If someone asks the meaning of Bodhidharma coming from the West,
It is that the handle of a wooden ladle is long, and the mountain torrents run deep;
If you want to know the boundless meaning of this,
Wait for the wind blowing in the pines to drown out the sound of koto strings.
(1)
The traditional, though highly legendary, account of Bodhidharma's life is found in The Biographies of Eminent Monks (Hsü kao-seng chuan, T.2060), compiled around 655. There, Bodhidharma is described as being the third son in a south Indian Brahmin family. Around the beginning of the sixth century he is said to have traveled by sea to south China in order to transmit the Buddha's teaching.
An age-old question that was often posed to Zen Masters was, "Why did the First Patriarch [Bodhidharma] come to the east [China]?" There are some variations on the question, most common of which is the phrasing, "Why did Bodhidharma come from the west [India]?", but the inquiry itself is essentially the same in all its formulations. Bodhidharma, the legendary founder of the Chan lineage in China, is said to have journeyed from India and brought the teaching with him. On the most superficial level, the question addresses why Bodhidharma left his homeland of India at all, and why he might have chosen China rather than anywhere else. However, these questions are addressed (at least to some extent) in the Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, and the 'Bodhidharma Question' as it shall henceforth be called is usually treated by Zen masters as a question of great profundity. In other words, superficial answers will not do.
Perhaps the heart of the matter is the peculiar relationship between Zen and its own doctrines. The Dharma - the teaching - that the First Patriarch brought with him to China cannot be a reason for such a pilgrimage, at least in the conventional sense. As it says in the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha does not teach any Dharma:
The Buddha said, “Subhuti, if someone should claim, ‘the Tathagata teaches a dharma’, such a claim would be untrue. Such a view of me, Subhuti, would be a misconception. And how so? In the teaching of a dharma, Subhuti, in the ‘teaching of a dharma’ there is no such dharma to be found as the ‘teaching of a dharma.’”
This is a sentiment that is echoed later by Huangbo:
"You do not see that the fundamental doctrine of the Dharma is that is are no Dharmas, yet that this doctrine of no-Dharma is in itself a Dharma; and now that the No-Dharma doctrine has been transmitted, how can the doctrine of the Dharma be a Dharma?"
In other words, the teaching is itself the removal of any and all beliefs in the inherent existence of independent phenomena. This includes the teaching itself - the Buddha, his line of patriarchs, Buddhism and Chan. This is the teaching that has been wordlessly transmitted from the Buddha, all the way down to Bodhidharma. Furthermore, the masters gave several answers to this question, sometimes plainly answering in terms of doctrine.
According to Guishan: "What is the meaning of [Bodhidharma's] coming from the west? A special transmission outside the scriptures." This is, of course, the first of The Four Statements of Zen, and Guishan is pointing to the transmission of the Dharma itself, which had already passed from the Buddha down through 28 Indian Patriarchs, suggesting that the mind transmission is itself the only justification needed. According to Zongmi, Bodhidharma said: “My dharma is a Mind-to-Mind transmission, no involvement with the written word.” Zongmi's statement thus attributes the second statement of Zen to Bodhidharma, which completes the picture of the mind transmission as something that exists in the encounter, interaction, or relation between individuals and not in written doctrine. Thus, to disseminate the teaching, eventually someone had to journey outside of India, because the written word would never do. While this is well and good, this itself risks turning into a bit of doctrine. As such, there is something of a challenge in the Bodhidharma Question when students pose it to their teachers, because if the teacher simply regurgitates a quote, a bit of dogma, or anything depending on tradition or the written word, he is failing to continue Bodhidharma's transmission.
Thus, the Bodhidharma Question is considered 'paradoxical', since he is a teacher who had nothing to teach - or, rather, his teaching was that there is nothing to teach. The teaching is considered valuable in and of itself by the Zen tradition - but to answer in terms of tradition or pre-established thinking is to devalue and fail to live up to that same teaching. Xiangyan addressed the apparent difficulty this question presents:
"It is like a man up in a tree, hanging from a branch with his mouth; his hands grasp no bough, his feet rest on no limb. Someone appears under the tree and asks him, ‘What is the meaning of Bodhidharma's coming from the West?’ If he does not answer, he shirks his duty. If he answers, he loses his life.”
The implication is that the teacher is obliged to aid in the student's understanding, but any answer he could give would be fatal to the teaching itself. Thankfully, this is where Zen's curious relationship to words can work to its advantage, since words can be nothing more than provisional when discussing Zen. The 'answer' to the alleged paradox is a non-dual answer, but language is dualistic. The Zen master must therefore use his words creatively, employing them in unconventional ways in order to somehow elucidate this. As such, when Zen masters are asked, "Why did the First Patriarch come to the east?", they give a variety of different answers.
Aside from all of these dialogues, the Record of Linji contains some much longer sections of dialogue that center around the Bodhidharma Question:
Zhaozhou while on a pilgrimage came to see Linji. The master happened to be washing his feet when they met.
Zhaozhou asked, “What is the purpose of the Patriarch’s coming from
the West?”
“I just happen to be washing my feet,” replied the master.
Zhaozhou came closer and, cocking his ear, gave the appearance of listening. The master said, “I’m going to pour out a second dipper of dirty water.” Zhaozhou departed.
On another occasion, Linji also said, “If you think there is a meaning, you can’t liberate yourself.”
A disciple asked, “If there is no meaning, then why did the Second Patriarch received the transmission?”
Linji said, “He attained what cannot be attained.”
“What is this which cannot be attained?”
“It’s simply because you seek all over the place, so your mind is restless. It’s what patriarchs called ‘using your head to look for your head.’ When you hear this, immediately reflect inward, do not seek elsewhere! Know that your body and mind is no different from that of the Buddhas and patriarchs, that there is absolutely nothing more, that is receiving the transmission.”
Longya asked Linji, “What is the purpose of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?” Linji said, “Hand me the backrest.” Longya handed the backrest to the master. The master took it and hit him with it. Longya said, “It’s all right that you hit me, but there still isn’t any purpose in the Patriarch’s coming from the West.”
Later Longya went to see Cuiwei and asked him, “What is the purpose of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?” Cuiwei said, “Hand me the rush mat.” Longya handed the mat to Cuiwei. Cuiwei took it and hit him with it. Longya said, “It’s all right that you hit me, but there still isn’t any purpose in the Patriarch’s coming from the West.”
After Longya had become the master of a temple, a monk entered his room to receive instruction. “I have heard,” the monk said, “that when you were on pilgrimage, Venerable Priest, you had the opportunity to interview two eminent elders. Did you acknowledge them?”
“I acknowledged them profoundly all right, but there still isn’t any purpose in the Patriarch’s coming from the West.”
(1) koan 18, Heine translation