Page 153 - Popular Deities of Chinese Buddhism (Illustrated) and Symbols
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by what is known as ‘mind-transmission’ to a number of Patri-
archs, the most famous of whom was Hui-neng ( 637–713),
the Sixth Patriarch.
Upon his arrival to China, Bodhidharma was summoned to
court by Emperor Wu-ti of the Liang Dynasty, who was an
ardent Buddhist and prided himself on his great support for the
Buddhist religion. Proud of his knowledge in Buddhism and the
contributions he had made towards the Sangha, he asked the
sage ‘how much merit he had gained’.
“No merit whatsoever” was the shocking reply of Bodhidharma.
e Emperor had often heard teachings from well-known
masters who said, “Do good, and you will receive good; do bad
and you will receive bad. e Law of Karma is unchangeable,
effects follow causes as shadows follow figures” but now this sage
declared that he had earned no merit at all. e Emperor was
thoroughly perplexed.
Why did Bodhidharma reply the way he did? Perhaps he was
trying to say, in a few words, that if one does good with the desire
to gain merit for oneself, that is no longer a Buddhist practice.
It will mean that one is not really practising the Dharma but
more towards satisfying one’s own ego, or promoting one’s own
welfare, or even for the sake of being recognised and appreciated.
In this case how could there be any merit in such acts at all? And,
being a Zen master, words were not to be wasted, so he answered,
“No merit whatsoever.”
