Bodhidharma A Z Quotes & Sayings

When the mortal mind appears, buddhahood disappears. When the mortal mind disappears, buddhahood appears. When the mind appears, reality disappears. When the mind disappears, reality appears. Whoever knows that nothing depends on anything has found the Way. And whoever knows that the mind depends on nothing is always at the place of enlightenment. — Bodhidharma

Mortals liberate Buddhas and Buddhas liberate mortals. — Bodhidharma

Those who worship don't know, and those who know don't worship. — Bodhidharma

All the suffering and joy we experience depend on conditions. — Bodhidharma

All phenomena are empty. — Bodhidharma

Don't hate life and death or love life and death. Keep your every thought free of delusion, and in life you'll witness the beginning of nirvana, and in death you'll experience the assurance of no rebirth. — Bodhidharma

But while success and failure depend on conditions, the mind neither waxes nor wanes. — Bodhidharma

When one of the emperors of China asked Bodhidharma (the Zen master who brought Zen from India to China) what enlightenment was, his answer was, "Lots of space, nothing holy." Meditation is nothing holy. Therefore there's nothing that you think or feel that somehow gets put in the category of "sin." There's nothing that you can think or feel that gets put in the category of "bad." There's nothing that you can think or feel that gets put in the category of "wrong." It's all good juicy stuff - the manure of waking up, the manure of achieving enlightenment, the art of living in the present moment. — Pema Chodron

To enter by reason means to realize the essence through instruction and to believe that all living things share the same true nature, which isn't apparent because it's shrouded by sensation and delusion. — Bodhidharma

Life and death are important. Don't suffer them in vain. — Bodhidharma

Only one person in a million becomes enlightened without a teacher's help. — Bodhidharma

To have a body is to suffer. — Bodhidharma

The true Way is sublime. It can't be expressed in language. Of what use are scriptures? But someone who sees his own nature finds the Way, even if he can't read a word. — Bodhidharma

To give up yourself without regret is the greatest charity. — Bodhidharma

Your mind is nirvana. — Bodhidharma

But when you first embark on the Path, your awareness won't be focused. You're likely to see all sorts of strange, dreamlike scenes. But you shouldn't doubt that all such scenes come from your own mind and nowhere else. — Bodhidharma

This one life has no form and is empty by nature. If you become attached by any form, you should reject it. If you see an ego, a soul, a birth, or a death, reject them all. — Bodhidharma

I do not need any writing, since I transmit teaching beyond words and ideas. — Bodhidharma

Vast emptiness, nothing holy. — Bodhidharma

If you use your mind to study reality, you won't understand either your mind or reality. If you study reality without using your mind, you'll understand both. — Bodhidharma

Our true buddha-nature has no shape. And the dust of affliction has no form. — Bodhidharma

And the Buddha is the person who's free: free of plans, free of cares. — Bodhidharma

The mind is always present. You just don't see it. — Bodhidharma

And as long as you're subject to birth and death, you'll never attain enlightenment. — Bodhidharma

As long as you look for a Buddha somewhere else, you'll never see that your own mind is the Buddha. — Bodhidharma

All Buddhas preach emptiness. Why? Because they wish to crush the concrete ideas of the students. If a student even clings to an idea of emptiness, he betrays all Buddhas. — Bodhidharma

The fools of this world prefer to look for sages far away. They don't believe that the wisdom of their own mind is the sage ... the sutras say, "Mind is the teaching." But people of no understanding don't believe in their own mind or that by understanding this teaching they can become a sage. They prefer to look for distant knowledge and long for things in space, buddha-images, light, incense, and colors. They fall prey to falsehood and lose their minds to insanity. — Bodhidharma

If you see your nature, you don't need to read sutras or invoke buddhas. Erudition and knowledge are not only useless but also cloud your awareness. Doctrines are only for pointing to the mind. Once you see your mind, why pay attention to doctrines? — Bodhidharma

Delusion means mortality. And awareness means Buddhahood. — Bodhidharma

When you don't understand, you depend on reality. When you do understand, reality depends on you. — Bodhidharma