Original Chinese: https://bookgb.bfnn.org/books/0847.htm

English Translation:

Attributed to the Patriarch Bodhidharma 

Preface by Disciple Tanlin

The Dharma Master was a native of the Western Regions, from the Kingdom of Southern India, the third son of a Brahmin King. His spiritual wisdom was open and clear; upon hearing [the teachings], he understood everything. His ambition lay in the Mahāyāna path, so he discarded the white [lay clothes] to follow the black [monastic robes], continuing and prospering the Sage's lineage. With a mind merged in empty quiescence, he thoroughly understood worldly affairs; possessing clarity both internally and externally, his virtue surpassed the worldly standard. Lamenting that the Orthodox Teaching in the borderlands was declining, he subsequently crossed distant mountains and seas to travel and teach in Han and Wei. Those who had extinguished the mind all took refuge in faith; those who clung to views gave rise to slander. At that time, there were only Daoyu and Huike; although these two śramaṇas were younger in years, their outstanding wills were lofty and far-reaching. Fortunately meeting the Dharma Master, they served him for several years, reverently inquiring and asking for instruction, and were blessed to receive the Master's intention. The Dharma Master, moved by their refined sincerity, instructed them in the True Path: how to pacify the mind, how to initiate practice, how to accord with things, and how to apply expedient means. This is the Mahāyāna method of pacifying the mind, ensuring no error or confusion. How to pacify the mind: Wall-Gazing. How to initiate practice: The Four Practices. How to accord with things: Guarding against ridicule and suspicion. How to apply expedient means: Discarding attachment to them. This brief preface explains the origin [of this text].

Now, regarding entering the Way, there are many paths; but essentially speaking, they do not exceed two kinds. One is Entry by Principle; the second is Entry by Practice.

Entry by Principle means: awakening to the Fundamental Truth through the Teachings; deeply trusting that all sentient beings share the same one True Nature, but it is covered by adventitious dust and delusive thoughts, and thus cannot manifest clearly. If one abandons the false to return to the true, steadfastly abiding in Wall-Gazing, there is no self and no other, ordinary beings and sages are equal and one. Firmly abiding without shifting, never again following written teachings, this is to be implicitly in accord with Principle. Without having discrimination, quiescent and Unconditioned ¹, this is named Entry by Principle.

Entry by Practice refers to the Four Practices; all other various practices are included within these. What are the four? First, the Practice of Facing Enmity; second, the Practice of According with Conditions; third, the Practice of No Seeking; fourth, the Practice of According with Dharma.

What is the Practice of Facing Enmity? It means that when a practitioner of the Way undergoes suffering, they should think to themselves: "In countless kalpas of the past, I abandoned the root to follow the branches, flowing and wandering through various existences, generating much enmity and hatred, causing infinite harm and violation." "Although I have committed no offense in the present, this is the fruit of my past bad karma ripening; it is not something that can be bestowed by heaven or men." "I accept it with a willing heart, without any grievance or complaint." The Sūtra says: "When meeting suffering, do not worry." Why is this so? Because of penetrating understanding. When this mind arises, it corresponds with Principle; embodying enmity helps advance on the Way, therefore it is called the Practice of Facing Enmity.

Second, the Practice of According with Conditions: Sentient beings have no self; they are turned entirely by conditions and karma; suffering and happiness are received together, and all arise from conditions. If one obtains excellent rewards, honor, and such things, it is induced by past causes within me; I am only receiving it now, but when the condition is exhausted, it returns to nothing—what joy is there in this? Gain and loss follow conditions, but the mind has no increase or decrease; if one is unmoved by the wind of joy, implicitly according with the Way, it is therefore called the Practice of According with Conditions.

Third, the Practice of No Seeking: People of the world are perpetually lost, craving and attaching everywhere; this is named seeking. The wise awaken to the truth, and Principle is contrary to the mundane; they pacify the mind in non-action ¹, and while the physical form follows the turning of fate, [they know] the ten thousand existences are all empty, with nothing to desire or enjoy. Merit and Darkness ² always follow each other; living long in the Three Realms is like living in a burning house. Having a body is all suffering; who can attain peace? Thoroughly understanding this, one therefore abandons all existences, stopping thought and having no seeking. The Sūtra says: "To have seeking is all suffering; to have no seeking is immediate joy." Determining and knowing that no seeking is truly the practice of the Way, it is therefore called the Practice of No Seeking.

Fourth, the Practice of According with Dharma: The Principle of intrinsic purity is named Dharma. By this Principle, all characteristics are empty, without defilement and without attachment, without this and without that. The Sūtra says: "In the Dharma there are no sentient beings, because it is free from the defilement of sentient beings; in the Dharma there is no self, because it is free from the defilement of self." If the wise can believe and understand this Principle, they should practice in accordance with the Dharma. The Dharma Essence has no stinginess; regarding body, life, and wealth, one practices dāna [giving] without sparing. The mind has no reluctance; liberated in the three emptinesses, relying on nothing and attached to nothing, acting only to remove defilement. Acting to transform sentient beings without grasping at characteristics. This is self-practice, and it can also benefit others; it can also adorn the path of bodhi. Since dāna is like this, the other five [pāramitās] are also like this. To eliminate delusive thoughts, one practices the Six Perfections, yet there is nothing practiced; this is the Practice of According with Dharma.

The End of the Contemplation on the Four Practices by Grand Master Bodhidharma

Appendix: Stele Eulogy for Grand Master Bodhidharma [By] Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang Sitting on the Precious Sun on the peak of Mount Laṅkā. Amidst it, a golden figure draped in coarse cloth. His form is like the great earth, his Essence like the void. The mind holds vaiḍūrya, color like snow. Neither polished nor ground, eternally pure and bright. Parting clouds and rolling up mist, the mind is explicitly penetrating. Using the Pundarika flower to adorn the body. Following conditions and touching things, always joyous. Neither existing nor non-existing, neither going nor coming. Much learning and eloquence cannot explain it. Real indeed! Empty indeed! Apart from birth and existence. The great and the small, all conditions are cut off. In a kṣaṇa [instant], ascending to the mind of marvelous awakening. Leaping scales in the ocean of wisdom, rising above the former sages. By Principle, the Dharma water should flow eternally. How could one expect a temporary passage, only to return to temporary thirst? Within the dragon's pearl, the mind-lamp falls. The white-hair [ūrnā] wisdom blade is chipped at the edge. The path of life suddenly ends, the wisdom eye closes. The Zen river halts its flow, the Dharma beam breaks. No going, no coming, no right, no wrong. This and that, form and Essence, the mind is shattered. Abiding here, departing here, all return to quiescence. Within quiescence, how could there ever be sobbing? Using this holding of hands to transmit the lamp. Birth and death, going and coming, are like a lightning flash. If one can have a sincere mind without doubt. The kalpa fire burns the lamp, yet it is not extinguished. The Dharma of the One Truth is fully available here. If not awakened to the path of delusion, here it is exhausted.

Annotations

Unconditioned / Non-action (Seg 4.4 / 8.3): Both terms translate the Chinese Wúwéi (無為). In Segment 4.4, it is used ontologically to describe the state of reality (Unconditioned). In Segment 8.3, it is used praxiologically to describe the sage's mode of functioning (Non-action). ² 

Merit and Darkness (Seg 8.4): Gōngdé (Merit) and Hēiàn (Darkness) refer to the legend of the goddess of fortune (Lakṣmī) and her sister, the goddess of misfortune (Alakṣmī), who always accompany each other.

Translator's Commentary

Introduction This text, the Two Entries and Four Practices (Erru Sixing Lun), is the document most reliably attributed to the historical Bodhidharma. It captures the seminal transition of Buddhism in China from a scholarly, exegetical tradition to the direct, experiential practice that would become Chan (Zen). The preface by Tanlin provides crucial biographical details, noting Bodhidharma's South Indian origins and his emphasis on "Wall-Gazing" (bìguān).

Translation Choices for Key Terminology

• Wall-Gazing (壁观 - Bìguān): I have retained the literal "Wall-Gazing." While some scholars interpret this metaphorically as "mind like a wall" (steep and stable), the literal translation preserves the iconic imagery associated with Bodhidharma sitting in the cave at Shaolin.

• Principle (理 - Lǐ): In this text, Lǐ is the counterpart to Shì (phenomena/practice). It refers to the absolute truth or the fundamental nature of reality. I have strictly used "Principle" to avoid the Western metaphysical baggage of "Noumenon" or the rationalist implication of "Reason."

• Essence (体 - Tǐ): I have translated Tǐ as "Essence" rather than "Substance" to adhere to Buddhist emptiness ontology, where the "body" of reality is not a physical substance but a nature of emptiness.

• Unconditioned / Non-action (无为 - Wúwéi): In Segment 4.4, "quiescent and Unconditioned" (jìrán wúwéi) describes the ontological state of the Wall-Gazing mind—free from karmic formation. In Segment 8.3, "pacify the mind in non-action" (ānxīn wúwéi) describes the functional attitude of the practitioner—acting without contrived effort.

• Characteristics (相 - Xiàng): In the section on "According with Dharma," Xiàng refers to the specific defining marks or signs of conceptualized entities. I have used "characteristics" to align with the lakṣaṇa (defining mark) terminology, emphasizing that the Dharma is empty of such definable boundaries.

Contextual and Doctrinal Explanations The text is structured around the "Two Entries": Principle (direct intuitive alignment with truth) and Practice (gradual cultivation through conduct). The "Entry by Principle" contains the famous instruction to "steadfastly abide" (níng zhù) in Wall-Gazing. This suggests a practice of stable, unwavering concentration that cuts through subject-object duality ("no self and no other"). The "Four Practices" are essentially a re-framing of daily life and suffering. They provide a cognitive framework for the practitioner to transmute adversity (Practice 1), success (Practice 2), and craving (Practice 3) into the path, culminating in the "Practice of According with Dharma" (Practice 4), which is the practice of emptiness itself—acting without the concept of an agent, action, or receiver (the Three Emptinesses).

Emperor Wu's Eulogy The eulogy is highly poetic and filled with paradoxes common to the Prajñāpāramitā literature ("Neither existing nor non-existing"). It reflects the profound respect the Emperor held for Bodhidharma, despite the legendary (and likely apocryphal) encounter where Bodhidharma allegedly told the Emperor he had "no merit." The verses here suggest a deep appreciation of the "One Truth" and the "Mind-lamp."