Bodhidharma and Emperor Wu

Bodhidharma

There is a famous quatrain attributed to Bodhidharma in his meeting with Emperor Wu.
The emperor asked Bodhidharma, the toothless old monk with big wide open eyes: “Since I ascended the throne, I have promoted the building of temples, the transcription of Sutras (scriptures), ordination of monks; serving and donating money to temples and preachers. What merit have I obtained? ”

The Master replied, “No merit at all.”
The Emperor asked: – “Why no merit?”
The Master said: – “All these things are nothing but unclean for merit reasons; at the most they ripen the meager fruit of a human rebirth or Deva (god). They are like shadows that follow the forms, lacking their own reality.”

The emperor asked: – “So, what kind is the real merit?”

The Master said: – “It is the pure, wonderful and perfect knowledge (Gyana). Its essence is emptiness. You cannot win a spiritual merit through worldly means…”
Then the emperor asked: – “What is the first principle of sacred truth?”

Bodhidharma replied: – “Vast emptiness, nothing else; absolutely nothing.”
Excerpts from: ‘Bodhidharma and his spiritual legacy’

By Dokushô Villalba.

Source: Rajan Sachdeva