When, after many years spent in the Shaolin monastery, Bodhidharma decided to leave the Celestial Empire, before leaving, he gathered around the best students in order to find out: what did they understand while studying with him? The first student said:
—Truth is beyond “yes” and “no”; affirmation or denial is only the path for truth.
The teacher nodded and answered:
—You have my skin.
The second student said:
—The truth is like the ascetic Ananda’s view of the Buddha Land—he saw it once and forever.
The teacher nodded and answered:
—You have my flesh.
The third student said:
—Truth lies outside things and reality, for they only obscure it. Only spirit is true truth and reality.
The teacher nodded and answered:
—You have my bones. And finally the last disciple bowed to Bodhidharma, smiled and remained silent.
The teacher smiled back and said:
—You have my essence.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru