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Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma Quotes

Biographer

Bodhidharma, also known as Daruma, is one of the founders of Chan Buddhism (Zen). He is believed to be from South India and is venerated as the 'First Patriarch of Chan in the East'. His life story is largely mythologized, and his exact birth and death dates are unknown.

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Famous Bodhidharma Quotes

“All know the way, but few actually walk it.”

Knows Way Action Walks Inspire Buddhism Lifts Self Mastery

Author:Bodhidharma

“The Way is basically perfect. It doesn't require perfecting. The Way has no form or sound. It's subtle and hard to perceive. It's like when you drink water: you know how hot or cold it is, but you can't tell others.”

Knows Way Hard Wisdom Form Sound Water Perfect Know How Cold Drink Perfection Hot Perceive Subtle Drink Water

Book:The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“Not thinking about anything is zen. Once you know this, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is zen. To know that the mind is empty is to see the buddha.... Using the mind to reality is delusion. Not using the mind to look for reality is awareness. Freeing oneself from words is liberation.”

Thinking Knows Mind Looks Reality Lying Awareness Walking Sitting Standing Empty Oneself Liberation Delusion Lying Down

Book:The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is Zen.”

Thinking Knows Mind Lying Walking Sitting Lying Down Zen Proverb

Book:The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“If you know that everything comes from the mind, don't become attached. Once attached, you're unaware. But once you see your own nature, the entire Canon becomes so much prose. It's thousands of sutras and shastras only amount to a clear mind. Understanding comes in midsentence. What good are doctrines? The ultimate Truth is beyond words. Doctrines are words. They're not the Way. The Way is wordless. Words are illusions. . . . Don't cling to appearances, and you'll break through all barriers. . . .”

Ifs Knows Way Mind Truth Understanding Break Clear Amount Truth Is Illusion Ultimate Appearance Doctrine Prose Barriers Break Through Canon Ultimate Truth Clear Minds

Book:The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“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.”

Knows Doe Body Suffering Peace Existence Path Seeking Bliss

Book:The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“You can't know your real mind as long as you deceive yourself.”

Knows Mind Long Real Deceiving Hype Deceiving Yourself

Book:The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“Whoever knows that the mind is a fiction and devoid of anything real knows that his own mind neither exists nor doesn't exist.”

Knows Mind Real Fiction Uprising

Book:The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“To see nothing is to perceive the Way, and to understand nothing is to know the Dharma, because seeing is neither seeing nor not seeing, and because understanding is neither understanding nor not understanding.”

Knows Way Understanding Seeing Perceive Dharma

Book:The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Source: The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

“Those who worship don't know, and those who know don't worship.”

Knows Inspiring Worship

Author:Bodhidharma

About the Author

Known for: Biographer
Quotes: 104

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