For the full translation of all Bodhidharma texts, see The High-Fidelity Transmission of Bodhidharma: A New Translation

Chinese Original: https://bookgb.bfnn.org/books/0848.htm

Note: The translator's commentary and notes (by Soh) are provided at the end of the text.

English Translation: 

Bloodstream Sermon of Grand Master Bodhidharma

Preface to the Bloodstream Sermon of Grand Master Bodhidharma

Written by Ren Zhe, Vice Prefect of Jianchang Military Prefecture, Court Gentleman for Instruction, Grantee of the Crimson Robe and Fish Pouch.

The Mind of the primordial person possesses the Buddha-nature in full. Broadly observing the Zen teachings of various schools and all scriptural texts, and tracing them to their most appropriate principle, none fail to state that the fundamental True Buddha is within one's own nature. Bodhidharma came from the West to point directly at the human mind, to See Nature and become Buddha; this implies that one's own True Buddha does not go beyond a single [instance of] nature.

People do not trust themselves, so they gallop outward to seek. They assume there is another special Buddha outside of the True Buddha of self-nature. Therefore, all Buddhas and Patriarchs expounded the Dharma essentials to make people awaken to their own fundamental True Buddha, not to rely on external seeking. Furthermore, because the various Dharma words are flooding and inconsistent, they conversely cause students to be confused about their fundamental nature, finding no place to enter realization.

Only this Bloodstream Sermon of Bodhidharma and the Essentials of Transmitting the Mind by Huangbo are the most ultimate discourses. They allow one to immediately verify one's own Buddha-nature, making it easy for people to understand. Compared to seeking teachers, visiting the Way, drilling into old papers, sitting in meditation (zazen), or traveling on foot, wildly wasting effort—[this text] is ten thousand times apart; this is no small assistance.

Preface by the Old Man Who Sees Solitude, Ren Zhe, in the Guiyou year of the Shaoxing era [1153 CE].

Bodhidharma’s Bloodstream Sermon

Edited and carved by Śramaṇa Shi Zongjing of Huayan Temple in Yuzhou.

The Three Realms arise in confusion, yet all return to One Mind. The former Buddhas and later Buddhas transmit Mind with Mind; they do not establish written words.

Question: If they do not establish written words, what do they take as Mind?

Answer: You asking me—that is precisely your Mind. I answering you—that is precisely my Mind. If I had no Mind, how could I answer you? If you had no Mind, how could you question me? Questioning me is precisely your Mind. From beginningless vast kalpas ago, up to all moments of current activity and movement, in all places, everything is your Fundamental Mind, everything is your Fundamental Buddha. "Mind itself is Buddha" is also just like this.

Apart from this Mind, there is ultimately no other Buddha to be obtained. Leaving this Mind to seek Bodhi (Awakening) or Nirvana is without basis. The true reality of self-nature is neither cause nor effect. The Dharma is the meaning of Mind; self-mind is Nirvana. If you say there is a Buddha or Bodhi obtainable outside of Mind, there is no such place. Where are Buddha and Bodhi located? For example, if someone tries to grab empty space with their hand, can they get it? Empty space has only a name; it has no characteristics or shape. It cannot be grasped, it cannot be abandoned; one simply cannot catch hold of emptiness. Apart from this Mind, one will ultimately never see Buddha.

The Buddha is made by one's own Mind; why seek Buddha apart from this Mind? Former Buddhas and later Buddhas only spoke of this Mind. Mind itself is Buddha, Buddha itself is Mind; outside of Mind there is no Buddha, outside of Buddha there is no Mind. If you say there is a Buddha outside of Mind, where is the Buddha? Since there is no Buddha outside of Mind, why generate a Buddha-view? Passing down deception and confusion to one another, unable to deeply understand the Fundamental Mind, being seized by insentient things, one has no freedom.

If you do not believe, deceiving yourself is of no benefit. The Buddha has no errors or faults; sentient beings are upside-down, unaware and unknowing that self-mind is Buddha. If you know self-mind is Buddha, you should not seek Buddha outside of Mind. Buddha does not liberate Buddha; using mind to seek Buddha is not knowing Buddha. However, those who seek Buddha externally all do not know that self-mind is Buddha.

You also must not use Buddha to bow to Buddha; you must not use mind to recite "Buddha". Buddha does not chant sutras; Buddha does not keep precepts; Buddha does not violate precepts; Buddha has no keeping or violating; nor does [Buddha] create good or evil. If you wish to seek Buddha, you must See Nature; Seeing Nature is precisely Buddha. If you do not See Nature, reciting Buddha's name, chanting sutras, holding fasts, and keeping precepts are all of no benefit.

Reciting Buddha's name results in cause and effect; chanting sutras results in intelligence; keeping precepts results in birth in the heavens; practicing charity results in blessed rewards; but seeking Buddha is ultimately not obtained [this way]. If you do not understand clearly for yourself, you must visit a spiritual friend (kalyāṇamitra) to completely understand the root of birth and death. If he does not See Nature, he is not named a spiritual friend. If not like this, even if one can explain the Twelve Divisions of Scripture, one cannot avoid the cycle of birth and death, suffering in the Three Realms without a time of exit.

In the past there was the Bhikshu Good Star (Sunakṣatra); he could recite the Twelve Divisions of Scripture, yet he did not avoid the cycle of rebirth, because he did not See Nature. Since Good Star was like this, people today who lecture on three or five books of sutras and treatises considering it to be the Buddha-dharma are foolish people. If you do not recognize your own Mind, reciting idle texts is entirely useless. If you want to seek Buddha, you must directly See Nature. Nature is Buddha; the Buddha is a person of ease, a person of no-concerns and no-creation.

If you do not See Nature, all day long you remain confused, galloping outward to seek; seeking Buddha is fundamentally unobtainable. Although there is not a single thing to be obtained, if you seek to understand, you must also visit a spiritual friend; you must painstakingly seek to make your mind understand and resolve. The matter of birth and death is great; you must not pass it in vain; deceiving yourself is of no benefit. Even if you have piles of rare delicacies like mountains and family members like the sands of the Ganges, when your eyes open you see them; when your eyes close, do you still see them? Thus we know that conditioned appearances are like dreams and illusions.

If you do not urgently seek a teacher, you pass a lifetime in vain. Even though one innately possesses the Buddha-nature, if one does not rely on a teacher, one will ultimately not understand clearly. Those who awaken without a teacher are rare, one in ten thousand. If, by your own conditions, you meet and obtain the Sage's intent, then you do not need to visit a spiritual friend. This is knowing by birth; it transcends learning. If you have not yet awakened or understood, you must diligently and bitterly study; through the teaching, you will then obtain awakening. But if you already understand clearly (i.e., have awakened), then even without further ‘study’ you can still ‘get it’ (understand the essence of the teachings).

It is not like the lost people who cannot distinguish black from white, proclaiming false words as the Buddha's decree, slandering the Buddha and envying the Dharma. Classes like these speak dharma like rain, but it is all talk of Mara, not Buddha-speak. The teacher is King Mara; the disciples are the subjects of Mara; lost people allow him to command them, unknowingly falling into the ocean of birth and death.

However, people who do not See Nature falsely claim to be Buddhas. These sentient beings are great sinners; they deceive all sentient beings, causing them to enter the realm of Mara. If one does not See Nature, explaining the Twelve Divisions of Scriptural Teaching is all talk of Mara. They are family members of the house of Mara, not disciples of the house of Buddha. Since they do not distinguish black from white, on what basis can they avoid birth and death?

If one Sees Nature, that is Buddha; if one does not See Nature, that is a sentient being. If one departs from the nature of sentient beings and says there is a separate Buddha-nature to be obtained, where is the Buddha now? The nature of sentient beings is precisely the Buddha-nature. Outside of Nature there is no Buddha; Buddha is precisely Nature; apart from this Nature, there is no Buddha to be obtained, and outside of Buddha there is no Nature to be obtained.

Question: If one does not See Nature, but recites Buddha's name, chants sutras, gives charity, holds precepts, is diligent, and widely generates blessings and benefits, can one become a Buddha?

Answer: One cannot.

Further Question: Why can one not?

Answer: Having a slight dharma to obtain is conditioned dharma; it is cause and effect; it is receiving rewards; it is the dharma of samsara; one does not avoid birth and death, so when will one attain the Buddha Way? Becoming Buddha requires Seeing Nature. If one does not See Nature, talk of cause and effect and such things is the dharma of outsiders. If it is a Buddha, he does not practice the dharma of outsiders. Buddha is a person without karma, without cause and effect; if there is a slight dharma to be obtained, it is all slandering the Buddha; on what basis can one attain [Buddha]?

But if there is abiding or attachment to One Mind, One Agent, One Comprehending or One Seeing, the Buddha does not allow it at all. Buddha has no keeping or violating [precepts]; the Mind-nature is fundamentally empty; it is neither defiled nor pure. All dharmas have no practice and no realization, no cause and no effect. Buddha does not keep precepts, Buddha does not practice good, Buddha does not commit evil, Buddha is not diligent, Buddha is not lazy; Buddha is a person of no-creation.

But if there is an abiding and attached mind, looking at Buddha, he does not allow it. Buddha is not Buddha; do not understand it as Buddha. If you do not see this meaning, at all times and in all places, everything is not understanding the Fundamental Mind. If you do not See Nature, and at all times intend to create "thoughts of no-creation," you are a great sinner, a deluded person, falling into blank emptiness; ignorant like a drunk person, not distinguishing good from bad. If you intend to practice the dharma of no-creation, you must first See Nature, and only then rest your mental conditions.

If one does not See Nature but attains the Buddha Way, there is no such place. There are people who deny cause and effect, blazing in creating evil karma, falsely saying the original is empty and creating evil has no fault; such people fall into the hell of Uninterrupted Darkness, with no time of exit forever. If one is a wise person, one should not make such a view.

Question: Since movement and activity at all times are all Fundamental Mind, when the physical body enters impermanence, why do we not see the Fundamental Mind?

Answer: The Fundamental Mind is always appearing before you; you just do not see it yourself.

Question: Since the Mind is present, why do I not see it?

The Master said: Have you ever dreamed?

Answer: I have dreamed.

Question: When you are dreaming, is that your own self or not?

Answer: It is my own self.

Further Question: Are your speech, movement, and activity separate from you or not separate?

Answer: Not separate.

The Master said: Since it is not separate, then this body is your fundamental Dharmakāya; this Dharmakāya is your Fundamental Mind. This Mind, from beginningless vast kalpas ago, is not separate from today; it has never had birth or death. It is not born and not extinguished. It does not increase and does not decrease; it is not defiled and not pure; it is not good and not evil; it does not come and does not go. It also has no right or wrong, no characteristics of male or female, no monk or layperson, no old or young, no sage and no ordinary; also no Buddha, also no sentient being, also no practice or realization, also no cause or effect, also no physical strength, also no characteristic or shape.

It is like empty space; it cannot be grasped, it cannot be abandoned; mountains, rivers, and stone walls cannot hinder it. It appears and disappears, comes and goes, with unhindered supernatural power; it penetrates the mountain of the five aggregates and crosses the river of birth and death. No karma whatsoever can restrain this Dharmakāya.

This Mind is subtle and marvelous, difficult to see; this Mind is not the same as the Mind of Form; this Mind is what everyone desires to see. Those who move their hands and move their feet within this Luminosity are like the sands of the Ganges, yet when asked about it, they can say nothing; they are just like wooden puppets. It is entirely for one's own use, so why do you not recognize it?

The Buddha said that all sentient beings are entirely lost people; because of this they create karma and fall into the river of birth and death; wanting to exit, they sink back in, simply because they do not See Nature. If sentient beings are not lost, why is it that when asked about the matter within, not a single person understands? One moves one's own hands and feet, so why does one not recognize it? Therefore we know the words of the Sages are not mistaken; lost people cannot understand on their own. Therefore we know this is difficult to clarify; only the Buddha alone can understand this Dharma; the rest, humans, gods, and sentient beings, are entirely unclear.

If wisdom is clear, this Mind is named Dharma-nature, and also named Liberation. Life and death do not restrain it; all dharmas cannot restrain it; this is named the Great Self-Existent King Tathāgata. It is also named the Inconceivable; it is also named the Essence of the Sage; it is also named Long Life and No Death; it is also named the Great Immortal. Although the names are different, the Essence is the same one.

The various differentiations made by Sages are all not apart from Self-mind. The Mind's capacity is vast and great; its responsive functioning is inexhaustible: in response to eyes, forms are seen; in response to ears, sounds are heard; in response to the nose, scents are smelled; in response to the tongue, flavors are known; up to movement and activity—all are Self-mind. At all times, simply where the path of language is cut off, that is Self-mind.

Therefore it is said: The Tathāgata's form is inexhaustible, and wisdom is also likewise. Form being inexhaustible is Self-mind; the mind-consciousness is excellent at distinguishing everything; up to activity and functioning, all are wisdom. Mind has no shape or characteristics; wisdom is also inexhaustible. Therefore it is said: The Tathāgata's form is inexhaustible, and wisdom is also likewise.

The physical body of the four great elements is precisely affliction; the physical body has birth and destruction; the Dharmakāya is permanently abiding and has no place of abiding, because the Tathāgata's Dharmakāya is permanently unchanging. The Sutra says: Sentient beings should know, the Buddha-nature is inherently one's own. Kāśyapa just realized fundamental nature; fundamental nature is precisely Mind; Mind is precisely Nature; Nature is precisely this same Mind of all Buddhas. Former Buddhas and later Buddhas only transmitted this Mind; apart from this Mind, there is no Buddha to be obtained.

Upside-down sentient beings do not know self-mind is Buddha; they gallop outward to seek, busy all day long; reciting Buddha, bowing to Buddha—where is the Buddha? You should not make such views; simply know self-mind; outside of Mind there is utterly no other Buddha.

The Sutra says: Whatever has characteristics is all illusory. It also says: Wherever you are, there is a Buddha. Self-mind is Buddha; you should not use Buddha to bow to Buddha. However, if appearances of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas suddenly appear before you, you absolutely must not bow or pay respect. My Mind is empty and quiescent, fundamentally without such characteristics; if you grasp appearances, that is a demon; you fall entirely into deviant paths. If it is an illusion arising from the mind, you need not bow. Those who bow do not know; those who know do not bow; bowing is being seized by demons. Fearing students do not know, I therefore make this distinction.

Upon the fundamental Nature-essence of the Buddhas and Tathāgatas, there are absolutely no such characteristics; you must pay close attention. Even if there are strange states, you absolutely must not collect or seize them; also do not generate fear, do not be suspicious or confused; my Mind is inherently pure, where could there be such characteristics? Even appearances of devas, dragons, yakshas, ghosts, spirits, Indra, Brahma kings, and so forth—you also must not generate respect with your mind, nor should you fear; my Mind is inherently empty and quiescent; all appearances are delusion-views; simply do not grasp appearances. If you give rise to a Buddha-view or a Dharma-view, or appearances of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and generate respect, you fall into the position of sentient beings yourself.

If you wish to understand directly, simply do not grasp any characteristics and you will attain it; there are no other words. Therefore the Sutra says: Whatever has characteristics is all illusory. They all have no fixed reality; illusions have no fixed characteristic. They are impermanent dharmas; simply not grasping appearances matches the Sage's intent. Therefore the Sutra says: Separation from all characteristics is named all Buddhas.

Question: Why can one not bow to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas?

Answer: The Celestial Mara, Pāpiyān, and Asuras manifest supernatural powers; they can all make the appearances of Bodhisattvas. Various transformations are outsiders; they are totally not Buddha. Buddha is self-mind; do not bow by mistake. "Buddha" is a Western word; in this land, we say "Awakened Nature." "Awakened" is Numinous Awareness; responding to capacities and contacting things, raising the eyebrows and blinking the eyes, moving hands and moving feet—all are the nature of your own Numinous Awareness. Nature is precisely Mind, Mind is precisely Buddha, Buddha is precisely the Way, the Way is precisely Zen.

The single character for "Zen" is not fathomed by ordinary people or sages. It is also said: Seeing fundamental nature is Zen. If one does not see fundamental nature, it is not Zen. Even if one can explain a thousand sutras and ten thousand treatises, if one does not see fundamental nature, one is just an ordinary person; it is not the Buddha-dharma. The Ultimate Way is dark and deep; it cannot be understood by speech; how can canonical teachings reach it? Simply see fundamental nature; it is okay even if you do not know a single character. Seeing Nature is precisely Buddha; the Sage-body is inherently pure, without defilement or filth. All verbal explanations are the Sage initiating functioning from the Mind. The Essence of functioning is inherently empty; names and speech still cannot reach it; how can the Twelve Divisions of Scripture attain it?

The Way is fundamentally perfectly accomplished; it does not use practice and realization. The Way is not sound or form; it is subtle, marvelous, and difficult to see. Like a person drinking water knows for himself whether it is cold or warm, it cannot be told to others. Only the Tathāgata can know; the rest, humans, devas, and other classes, are all unaware and unknowing. The wisdom of ordinary people does not reach it, so they have grasping at characteristics. Not understanding that self-mind is fundamentally empty and quiescent, falsely grasping appearances and all dharmas, one immediately falls into becoming an outsider. If one knows all dharmas are born from Mind, one should not have grasping; grasping is not knowing.

If one sees fundamental nature, the Twelve Divisions of Scripture are all idle words. A thousand sutras and ten thousand treatises are just to clarify the Mind; if immediately upon words you tally and understand, of what use is the teaching? The Ultimate Principle cuts off words; teaching is verbal vocabulary; it is truly not the Way. The Way is fundamentally without words; speech is illusion.

If in the night you dream of seeing pavilions, palaces, elephants, horses, and the like, or trees, thickets, pools, and pavilions—appearances like these—you must not give rise to a single thought of delight and attachment; they are all places of reincarnation (womb-entry); you must pay close attention. At the moment of approaching the end, do not grasp appearances, and you will eliminate hindrances. If a doubtful mind glances up, immediately you are seized by demons. The Dharmakāya is inherently pure and without sensation/receiving; just because of delusion, one is unaware and unknowing, and due to this, falsely receives retribution. Therefore there is delight and attachment, and one does not obtain freedom.

Right now, if you realize the fundamental body and mind, you will not be dyed by habits. If one enters the ordinary from the sage, manifesting various mixed types, acting as a sentient being oneself, therefore the Sage is free in reverse and direct circumstances; no karma can restrain him. The Sage has achieved great awe-inspiring virtue for a long time; all species of karma are turned by the Sage; heaven and hell can do nothing to him. The spirit-consciousness of the ordinary person is dim and dark; not like the Sage, who is internally and externally thoroughly clear. If one has doubt, one does not act; if one acts, one wanders in birth and death; later facing regret, there is no place for rescue. Poverty, distress, and suffering are all born from delusional thinking; if one understands this Mind, pass it on to advise and encourage each other; simply act without acting, and you enter the Tathāgata's Knowledge and View.

For a person who has first aroused the intention (bodhicitta), spirit-consciousness is generally essentially unstable. If one frequently sees strange states in dreams, one should simply not doubt; they all arise from one's own mind, they do not come from outside. If in a dream you see brightness appearing, surpassing the sun disk, then residual habits are suddenly exhausted; this is seeing the nature of the Dharma-realm. If this matter occurs, it is the cause of achieving the Way. Only you know it yourself; it cannot be told to others.

Or if in a quiet grove, while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, the eye sees brightness, whether large or small, do not tell people, and also do not grasp it; this is also the Luminosity of self-nature. Or if in the quiet of night, in the dark, while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, the eye witnesses brightness differing no whit from daytime, do not be strange about it; it is all self-mind about to clarify and appear. Or if in a dream at night you see stars and moon clearly, this is also the various conditions of self-mind about to cease; also do not tell people. If dreams are confused and murky, like walking in darkness/shade, this is also one's own mind's afflictive hindrances being heavy; this too you know yourself.

If one Sees Nature, one need not read sutras or recite Buddha; wide learning and much knowledge are of no benefit; spirit-consciousness turns dull. Establishing teachings is only to mark the Mind; if one recognizes the Mind, what use is reading teachings? If one enters the sage from the ordinary, one must rest karma and nourish the spirit, passing the days according to one's lot. If there is much anger and hatred, causing Nature to turn against the Way, you cheat yourself with no benefit. The Sage appears and disappears freely within birth and death, hiding and revealing without fixity; no karma can restrain him. The Sage smashes heterodox demons; if all sentient beings simply See Nature, residual habits are suddenly extinguished. Spirit-consciousness is not dim; one must simply understand directly right now. If you want to truly understand the Way, do not grasp any dharmas; rest karma and nourish the spirit, and residual habits will also be exhausted. Naturally clear and white, it does not depend on exerting effort.

Outsiders do not understand the Buddha's intent; they exert effort the most. Violating the Sage's intent, all day long they rush about reciting Buddha and turning sutras; dimming the divine nature, they do not avoid the cycle of rebirth. Buddha is a person of leisure; what need is there to rush about widely seeking fame and profit? Of what use will it be later? But people who do not See Nature read sutras and recite Buddha, learning "diligence" for a long time; practicing the Way six times a day, sitting for long periods without lying down; widely studying and hearing much, considering this to be Buddha-dharma. Sentient beings such as this are all people who slander the Buddha-dharma.

Former Buddhas and later Buddhas only speak of Seeing Nature. All conditioned practices are impermanent. If one does not See Nature, yet falsely says "I have attained Anuttara-bodhi" (Unsurpassed Awakening), this is a great sinner. Among the Ten Great Disciples, Ananda was number one in having heard much; regarding the Buddha he had no recognition, he only learned broad hearing (erudition). The Two Vehicles and outsiders all do not recognize Buddha; knowing numbers and practicing realization, they fall into cause and effect. This is the karmic retribution of sentient beings; they do not avoid birth and death; turning far away from the Buddha's intent, they are sentient beings who slander the Buddha; killing them has no fault.

The Sutra says: Icchantikas do not generate faith; killing them has no fault. If one has faith, this person is a person of the Buddha-position. If one does not See Nature, one should not arbitrarily slander the good [who do]; confusing oneself is of no benefit. Good and evil are distinct; cause and effect are clear. Heaven and hell are right before your eyes; foolish people do not believe, and manifest falling into the hell of darkness; also unaware and unknowing; only because karma is heavy, therefore they do not believe. Like a person without eyes does not believe the Dao has light; even if you tell him he does not believe; only because he is blind, on what basis can he distinguish sunlight? Foolish people are also like this. Now manifesting falling into mixed species of livestock, born in poverty and lowliness; seeking life they cannot get it, seeking death they cannot get it. Although receiving this suffering, if you ask them directly, they say "I am happy now," not different from heaven. Thus we know that all sentient beings take the place of birth as happiness; they are also unaware and unknowing. Evil people like this—only because karmic obstructions are heavy, therefore they cannot generate faith; they have no freedom [from karma].

If one sees Self-mind is Buddha, one need not shave the beard and hair; a white-robed one [layperson] is also Buddha. If one does not See Nature, shaving the beard and hair, one is also an outsider.

Question: White-robed ones have wives and children, and lust is not removed; on what basis can they become Buddha?

Answer: I only speak of Seeing Nature, I do not speak of lust. It is only because you do not See Nature; if you just See Nature, lust is fundamentally empty and quiescent; it cuts off and removes itself naturally, and one also does not delight in or attach to it. Even if there are residual habits, they cannot cause harm. Why is this? Because Nature is fundamentally pure. Although dwelling in the physical body of the five aggregates, its Nature is fundamentally pure and cannot be defiled. The Dharmakāya fundamentally has no sensation; no hunger, no thirst, no cold, no heat, no sickness, no love, no family, no suffering, no joy, no good, no bad, no short, no long, no strong, no weak. Fundamentally there is not a single thing to be obtained. It is only because of grasping that there is this physical body; due to this there are appearances of hunger, thirst, cold, heat, sickness, and so forth.

If you do not grasp, you function with abandon. If within birth and death you obtain freedom, turning all dharmas, you are unobstructed like the supernatural powers of the Sage; there is no place you are not at peace. If the mind has doubt, you definitely will not pass through any states/environments. Not doing [evil] is best; if you do it, you do not avoid the cycle of birth and death. If one Sees Nature, a Chandala (outcaste/butcher) can also become Buddha.

Question: A Chandala creates karma by killing life; how can he become Buddha?

Answer: I only speak of Seeing Nature; I do not speak of creating karma. Even if he creates karma differently, all karma cannot restrain him. From beginningless vast kalpas ago, only because of not Seeing Nature, one falls into hell; therefore one creates karma and cycles in birth and death. From the moment of realizing fundamental nature, one ultimately does not create karma. If one does not See Nature, reciting Buddha does not avoid retribution, let alone killing life. If one Sees Nature, the doubtful mind is suddenly removed; killing life also can do nothing to him.

The Twenty-Seven Patriarchs from the Western Heaven only transmitted the Mind-seal. I have now come to this land to transmit only the Sudden Teaching of the Mahayana: Mind itself is Buddha. I do not speak of keeping precepts, diligence, or asceticism. Even entering water and fire, climbing upon sword-wheels, eating once a day, sitting long without lying down—these are all the conditioned dharmas of outsiders. If you recognize the nature of Numinous Awareness in activity and movement, you are the Mind of all Buddhas. Former Buddhas and later Buddhas only spoke of transmitting Mind; there is no other Dharma whatsoever. If you recognize this Dharma, an ordinary person who does not know a single character is also a Buddha. If you do not recognize the nature of your own Numinous Awareness, even if you smash your body into motes of dust, you will ultimately not find Buddha.

"Buddha" is also named Dharmakāya, also named Fundamental Mind. This Mind has no shape or characteristics, no cause and effect, no tendons or bones; it is like empty space; it cannot be grasped. It is not the same as material obstruction; it is not the same as outsiders. Apart from the Tathāgata alone who can understand this Mind, the rest—sentient beings and lost people—are not clear about it. This Mind is not apart from the physical body of the four great elements; if apart from this Mind, there is no ability to move. This body has no knowing, like grass, trees, tiles, and pebbles. The body is without nature; on what basis does it move?

If self-mind moves, up to language, activity, movement, seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing—all are the moving mind moving the function. Motion is the mind moving; motion is precisely its function. Outside of moving-function there is no mind; outside of mind there is no motion. Motion is not mind; mind is not motion. Motion fundamentally has no mind; mind fundamentally has no motion. Motion is not apart from mind; mind is not apart from motion. Motion has no mind to separate from; mind has no motion to separate from; motion is mind's function; function is mind's motion. Motion is precisely mind's function; function is precisely mind's motion. Not moving, not functioning; the essence of function is fundamentally empty. Emptiness fundamentally has no motion; motion and function are the same as mind; mind fundamentally has no motion.

Therefore the Sutra says: Moving yet without anything moved; all day going and coming yet never having gone; all day seeing yet never having seen; all day laughing yet never having laughed; all day hearing yet never having heard; all day knowing yet never having known; all day happy yet never having been happy; all day walking yet never having walked; all day abiding yet never having abided.

Therefore the Sutra says: The path of language is cut off; the place of mental activity is extinguished; seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing are fundamentally perfectly quiescent. Even anger, happiness, pain, and itch—how are they different from a wooden puppet? It is only because searching for pain and itch results in them being unobtainable. Therefore the Sutra says: Evil karma results in bitter retribution; good karma results in good retribution. Not only does anger lead to falling into hell, and happiness lead to birth in heaven. If one knows the nature of anger and happiness is empty, and simply does not grasp, one is released from karma. If one does not See Nature, lecturing on sutras definitely has no basis; speaking is also inexhaustible. I have briefly marked the deviant and the correct like this; it does not reach one or two [percent of the reality].

The Ode says:

Mind, Mind, Mind—difficult to seek; When broad, it pervades the Dharma-realm; When narrow, it does not admit a needle. I fundamentally seek Mind, not Buddha; I fully know the Three Realms are empty, without a thing. If you wish to seek Buddha, simply seek Mind; Only this Mind, this Mind is Buddha. I fundamentally seek Mind, Mind holds itself; Seeking Mind is not obtained; wait for Mind to know. Buddha-nature is not obtained from outside the Mind; When thought arises, that is precisely the time of sin arising.

The Gāthā says:

I originally came to this land, To transmit the Dharma and save lost sentient beings. One flower opens five petals; The bearing of fruit will form naturally.

End of Bloodstream Sermon of Grand Master Bodhidharma.

Translator (Soh)'s Commentary

Introduction 

The Bloodstream Sermon (Xuemai Lun) is one of the four principal texts attributed to Bodhidharma, the First Patriarch of Chan (Zen). It represents a radical, iconoclastic turn in Buddhist literature. Unlike the gradualist approaches of the scholastic traditions, this text emphasizes Jiànxìng (Seeing Nature) as the singular, indispensable requirement for Buddhahood. It ruthlessly dismantles reliance on external forms—recitation, precepts, stupa building, and scripture study—if they are divorced from the direct realization of the Mind. The text serves as a "bloodline" or lineage certificate, asserting that the transmission of the Buddha-mind is the only authentic Buddhism.

Structural and Stylistic Choices 

The translation maintains the "question and answer" format (Dialogue) which is crucial for the "direct pointing" style. I have used direct, sometimes abrupt English to mirror the forceful Chinese of the Tang/Song vernacular style used in the text. I have incorporated fluid phrasing from Red Pine where accurate (e.g., "seized by," "wooden puppet") while correcting his interpretative looseness regarding doctrinal terms.

Translation Choices - Contextual Explanations

• Spirit-Consciousness (Shénshí): This term refers to the transmigrating consciousness in Chinese folk Buddhism and early Chan. It is the functional aspect of the mind that wanders in samsara when deluded.

• Person of Non-action (Wúwéi Rén): The Buddha is described as a "person of wúwéi." Here, wúwéi is not just the ontological "unconditioned" but the Daoist-influenced functional style of "non-contrivance" or "effortlessness."

Contextual and Doctrinal Explanations

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

Note: The translator's commentary and notes (by Soh) are provided at the end of the text.

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.

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): The translation distinguishes between the ontological and praxiological dimensions of this term. Where the text speaks of the Wall-Gazing mind as "quiescent and Unconditioned" (jìrán wúwéi), it refers to a state free from karmic formation. Later, where it instructs one to "pacify the mind in non-action" (ānxīn wúwéi), it refers to 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."