple of Shakya Muni, and the Third Patriarch
of Zen.

[FN#33] The: name means I Immovable,' and represents the firmness of
thought.

[FN#34] Earth, water, fire, and air.

[FN#35] (1) Rupa, or form; (2) Vedana, or perception; (3) Samjnya,
or consciousness; (4) Karman (or Samskara), or action; (5) Vijnyana,
or knowledge.

[FN#36] The clerical cloak, which is said to have been dark green.
It became an object of great veneration after the Sixth Patriarch,
who abolished the patriarchal system and did not hand the symbol over
to successors.



6. The Second and the Third Patriarchs.

After the death of the First Patriarch, in A.D. 528, Hwui Ko did his
best to propagate the new faith over sixty years. On one occasion a
man suffering from some chronic disease called on him, and requested
him in earnest: "Pray, Reverend Sir, be my confessor and grant me
absolution, for I suffer long from an incurable disease." "Bring out
your sin (if there be such a thing as sin)," replied the Second
Patriarch, "here before me. I shall grant you absolution." "It is
impossible," said the man after a short consideration, "to seek out
my sin." "Then," exclaimed the master, "I have absolved you.
Henceforth live up to Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha."[FN#37] "I know,
your reverence," said the man, "that you belong to Samgha; but what
are Buddha and Dharma?" "Buddha is Mind itself. Mind itself is
Dharma. Buddha is identical with Dharma. So is Samgha." "Then I
understand," replied the man, "there is no such thing as sin within
my body nor without it, nor anywhere else. Mind is beyond and above
sin. It is no other than Buddha and Dharma." Thereupon the Second
Patriarch saw the man was well qualified to be taught in the new
faith, and converted him, giving him the name of Sang Tsung (So-san).
After two years' instruction and discipline, he[FN#38] bestowed on
Sang Tsung the Kachaya handed down from Bodhidharma, and authorized
him as the Third Patriarch. It is by Sang Tsung that the doctrine of
Zen was first reduced to writing by his composition of Sin Sin[FN#39]
Ming (Sin zin-mei, On Faith and Mind), a metrical exposition of the
faith.


[FN#37] The so-called Three Treasures of the Buddha, the Law, and
the Order.

[FN#38] The Second Patriarch died in A.D. 593--that is, sixty-five
years after the departure of the First Patriarch.

[FN#39] A good many commentaries were written on the book, and it is
considered as one of the best books on Zen.



7. The Fourth Patriarch and the Emperor Tai Tsung (Tai-so).

The Third[FN#40] Patriarch was succeeded by Tao Sin (Do-shin), who
being initiated at the age of fourteen, was created the Fourth
Patriarch after nine years' study and discipline. Tao Sin is said
never to have gone to bed for more than forty years of his
patriarchal career.[FN#41] In A.D. 643 the Emperor Tai Tsung
(627-649), knowing of his virtues, sent him a special messenger,
requesting him to call on His Majesty at the palace. But he declined
the invitation by a memorial, saying that be was too aged and infirm
to visit the august personage. The Emperor, desirous of seeing the
reputed patriarch, sent for him thrice, but in vain. Then the
enraged monarch ordered the messenger to behead the inflexible monk,
and bring the head before the throne, in case he should disobey the
order for the fourth time. As Tao Sin was told of the order of the
Emperor, he stretched out his neck ready to be decapitated. The
Emperor, learning from the messenger what had happened, admired all
the more the imperturbable patriarch, and bestowed rich gifts upon
him. This example of his was followed by later Zen masters, who
would not condescend to bend their knees before temporal power, and
it became one of the characteristics of Zen monks that they would
never approach rulers and statesmen for the sake of worldly fame and
profit, which they set at naught.


[FN#40] He died in A.D. 606, after his labour of thirteen years as
the teacher.

[FN#41] He died in A.D. 651-that is, forty-five years after the
death of the Third Patriarch.



8. The Fifth and the Sixth Patriarchs.

Tao Sin transmitted the Law to Hung Jan (Ko-nin), who being educated
from infancy, distinguished himself as the Abbot of the Hwang Mei
Monastery at Ki Cheu. The Fifth Patriarch, according to his
biographer, gathered about him seven hundred pupils, who came from
all quarters. Of these seven hundred pupils the venerable Shang Sin
(Jin-shu) was most noted for his learning and virtues, and he might
have become the legitimate successor of Hung Jan, had not the Kachaya
of Bodhidharma been carried away by a poor farmer's son of Sin Cheu.
Hwui Nang, the Sixth Patriarch, seems to have been born a Zen
teacher. The spiritual light of Buddha first flashed in his mind
when he happened to hear a monk reciting a sutra. On questioning the
monk, be learned that the book was
Vajracchedika-prajnya-paramita-sutra,[FN#42] and that Hung Jan, the
Abbot of the Hwang Mei Monastery, was used to make his disciples
recite the book that it might help them in their spiritual
discipline. Hereupon he made up his mind to practise Zen, and called
on Hung Jan at the Monastery. "Who are you," demanded the Fifth
Patriarch, "and whence have you come?" "I am a son of the farmer,"
replied the man, "of Sin Cheu in the South of Ta Yu Ling." "What has
brought you here?" asked the master again. "I have no other purpose
than to attain to Buddhahood," answered the man. "O, you, people of
the South," exclaimed the patriarch, "you are not endowed with the
nature of Buddha." "There may be some difference between the
Southern and the Northern people," objected the man, "but how could
you distinguish one from the other as to the nature of Buddha?" The
teacher recognized a genius in the man, but he did not admit the
promising newcomer into the order, so Hwui Nang had to stay in the
Monastery for eight months as a pounder of rice in order to qualify
himself to be a Zen teacher.


[FN#42] The book was translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva in A.D.
384. 417; also by Bodhiruci in A.D. 509, and by Paramartha in A.D.
592; then by Hiuen Tsang in A.D. 648. Many commentaries have been
written on it by the prominent Buddhist authors of China and Japan.



9. The Spiritual Attainment of the Sixth Patriarch.

Some time before his death (in 675 A.D.) the Fifth Patriarch
announced to all disciples that the Spirit of Shakya Muni is hard to
realize, that they should express their own views on it, on condition
that anyone who could prove his right realization should be given
with the Kachaya and created the Sixth Patriarch. Then the venerable
Sung Siu, the head of the seven hundred disciples, who was considered
by his brothers to be the man entitled to the honour, composed the
following verses:

"The body is the Bodhi-tree.[FN#43]
The mind is like a mirror bright on its stand.
Dust it and wipe it from time to time,
Lest it be dimmed by dust and dirt."


[FN#43] The idea expressed by these lines is clear enough. Body is
likened to the Bodhi-tree, under which Shakya Muni attained to his
supreme enlightenment; for it is not in another body in the future
existence, but in this very body that one had to get enlightened.
And mind is pure and bright in its nature like a mirror, but the dirt
and dust of passions and of low desires often pollute and dim it.
Therefore one should dust and wipe it from time to time in order to
keep it bright.


All who read these lines thought that the writer was worthy of the
expected reward, and the Fifth Patriarch also, appreciating the
significance of the verses, said: "If men in the future would
practise Zen according to this view, they would acquire an excellent
result." Hwui Nang, the rice-pounder, hearing of them, however,
secretly remarked that they are beautiful, but hardly expressive of
the Spirit of Shakya Muni, and wrote his own verses, which ran as
follows:

"There is no Bodhi-tree,[FN#44]
Nor is there a mirror stand.
Nothing exists from the first
What can be dimmed by dust and dirt?"


[FN#44] These verses have often been misunderstood as expressive of
a nihilistic view, but the real meaning is anything but nihilistic.
Mind is pure and bright in its essence. It is always free from
passions and mean desires, just as the sun is always bright, despite
of cloud and mist that cover its face. Therefore one must get an
insight into this essential nature of Mind, and realize that one has
no mean desires and passions from the first, and also that there is
no tree of Bodhi nor the mirror of Enlightenment without him, but
they are within him.

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