The Zen Teachings of
Bodhidharma
Translated by Red Pine
North Point Press 1987
Outline of Practice page 3
Many roads lead to the Path, but basically there are only two: reason and practice. To enter by reason means to realise the essence through instruction and to believe that all things share the same true nature, which isn't apparent because it shrouded by sensation and delusion. Those who turn from delusion back to reality, who meditate on walls, the absence of self and the other, the oneness of mortal and sage, and who remain unmoved even by scriptures are in complete and unspoken agreement with reason. Without moving, without effort, they enter, we say, by reason.
To enter by practice refers to four all inclusive practices: suffering injustice, adapting to conditions, seeking nothing and practising the Dharma.
First, suffering injustice. When those who search for the path encounter adversity, they should think to themselves, "In countless ages gone by, I have turned from the essential to the trivial and wandered through all manner of existence, often angry without cause and guilty of numberless transgressions. Now, though I do no wrong, I'm punished by my past...
The sutras say, "When you meet with adversity don't be upset, because it makes sense". With such understanding you are in harmony with reason. And by suffering injustice you enter the Path.
Second, adapting to conditions. As mortals, we are ruled by conditions, not by ourselves. All the suffering and joy we experience depend on conditions. If we should be blessed by some great reward, such as fame or fortune, it is the fruit of a seed planted by us in the past. When conditions change, it ends. Widely liked in its existence? But while success and failure depend on conditions, the mind neither waxes and wanes. Those who remain unmoved by the wind of joy silently follow the path.
Third, seeking nothing. People of this world are deluded. They're all this longing for something - all this, in a word, seeking. But the wise wake up.
They choose reason over custom. They fixed a mind on the sublime and let their bodies change with the seasons. All phenomena are empty. They contain nothing worth desiring. Calamity forever alternates with prosperity. To dwell in the three realms is to dwell in a burning house. To have a body is to suffer. Does anyone with a body know peace? Those who understand this detach themselves from all that exists and stop imagining or seeking anything.
The sutras say, "To seek is to suffer. To seek nothing is bliss". When you seek nothing you're on the Path.
Fourth, practising the Dharma. The Dharma is the truth that all natures are pure. By this truth, all appearances are empty. Defilement and attachment, subject and object don't exist. The sutras say, "The Dharma includes no being because it is free from the impurity of being, and the Dharma includes no self because it's free from the impurity of self". There is wise enough to believe and understand this truth are bound to practice according to the Dharma. And since that which is real includes nothing worth begrudging, they give their body, life, and property in charity, without regret, without the vanity of giver, gift, or recipient, and without bias or attachment. And to eliminate impurities they teach others, but without becoming attached to form. Thus, through their own practice they are able to help others and glorify the Way of Enlightenment. And as with charity, they also practice the other virtues. But while practising the six virtues to eliminate delusion, they practise nothing at all. This is what is meant by practising the Dharma.
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Path: When Buddhism came to China, Tao was used to translate Dharma and Bodhi. This was partly because Buddhism is viewed as a foreign version of Taoism. In his "Bloodstream Sermon", Bodhidharma says, "The Path is Zen". page 29
Four practices: These are a variation of the four Noble Truths
Calamity... prosperity: two goddesses, responsible for bad and good fortune, respectively.
Three realms: the Buddhist psychological equivalent of the Brahmanic cosmological triple world bhur, bhuvah, and svar. Earth, atmosphere, and heaven.
Dharma: the Sanskrit word Dharma comes from dhri, meaning to hold, and refers to anything held to be real, whether in a provisional or in ultimate sense. Hence, a word can mean thing, teaching, or reality.
Six virtues: The paramitas, all means to the other shore; charity, morality, patience, devotion, meditation, and wisdom. All six must be practised with detachment from the concept of actor, action, and beneficiary.