---
title: "嘉泰普燈錄 · 初祖菩提達磨大士"
description: "嘉泰普灯录由南宋高僧正受编撰于嘉泰年间，是继五灯会元后重要的禅宗灯录体史书。全书三十卷，收录历代禅师机缘语录、行实传记及偈颂，涵盖临济、云门等宗派，以普照禅法、嘉惠学人为宗旨。它系统传承了禅宗法脉与思想，是研究宋代禅宗历史与思想的重要文献，在佛教史上具有承前启后的地位，与五灯会元并称为禅宗灯录双璧。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cmcy6amtq0gitl4042u8pssqj"
---

### 初祖菩提達磨大士

> First Patriarch Bodhidharma

姓剎利帝。南天竺國香至王之季子也。因二十七祖般若多羅行化其國。王與三子迎請供養。施以無價寶珠。祖知其授道時至。顧所施珠。問三王子曰。此珠圓明。有及此否。二王子皆云。此珠七寶中尊。唯大士所對。才辯清發。稱有理趣。祖歎異之。及香至歿。眾俱號絕。獨大士志求出家。端坐不動。尋辭二兄。禮祖足曰。某素不顧國位。欲以法利物而未得其師。久有所待。今遇尊者。出家決矣。願悲智見容。祖與披剃受具。即說偈。付法眼藏。仍讖往震旦。歲月留難。佛法隆替。服勤四十餘年。迨祖順世。遂化本國。摧六宗異解。由是聲馳五印。歲逾五紀。度無量眾。後值異見王輕蔑三寶。俾無相宗首波羅提往詣王所。廣開法要。王悟入悔謝。遂問。仁者之師其誰耶。曰。即王之叔。達磨大士也。王駭然久之。敕令近臣。邀至宮掖。為懺往咎。大士復念震旦緣熟。行化時至。乃辭祖塔．同學及異見王。囑付護持。王具大舟。親率臣屬。送至海壖。歷歲三周。以梁普通元年庚子九月之二十一日。始達于南海。廣州刺史蕭勵具主禮迎接。表奏武帝。帝遣使齎詔迎歸京城。十月一日。抵金陵。車駕郊迎。延居別殿。遂問聖諦。機語不契。至十九日。潛往江北傳燈云。祖以丁未普通八年至韶州。時刺史蕭昂具禮迎接。表奏。據明教禪禪正宗記乃曰。祖以庚子普通元年至韶州。刺史蕭勵迎接。具奏。蓋蕭昂不曾刺韶州。勵乃昂之子也。以南北史驗之。則當以正宗記為是。先是誌公修高座寺。謂寺主靈觀曰。當有大乘菩薩自西而來。廣化此國。聽吾讖曰。仰覩兩扇。低腰捻鈎。九烏射盡。唯有一頭。至即不至。要假須刀。逢龍即住。遇水即逃。靈觀聞已。默而識之。十一月二十三日。屆于洛陽。時後魏孝明正光之元年傳燈云太和十年。寓止嵩山少林寺。面壁而坐。未甞輒語。人莫之測。有僧神光者。久居伊洛。博窮內外之書。甞歎曰。孔．老之教。粗述玄微。經．論之詮。未盡妙理。近聞達磨大士住止少林。至人不遙。當造玄境。乃夤夕參承。大士閴然屹坐。莫聞誨勵。光念曰。昔人求道。敲骨取髓。布髮掩泥。古尚若此。我何人哉。其年十二月九日夜。天大雨雪。光堅立不動。遲明。積雪齊腰。大士見而問曰。汝久立雪中。當求何事。光泣曰。惟願慈悲。開甘露門。廣度羣品。曰。諸佛無上妙道。曠劫精勤。難行能行。非忍而忍。豈以小德小智。輕心慢心。欲冀真乘。無勞勤苦。光聞。斷其左臂。置大士前。大士器而謂曰。諸佛最初求道。為法忘形。汝今斷臂吾前。求亦可也。因為易名曰慧可。光曰。諸佛法印。可得聞乎。曰。諸佛法印。匪從人得。光曰。我心未寧。乞師與安。曰。將心來。與汝安。光曰。覔心了不可得。曰。與汝安心竟。光即大契悟。自後同得開悟者數人。魏帝聞其異。三詔不至。就賜伽梨．瓶．鉢．繒帛等。九年。欲返天竺。命門人各言所得。道副等陳所得竟。遂顧光。囑令綏護。說付法偈及讖語。傳衣畢。與其徒眾往禹門千聖寺。止三日。為期城太守楊衒之說法。歸少林寺。端居而逝。即李莊永安二年己酉十月五日也。帝遣中使何弘簡馳書至梁告哀。武帝感悵久之。下詔皇太子備誄文。偕百官就奠。賜寶器一十六事充祭。礿絹百束為賻助之禮誄文見寶林傳。十二月二十八日。魏詔奉全身塔於熊耳山定林寺。後三年。武帝聞魏使宋雲見之葱嶺。手携隻履而歸。即以所聞并魏啟壙事。製始末行實。唐代宗諡曰圓覺大師。塔名空觀傳燈云祖以後魏明帝太和十九年丙寅歲卒。以史考之。太和丙寅較天鑑元年壬午隔一十七年。是時梁武帝尚未立。又況太和乃孝文帝朝年號。明帝朝即無太和之稱。唯明教禪師正宗記編年次第與史傳雅合。徃徃集傳燈時。以寶林傳為據。故差之特甚。

> His family name was Kshatriya. He was the third son of King Xiangzhi of Southern Tianzhu (Southern India). Because the twenty-seventh Patriarch, Prajnatara, was spreading the Dharma in that country, the king and his three sons invited him and made offerings, presenting him with a priceless jewel. The Patriarch knew it was time to transmit the Dharma. Looking at the jewel offered, he asked the three princes, "Is there anything as round and bright as this jewel?" The two elder princes both said, "This jewel is the most precious of the seven treasures." Only when the Great Being (Bodhisattva) replied, his eloquence was clear and spontaneous, fully expressing the principle and meaning, did the Patriarch marvel at his difference. When King Xiangzhi died, everyone wailed in utter despair. Alone, the Great Being resolved to leave home and seek ordination. He sat upright, unmoving. Soon after, he bid farewell to his two elder brothers, bowed at the feet of the Patriarch, and said, "I have never cared for the throne; my wish is to use the Dharma to benefit beings, but I had not found a teacher. I have waited a long time. Now I have met the Venerable One, and my decision to leave home is final. I pray you, in your compassion and wisdom, to accept me." The Patriarch shaved his head and gave him full ordination. He then spoke a verse, transmitted the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, and prophesied his going to China, the difficulties of the times, and the rise and fall of the Dharma. The Great Being served the Patriarch diligently for over forty years. When the Patriarch passed away, he then taught in his own country, defeating the different interpretations of six other schools. His fame spread throughout the Five Indias. For over fifty years, he liberated countless beings. Later, King Yijian (Heretical Views) slighted the Triple Gem. The Patriarch sent the leader of the No-Characteristics School, Boluoti (Pārśva), to the king, who extensively explained the essential teachings. The king awakened, repented, and asked, "Who is your teacher, benevolent one?" Reply: "The King’s own uncle, the Great Being Bodhidharma." The king was stunned for a long time. He ordered his close ministers to invite Bodhidharma to the palace, where he repented of his past faults. The Great Being then reflected that the conditions in China were ripe, and the time to teach had come. So he bid farewell to the Patriarch’s stupa, his fellow students, and King Yijian, instructing them to protect the Dharma. The king prepared a large ship and, leading his ministers, personally escorted him to the seashore. After three years of sailing, on the twenty-first day of the ninth month of the first year of the Putong era of the Liang Dynasty (庚子 year, 520 CE), he finally arrived in Nanhai (Guangzhou). The governor of Guangzhou, Xiao Li, received him with full official protocol and reported this to Emperor Wu of Liang. The emperor sent an envoy with an imperial decree to welcome him to the capital. On the first day of the tenth month, he arrived in Jinling (Nanjing). The emperor welcomed him in the suburbs and lodged him in a side hall. He then asked about the Supreme Saintly Truth. Their dialogue did not resonate. On the nineteenth day, Bodhidharma secretly went north of the Yangtze River. (Note: The Transmission of the Lamp says the Patriarch arrived in Shaozhou in the eighth year of the Putong era \[dingwei year\]. The governor Xiao Ang received him and reported this. According to the True Dharma Record by Master Mingjiao, the Patriarch arrived in Shaozhou in the first year of the Putong era \[gengzi year\], and Governor Xiao Li received him and reported it. Xiao Ang never governed Shaozhou; Xiao Li was Xiao Ang’s son. Checking the histories of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the True Dharma Record should be considered correct.) Previously, Master Zhi (Baozhi), while building the Gaozuo Temple, told the temple abbot, Lingguan, "A Mahayana Bodhisattva will come from the West to widely transform this country. Hear my prophecy: Look up and see two fans, Bend low and grasp the hook. When nine crows are all shot down, Only one head remains. When it arrives, it has not arrived; It will need a knife. Meeting a dragon, it will stay; Meeting water, it will flee." Lingguan heard this and silently remembered it. On the twenty-third day of the eleventh month, Bodhidharma arrived in Luoyang. This was the first year of the Zhengguang era of Emperor Xiaoming of the Later Wei Dynasty. (Note: The Transmission of the Lamp says it was the tenth year of the Taihe era.) He resided at Shaolin Temple on Mount Song, facing a wall in meditation, never speaking. No one could fathom him. There was a monk named Shenguang (Divine Light), who had long lived in the Yiluo region and had thoroughly studied both Buddhist and secular texts. He once sighed, "The teachings of Confucius and Laozi roughly describe the profound and subtle. The commentaries on the sutras and shastras do not exhaust the wonderful principle. Recently, I have heard that the Great Being Bodhidharma is staying at Shaolin. The ultimate person is not far away; I should seek the profound realm." So he went day and night to pay respects. The Great Being sat silently and unmoving, giving no teaching or encouragement. Shenguang thought, "In the past, people seeking the Way broke bones to extract marrow, spread their hair to cover mud. The ancients were like this; who am I?" On the night of the ninth day of the twelfth month of that year, a heavy snow fell. Shenguang stood firm and unmoving. At dawn, the snow had piled up to his waist. The Great Being saw him and asked, "You have been standing in the snow for a long time. What are you seeking?" Shenguang wept and said, "I only pray for your compassion to open the gate of sweet dew and universally liberate all beings." Bodhidharma said, "The unsurpassed, wonderful Way of the Buddhas requires diligent effort throughout countless eons, doing what is difficult to do, enduring what is difficult to endure. How can you, with small virtue and small wisdom, a frivolous mind and arrogant heart, hope to attain the true vehicle? It is not worth the effort." Hearing this, Shenguang cut off his left arm and placed it before the Great Being. Bodhidharma, recognizing his sincerity, said, "The Buddhas, when first seeking the Way, forgot their bodies for the Dharma. You have now cut off your arm before me – your seeking is acceptable." He then changed his name to Huike. Shenguang asked, "May I hear the Dharma seal of all Buddhas?" Bodhidharma replied, "The Dharma seal of all Buddhas is not obtained from another." Shenguang said, "My mind is not at peace. I beg you to pacify it." Bodhidharma said, "Bring me your mind, and I will pacify it for you." Shenguang said, "I have searched for it, but it is ultimately unobtainable." Bodhidharma said, "Then I have already pacified your mind." Shenguang was greatly awakened. After this, several others also gained awakening. Emperor Xiaowu of Wei heard of his extraordinary nature and summoned him three times, but he did not come. The emperor then bestowed upon him a monastic robe, an alms bowl, silk, and other gifts. After nine years, Bodhidharma wished to return to Tianzhu (India). He asked his disciples to state their understanding. After Daofu and the others expressed their attainment, he turned to Huike and instructed him to protect and sustain the Dharma. He spoke a verse for transmitting the Dharma and gave prophecies. After transmitting the robe, he went with his disciples to the Thousand Saints Temple (Qiansheng Temple) at Yumen. After staying there for three days, he taught the prefect of Qicheng, Yang Xuanzhi. Then he returned to Shaolin Temple, sat upright, and passed away. This was the fifth day of the tenth month of the second year of the Yong'an era of Emperor Xiaozhuang of Wei (己酉 year, 529 CE). The emperor sent a eunuch, He Hongjian, with a letter of condolence to the Liang court. Emperor Wu of Liang was deeply saddened for a long time. He issued an imperial decree for the crown prince to prepare a eulogy and, together with the court officials, to attend the memorial service. He bestowed sixteen precious articles for the sacrificial rites and one hundred bolts of silk as funeral gifts. (Note: The eulogy text can be found in the Baolin Zhuan \[Transmission of the Treasure Grove\].) On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month, Emperor Wei ordered his full-body stūpa to be built at Dinglin Temple on Xiong'er Mountain. Three years later, when Emperor Wu of Liang heard that the Wei envoy Song Yun had seen him at the Congling Mountains (Pamirs), carrying one sandal, he compiled a biography of his entire life based on this and the Wei exhumation story. Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty posthumously conferred upon him the title "Chan Master of Perfect Enlightenment" (Yuanjue Dashi), naming his stūpa "Empty Contemplation" (Kong Guan). (Note: The Transmission of the Lamp says the Patriarch died in the nineteenth year of the Taihe era of Emperor Xiaoming of the Later Wei Dynasty, a Bingyin year \[486 CE\]. Checking history, from the Bingyin year of Taihe to the first year of the Tianjian era of the Liang Dynasty \[502 CE, renwu year\], there is a gap of seventeen years. At that time, Emperor Wu of Liang had not even ascended the throne. Moreover, Taihe was the reign title of Emperor Xiaowen; Emperor Xiaoming’s reign did not have a Taihe era. Only the chronological records in Master Mingjiao's True Dharma Record perfectly match the historical accounts. It seems that when the Transmission of the Lamp was compiled, it relied on the Baolin Zhuan, which led to this considerable error.)