2. BODHIDHARMA 菩提達摩 Buddha Mind

菩提達摩 Bodhidharma बोधिधमृ

Bodhidharma is really a complete mystery, for truth cannot be discerned from legend. In his case, even though his life and works have been manipulated, there is the benefit of numerous available excellent works attributed to him. The damage which has been done is the drawing away of attention from the valid contemplations and teachings of almost two generations of masters that have dissapeared from history,.

The earliest records of Bodhidharma appear in the Luoyang Saṃgharāma Records edited in 547 (Records of the Buddhist Monasteries at Luoyang) (洛陽伽藍記) and the Xu Biographies of High Saṃghins (Continuation of the Biographies of Eminent Monks) (續高僧傳) written by Daoxin 道宣 (596–667).

The Saṃgharāma Records and Xu Biographies provide details of his life, including the fact that his teachings on Contemplation were criticized by others, but little is known with respect to his actual teachings. A later text, the Records of the Laṅkā Masters and Disciples (楞伽師資記) from which the Contemplation of Four Practices was redacted, remains also suspect.

The important texts attributed to Bodhidharma are:

Refuting Signs Treatise (破相論), The Breakthrough Sermon (also known as the Contemplation of Mind Treatise, 觀心論)

Treatise on Realizing the Nature (悟性論), The Wakeup Sermon

Treatise on the Blood Pulse (血脈論) The Bloodstream Sermon

Two Types of Entrance (二種入), The Outline of (Mahayana) Practice

Teaching of Pacifying the Mind (安心法門) The Gateless Barrier Case 41

Treatise of Two Entrances and Four Practices《二入四行論》also known as the Six Aspects of [Mount] Shaoshi《少室六門》

This Treatise of Two entrances and Four Practices has its six teachings on Verses on the Hṛdaya Sūtra (心經頌). Most scholars are in consensus that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that several of these are the work of later authors, and only the part concerning Two Types of Entrance appear to be originally by Bodhidharma.

Entrance by Principle concerns essentials of the Laṅkā Masters, appears in the Supreme Vehicle Treatise (最上乘) by Hongren, together with the separate appearance of another text, the Contemplation Method of the South Indian Dhyāna Master Bodhidharma (南天竺國菩提達摩禪師觀門) which seems if not to attest to his authorship, and at least attests to his presence as an important master.

However he is refered to here as a Dhyana Master which is a Master of Buddhadharma Jhana meditation. This suggests that the type of Chan contemplation which he is credited with did not come from India, but was developed by him or at the least credited to him.

Two texts actually known now to have been written by Farong (法融) of the later Niutou model were previously attributed to Bodhidharma... They are The Treatise on No-mind (無心論) and The Treatise on Ending Observation (絕觀論).

Reading these texts is useful as far as understanding and practicing Dharma are concerned and we can see that both the meaning and goal of practice, e.g., paramārtha or highest goal, combines the idea of “realize the goal of Buddha-mind” (明佛心宗).

That all beings have the same nature is a central understanding of Tathāgata-garbha or Buddha-nature potential.

The notion generally assumed is that the Budha nature is covered by the adventitious defilements of unreal conceptualizations, and that the mind is originally pure (citta-prakṛti pariśuddha) or luminous (prabhāsvara) and that defilements are merely adventitious (āgantuka-kleśa). In other words, the Alaya mind can be flooded with the stained consciousness.

The Lankavatara Sutra changes that a little because it only once mentions the idea of these soiled elements.

An interesting quotation is, “As to this Tathāgata-garbha is ālaya-vijñāna, it is seen by the minds of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas as impure due to their obscurations of adventitious defilements, when it is actually pure by own-nature, (thus) they are not Tathāgatas.” Now, what the Lankavatara is pointing to, though never stating so, is close to the conceptualization of an unstained pure Buddha mind, with Alaya being actually just receptive consciouness for stains or purity, which is basically pure itself.

The text has several points with connotations of two of the own-natures – that unreal conceptualization is to be abandoned indicates the parikalpita, and subsequent realization of the real indicates the pariniṣpanna, which is pacified and unconditioned.

But while we can glean a great deal about Bodhidharma's base, we learn nothing about the tecnique of "Wall contemplation."

We must reject any idea that this is vipassana or insight meditation.

We might consider that it is contemplation upon the non-self of phenomena, thus the abandonment of the unreal and realization of the accomplished nature.

That would make it a Contemplation upon Emptiness, but there is nothing in his teachings to support this. Rather there is an emphasis upon the Buddha mind itself, and we may conclude it was indeed a direct contemplation of he Buddha mind.

While this is commendable and certainly the final experience may be an awakening to the nature of th Buddha mind, contemplation shows that it is distant from the Direct contemplations later developed and certainly short of the direct (natural form) contemplations of Huineng.

What is the realization accompanying the Contemplation of the Buddha mind? IT DOES BRING A COMPLETE TRANQUILITY. It appears to be then actually access to the Alaya mind free from impediments and this induces when transformed in the daily "presence" of that state in complete tranquility and life free from defilements.

Since the Lankavatara never extends knowledge beyond the eigth consciousness this is not surprising.

The later developed contemplations however are directed at and accomplish entry to the state of Ninth Consciousness being. We can then refer to these contemplations of Bodhidharma as Contemplation of the "Ultimate conceptualization of the Buddha mind," and differentiate that from the "Ultimate conceptualization of Freedom from the Stains of the Buddha mind."