Bodhidharma Great One-Shoed Sage of Chan Zen: Four Epic Events and Four Teachings of "Few Words"

Aside from Gautama Buddha himself, no one rose to the level of epic, towering fame and Buddhist history greater than the one-shoed sage of Shaolin fame, Bodhidharma. Like Buddha, his life is both historical and legendary. Like Buddha, he was a prince who renounced the worldly.Bodhidharma not only brought Chan Buddhism to China, but he is also credited with Shaolin martial arts and a profound lineage of extraordinary teachings.
CONTENTS
00:00 One-Shoed Sage: Introduction
00:29 Founder of Chan / Zen Buddhism and Shaolin Martial Arts
01:24 The End of the Story: One Shoe and a Barefoot Sage
03:38 Beginning of the Story: Emperor Wu snubbed by Bodhidharma
06:04 Shocking teachings with no words spoken
06:38 Bodhidharma wall: staring at the cave wall for years
07:09 "I'd give up my right arm" (literally): Meeting Dàzǔ Huìkě 大祖慧可
08:52 He taught the monks martial arts for fitness and mindfulness
09:09 Bodhidharma's Four-line teaching
10:11 Two Entrances and Four Principles teaching
The stories of his life sound both mystical and deceptively bland at the same time, like the legend of his one-shoed hike over the mountain pass, or the years of his life he spent staring at the cave wall. He became a famous teacher by using very few words. The few words he spoke were often riddles or rebukes.
He's famous for cutting off his eyebrows to ensure he stayed awake when meditating. He taught stillness but inspired the rise of strenuous Shaolin martial arts. He reprimanded emperors for seeking fame, yet he, himself became one of the most famous people of his time. He would have thrown his other shoe at you if you told him he was famous.
You're curious about the shoe, right? We might as well start this story at the end in that case. This is the ending of the story, but also the beginning. You've probably seen images of Bodhidharma hiking up a mountain pass with a pole on his shoulder, walking barefoot, his only remaining shoe hanging from the pole.
What made this incident famous was not that the great Sage was barefoot. It was all about the timing.At that time, the Chinese diplomat, Songyun was headed back to court, through a pass in the Pamir Mountains. On his way, he saw the Great Sage, who by now as famous in the area, climbing the pass, alone. What struck Songyun as odd, was that the sage walked barefoot on sharp rocks. His one shoe was hanging from a pole on his shoulder.
Respectfully he asked the sage where he was going. The answer suprised Songyun. The Sage said, "I am going home." This puzzled the diplomat, since Bodhidharma had been in the area for as long as he could remember. When he tried to ask, Bodhidharma just abruptly told Songyun that the reason would become clear once Songyun arrived in Shaolin. Before he left, he instructed Songyun to keep the encounter a secret.
Of course, Diplomats aren't known for keeping their mouths closed. As soon as he returned to the court, Songyun told the Emperor proudly, that he had encountered the great sage. The Emperor was enraged, and had the poor diplomat arrested for lying to court.
Poor Songyun found out, as he was hauled away, that Bodhidharma died one week earlier.Screaming and shouting his innocence, Songyun stood firm on his claims and the Emperor finally ordered the tomb to be opened, even though countless witnesses saw the Sage buried. Typical of Bodhidharma's mysterious life, they found his tomb empty. The only contents were a single shoe. The other shoe was hiking across the mountains on the way to home.
Even Bodhidharma's death became a riddle. The entire nation was transfixed by the astonishing story of Bodhidharma's after-death pilgrimage. This was typical of Bodhidharma's life. His every teaching was a challenge, a provocation, or a shocker.#buddhaweekly #buddhistteachings #bodhidharma #zen #buddhism

[@human8454]

Greatest master DAMO

[@BuddhaWeekly]

🙏🙏🙏

[@jasoncaine7829]

Thank you

[@BuddhaWeekly]

🙏🙏🙏❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏 Always welcome 🙏🙏🙏❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏

[@JosephineNolan]

"You're curious about the shoe, right? We might as well start this story at the end in that case." Love it... Great story-telling

[@saralamuni]

MANY roads lead to the Path but basically there are only two: reason and practice. To enter by reason means to realize the essence through instruction and to believe that all living things share the same true nature, which isn't apparent because it's shrouded by sensation and delusion. Those who turn from delusion back to reality, who meditate on walls, the absence of self and other, the oneness of mortal and sage, and who remain unmoved even by scriptures are in complete and unspoken agreement with reason. Without moving, without effort, they enter, we say, by reason. To enter by practice refers to four all-inclusive practices suffering injustice, adapting to conditions, seeking nothing, and practicing the Dharma.

[@truerebirth]

Om Mani Padme Hum

[@user-nj7nu9hj8m]

❤❤❤❤❤❤🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@leekane8921]

🙏🙏🙏📿📿📿

[@i_love_tibet7001]

Interesting..... thank you for sharing. 🙏☸️

[@xavier9476]

Chera🏹
Chola🐅
Pandiya🎏
Pallava 🦁
Ay 🐘
The great Tamil Empires 💪

[@dodoraptor8387]

He was a prince from the Tamil Pallava dynasty, the 3rd son who was chosen by his father, the King, to succeed him...However, because of the rivalry, discontent and jealousy of his older brothers, who attempted to murder him, he abandoned his royal fate, fled the kingdom and converted to Bouddhism.

[@woeser.d9601]

🙏🙏🙏

[@cezarinamenezes8335]

Very interesting 🎉🌞🌝🤍✨🧘🧙🇧🇷🙏🕯️

[@gowrit7094]

Good day sir 🙏🙏🙏🌷🌷💐💐

[@BuddhaWeekly]

Good day! 🙏🙏🙏❤❤❤

[@normalizedaudio2481]

Hi guys. Just checking in. I got in trouble with Master YongHua's nun for saying stuff people don't understand.

[@lcbryant78]

He ripped off his eyelids, from which the first tea plant grew.