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Abhinav Pandey

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Bodhidharma

A figure from the books

#Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma · c. 5th – early 6th century CE

In the books · 1 chapter

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Who this is

Buddhist monk — by tradition the twenty-eighth patriarch of Indian Buddhism and the first patriarch of Chan, the school of meditation that Korea calls Seon and Japan calls Zen.

“Every famous thing about Bodhidharma can be dated, layer by layer, to centuries after his lifetime — and the school he founded, following its own teaching to the end, would tell you that this changes nothing that matters.”
— The Great Indians, Ch. 61

The big idea, in the book's words:

“Enlightenment cannot be purchased, accumulated or read. No temple you fund and no scripture you memorize will do it; it is seen directly, in your own mind, the way you see a wall in front of your face. Sit down and look.”
— The Great Indians, Ch. 61

From the book

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The first chapters of each volume are free here on the web; the rest read in the app. Get the app and it opens there.

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