Bodhidharma Never Came to China

Text

Xuansha was leaving the mountain when he stubbed his toe on a rock. Blood flowed and he cried out in pain. Then he said to himself, "This body does not exist—where does the pain come from?" At this he was deeply awakened and exclaimed, "Bodhidharma never came to China. The Second Patriarch never went to India."

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Speaker
  Xuansha Shibei

Lineage: Qingyuan line

From Traditional Zen Encounter Dialogues

• My Mind Is Not at Peace
• Thinking of Not-Thinking
• Not Knowing Is Most Intimate
• The Boat Monk's Transmission
• The Sound of Bamboo
• Vast Emptiness, Nothing Holy
• Ordinary Mind Is the Way
• Nanquan Kills the Cat
• Wash Your Bowl
• The Oak Tree in the Garden

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Jingde Chuandenglu, Xuansha chapter

  Traditional Zen Encounter Dialogues: Bodhidharma Never Came to China