"This robe and bowl was the outward evidence of the direct line of transmission of the teachings from the Buddha. As mentioned above, facts are few, but there are a number of important stories, sermons and sayings that are attached to the person called Bodhidharma which encapsulate the spirit of Chan/Zen Buddhism."
taken from
THE FOUR LINE VERSE
A special transmission outside the teachings,
Not dependent on words and phrases.
Directly pointing to the human heart,
Seeing into its nature and awakening.
This four line verse, attributed to Bodhidharma by tradition, captures the whole thrust of the Chan/Zen school.
Si quisieras leer un breve comentario acerca de Bodhidharma, Hui Neng en español puedes revisar esta traduccion/compilacion utilzando el siguiente enlace.
A Translator's Metanoia
As a human being and student of the Teachings of Lord Buddha, one of the most amazing things i've been able to experience has been to be exposed to a few ,but key streams of Traditions and Lineages in the history of the Transmission of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Tthis post is about how i came to encounter, meet and study under my Root Teacher , Master Henry, an authentic and sincere monk of the Cha'n Tradition .
Affliction is enlightenment. A deluded thought makes you an ordinary person,
an enlightened thought makes you a Buddha
An excellent Translation by Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
It is well known that Bodhidharma is the 28th patriarch of the Zen transmission in direct line with Shakyamuni Buddha , according to history and legend he was a south indian (tamil ) prince. upon meeting Her root Teacher Prajnatara The 27 Indian holder of the transmission Who Was Prajnatara? | Lion’s Roar (lionsroar.com) .
The prince is completely transformed into the next empty vessel and follows the Way all the way to China crossing the Yangtse River on a blade of grass. a Metaphor? a fact?.
Modern scholars have distinct opinions about Him or Her, truth is Prajnatara was a victim of one of the occasional persecutions of Buddhism in India. He/she was imprisoned and finally executed but not before She/he managed to transmit the lineage, in the outer form of the Buddha’s robe and bowl, to Bodhidharma.
I would have never known any of this , without being at the Sunshine Zen Centre located on Secret Cove, on the West Coast of British Columbia, back in August 2005 , i had no idea into what i was walking in or whom would be my Root Teacher. But clearly after contemplating about some interesting experiences and strange dreams at thge time i knew i had to leave the city for good and that my motivation was to truly learn to meditate and explore the life of a wandering yogui .
Fortunately neither Master Henry nor (i) had a great command of the english language, therefore the way we developed our communication was quite something unique for me to experience.
This silent language of the inner life, the nectar of the saints.
The Dharma Rain
Throughout diverse cultural and natural settings in contemporary times it's possible to see with birds eye's how at the core Shakyamuni re-discovered within himself that freedom, peace and liberation are realized and integrated through awareness.
Cha'n/ Dhayana
Back in 2007 , after a few years of visiting the Centre and attending a few retreats and one long retreat Master Henry kindly asked me through a translator if i could create a websitee for the Sunshine Zen Center so other people could know about the Monastery. There was no internet at the time in Secret Cove and there was no english speaker that had the technical skills to do it at the time.
This was the beginning of the blog
The Story of Hui Neng