Bodhidharma is the 28th Ancestor in the transmission line beginning with the
Buddha.
He is the First Ancestor as it relates to Chan or Zen Meditation as we practice it
today.
Below are a few quotes from his famous Wake-up Sermon.
“The essence of the Way is detachment.”
“Whoever realizes that the six senses aren’t real. that the five aggregates are
fictions, that no such things can be located anywhere in the body, understands the
language of buddhas.”
“Not thinking about anything is Zen.”
“Walking, standing, sitting or lying down is the fulfillment of the great sutras.”
“Knowing that the mind is empty is to see the Buddha.”
“Using the mind to look for reality is delusion.” A few weeks back I said this in
modern terms:
“To try and fix the mind using the mind is like trying to wipe off blood with blood.”
It may seem like progress but is inevitably a dead end.
“Freeing oneself from words is delusion. Don’t try to stop your mind or suppress
thoughts.”
“People capable of true vision, know that the mind is empty.”
My teacher, Zen Master Seung Sahn often said to me, “Understanding cannot
help you.”
Bodhidharma said, “If you understand anything, you don’t understand. Only when
you understand nothing is it true understanding.”
“To see form but not be corrupted by form is liberation. Eyes that are not attached
to form stand at the gate of liberation.”
“People of the deepest understanding are distracted by nothing seeing that a clear
mind is the buddha, they live in accordance.”
I will end with the following:
“All appearances are illusions. Without a fixed existence and no constant form,
they are simply impermanent. Without clinging to anything, you and the Buddha
are of one mind.”