The Intention of Patriarch Bodhidharma’s Coming from the West

上宣下化老和尚讲述

by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua

Preface

前言

Originally I came to this land To transmit Dharma and save deluded beings. One flower, blooming with five petals,Will bear fruit naturally.

我本来兹土　传法度迷情
一华开五叶　结果自然成

I have often told you that when Patriarch Bodhidharma first went to China, he found it truly difficult to convert the Chinese people.

我常对你们讲，达摩祖师到中国时，那真是啊！很不容易教化中国人。

目录

01.前言
Preface

02.达摩祖师　西来震旦
Patriarch Bodhidharma, Comes from the West to China

03.中国佛法　似有似无
Buddhism Seems to Be in China, Yet It Really Is Not

04.徒弟先来　处处碰壁
When the Disciples First Came, They Met with Difficulty

05.手做拳头　拳头做手
The Hand Makes a Fist; The Fist Makes a Hand

06.初道广州　人见畏之
Arriving First at Guangzhou, He Is Feared by All Who See Him

07.受尽毁辱　难度老少
Being Insulted Left and Right, He Finds Both Adults and Children Difficult to Convert

08.梁王武帝　炫示功德
Emperor Wu of Liang Boasts of His Own Merit and Virtue

09.说有功德　实无功德
Actually He Had No Merit and Virtue At All

10.当面错过　不识祖师
Meeting Face-to-Face, He Misses His Chance, Failing to Recognize the Patriarch

11.前生因缘　饿死狝猴
Causes and Conditions from a Previous Life: He Starved a Monkey

12.今世果报　饿死台城
Receiving Retribution in This Life, He Starves to Death in the Palace

13.天花乱坠　地涌金莲
The Heavens Rain Down Flowers; Golden Lotuses Well Forth from the Earth

14.祖师问难　讲经为何
The Patriarch Asks Him, "Why Are You Explaining Sutras?"

15.神光法师　反唇相讥
Dharma Master Shen Guang Retorts Sarcastically

16.生死未了　恼羞成怒
Having Not Yet Ended Birth and Death, His Annoyance Turns to Rage

17.脾气暴发　怒打祖师
Once His Temper Flares, in His Rage, He Strikes the Patriarch

18.打落牙齿　和血而吞
The Blow Breaks Teeth; He Swallows Them with the Blood

19.祖师忍辱　默然而去
Enduring the Insult, The Patriarch Leaves Silently

20.鹦鹉知音　问计出笼
A Parrot, Understanding Who He Is, Asks How to Escape the Cage

21.灵鸟装死　巧出樊笼
The Smart Bird, Pretending to Be Dead, Cleverly Escapes the Cage

22.生死自由　真出笼计
Freedom over Birth and Death Comes When We Truly Escape Our Cage

23.十殿阎君　请师喝茶
The Yamas of the Ten Courts Invite the Master to Tea

24.谁能不死　阎君亦拜
Even the Venerable Yamas Will Bow to Whoever Is Free from Death

25.神光法师　赤足追祖
Barefoot, Dharma Master Shen Guang Races after the Patriarch

26.见鸟出笼　悟装死人
Meeting the Parrot Who Escaped from the Cage, He Realizes He Must Pretend to Be Dead

27.追随祖师　直至嵩山
Pursuing the Patriarch, He Follows Him Straight to Mount Song

28.祖师面壁　法师求忏
While the Patriarch Sits Facing the Rock Wall, The Dharma Master Seeks to Repent

29.九载跪求　了生法门
Kneeling for Nine Years, He Seeks the Dharma for Ending Birth and Death

30.神光断臂　考题交卷
Slicing Off His Arm, Dharma Master Shen Guang Solves the Problem

31.天降红血　呈示祖师
The Snow that Falls from the Sky Turns Red; He Presents It to the Patriarch

32.真心求法　祖师传法
He Seeks the Dharma with a True Mind; the Patriarch Transmits It to Him

33.觅心不得　安心已竟
Searching for His Mind, He Cannot Find It; His Mind Is Already Calmed

34.万法归一　死生自由
The Myriad Dharmas Returning to the One, Attaining the Liberation from Birth and Death

35.圣人之体　毒不可侵
Poison Cannot Invade the Body of a Sage

36.传法有人　示入涅槃
Having Transmitted the Dharma to Someone, He Appears to Enter Nirvana

37.只履西归　遇见宋云
As He Returns West Carrying One Shoe, He Encounters Song Yun

38.预言应验　国王驾崩
His Prediction Was True: The Emperor Had Died

39.空棺只鞋　祖师何在
Only One Shoe in an Empty Coffin: Where Is the Patriarch?

40.六祖浣衣　方辩述奇
As the Sixth Patriarch Washes His Sash, Fang Bian Relates a Strange Tale

41.王氏孝子　守孝六年
Filial Son Wang Practiced Filiality Beside the Grave for Six Years

42.守孝圆满　护法显圣
At the End of His Filial Mourning, a Dharma Protector Presented a Sage

43.明朝和尚　民国来访
A Monk from the Ming Dynasty Came to Visit during the Republic

44.传法三人 全身空无
He Transmitted the Dharma to Three People; His Body Is Empty and Gone