CHINESE SUPERSTITIONS - University of Oregon

— 428 —
and donned the Buddhist habit, chanted the prayers, and lived on
the vegetarian diet of the brotherhood. He seemed to find more
happiness in the seclusion of a monastery than in the pomp
of his
magnificent palace. After a short time, his ministers found it
difficult to govern the State without him, and begged him resume
his duties as emperor. This, however, the heads of the monastery
refused to consent to, until a considerable sum had been paid out
of the national treasury for his ransom. When this had been given,
the royal devotee was absolved from his vows, and allowed once
more to return to the busy turmoil of the world (1).
At Lohyanrj jg. [5J|, Bodhidharma abode nine years
in the
Shaolin temple, Shao-lin-s:e *J? $c =*f, on the Sung hill, Sung-shan
^ \\] x sitting in silent meditation, and the face turned towards the
wall, hence the people called him the "Wall-gazing Brahman" (2).
The presence of the great Indian ascetic attracted many native
Buddhists to the Shaolin monastery, Shao-lin-sze . 'Y? $f. ^p Among
them, one Shen-kwang f^ ^ approached the Sage, and questioned
him on various points of the Law, but failed to get any reply.
One night, as snow was falling heavily, Shen-ltwang %$ ^
exposed himself till it had risen above the knees (3). The patriarch
observing him, said: "what you have done there, is not worthy of
comparison with the acts of the Buddhas. It required very little
virtue and resolution". The disciple, stung with this harsh appreci-
ation of his victory over self, took a sharp knife, severed his left
arm, and placed it before Bodhidharma. The latter expressed his
approval of such heroic virtue, and perceived that the aspirant had
reached a high degree of virtue, hence he changed
his name from
(1) M c Cowan. The Imperial History of China, p. 237 (Reign of Wu-ti).
(2) Pih-kwan p'o-lo-men ;§£ $pj |g| f| |"j. He was not, however,
a Brah-
man, but belonged to the Kshatriva. or military caste of warriors and kings.
Eitel. Sanscrit-Chinese Dictionary, p. 24 — Edkins. Chinese Buddhism, p. 102.
(3) Shen-kwang standing in the snow, Shen-kwang lih-hsueh i$ -)fc j£ if.
l This event is 'i
celebrated in the Buddhist Calendar on the 9th da}- of the 12
month. See Chinese Superstitions. Vol. V. p. 613.