The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

by Bodhidharma, Anonymous, Mary Louise Kelly

Book Overview

A fifth-century Indian Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma is credited with bringing Zen to China. Although the tradition that traces its ancestry back to him did not flourish until nearly two hundred years after his death, today millions of Zen Buddhists and students of kung fu claim him as their spiritual father.

While others viewed Zen practice as a purification of the mind or a stage on the way to perfect enlightenment, Bodhidharma equated Zen...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0865473994
• ISBN13: 9780865473997
• Release Date: November 1989
• Publisher: North Point Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Reread it Constantly

I’ve read this Little book Over and Over this Wisdom in this could take lifetimes to fully understand and It’s an Absolute must for those on a spiritual journey

Anything more concise would be silence

I have read this book maybe twenty-five times now and I keep returning to it because what is contained is about as bare bones a relation of perspective as can be given. I admire directness and a concise approach as much as I admire Zen itself. Bodhidharma "tells it like it is" and then closes his mouth. Red Pine is a treasure to the English speaking world.

Clear as a bell.

This book is a little jewel. Every time I open it I am impressed anew with its clarity and immediacy. This is due,I think, not only to the timelessness of the teachings themselves, but to Red Pine's intelligence & sensitivity. Many thanks, Red Pine.

A "Must Have" for any reader of Zen

I first began researching Zen in the secondary sources: inspiring and thoughtful and informative authors like D.T. Suzuki who cited the patriarchs. At some point one realized that it's going to be essential to read the primary sources themselves. This is one of them. Here is a first rate translation of the First Patriarch of Zen. Red Pine gives a nine page introduction to Bodhidharma, facts separated from lore, providing the reader a concise introduction to what one should know about the First Patriarch of Zen, who arrived in China from India about 2000 years ago. The divisions of the book are four teachings traditionally attributed to Bodhidharma: Outline of Practice Bloodstream Sermon Wake-up Sermon Breakthrough Sermon As usual, Mr. Pine offers you the original Chinese text throughout, and provides extensive and very helpful explanatory notes, this time offered as endnotes to keep the texts of the four teachings unencumbered.

Something New Each Time Read

If you haven't noticed by now, truth is not exempt from change. This wonderful traslation of some of the core teachings of the credited founder of Zen, Bodhidharma, makes this very clear to me. Everytime I read this tremedously important work new insight comes forward, making clear how the "way" is never locked in place. Not to mention this is one of very few books out there in English which gives an account of some of this famous master's teachings. If you read this book with a sincere effort to realize this life, it will no doubt give you what you came for. As for a book of mere entertainment, this is not that. It is thought provoking, the meanings of every page are not spoonfed to us. We are left to search for their meanings within on our own, Red Pine simply tries to present us with the original sayings. Commentary can often confuse someone into believing that the observation an uthor makes is one and the same with what was originally said. I like how Red Pine does not do this. I believe the best translator's try their best to present us with the closest accounts as possible of what the original work was about. I believe Red Pine has certainly done this.Enjoy this book:)

Truly a Zen Buddhist classic

A fifth-century Buddhist Indian mystic, Bodhidharma proves to be one of Buddhism's most enigmatic masters. Acknowledged as the father of Zen Buddhism, Bodhidharma's teachings represent the every essence of Zen itself. Deep and pithy, he sermons guide the reader to the very summit of Buddha mind, urging the reader to look within beyond the veil of appearance. Not an ordinary book that will be read only once then tucked away on a bookshelf, Red Pine's translation of Bodhidharma's teachings will be a constant companion for many years. I highly recommend this book for both the beginner and the seasoned practitioner of Zen