Cold winds blow under a desolate sky.The radiance from the hook shaped moon serving to illuminate the darkness of ever-night.

 

 Towards  the west side of the Daxiong Hall in Shaolin Temple there is a great hall situated which bears the name of Liuzu. There are five Bodhisattvas enshrined inside  this temple, they being  the Great Boddhisattva , the Bodhisattva Manjushri, Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, and Maitreya -he who is to come. On both sides along the path that leads to the shrine of the  Bodhisattvas , the great ancestors of the past have been consecrated ; they being  namely the first ancestor of Zen Buddhism, the second ancestor Hui Ke, the third ancestor, the fourth ancestor, the fifth and the sixth. The six ancestors themselves belonged to a legacy which had been passed down master to disciple all the way from the legendary founder -Bodhidharma himself. As a result the shrine itself came to bear a name which attained great fame -The Six Ancestors Worshipping the Lady Guanyin.

 

 

Upon a futon inside the temple there seems to be a monk resting.He appears to be of Twenty Three to Twenty Four years in age.His  robes are white and blemish less.However unfortunately all such  characteristics of his  pale in comparison to his form. For he is unbearably ugly of both face and body. His eyes terrifying like a demon , his nose and ears too ugly to behold , his eyebrows evoking an unparalleled sense of disgust.His deformed limbs are no better they only serving to highlight his grotesque appearance even further

    The monk's visage was as pale as a ghost, his  forehead caked with fine sweat, his body stooping with  hands pressed to the ground as if he were going to fall at any instant

    In the past few days, he  had felt  his body getting weaker and weaker. Even the strength to speak had been lost. He felt as if his soul could be stripped of his body anytime ,dragged away by Yama the king of Hell .Still he could do nothing for his was a vague feeling with no concrete basis in reality  as successive inspections at the Hospital pointed out.
   

A strong premonition had taken root in his heart . He felt as if subconsciously he wished to leave this world for this was not his home; he came from a distant place one which he dreamed of every night, A world  where  Gods and Demons weren't mere myths but were living and kicking.A world entirely different from where he was now.
    

The monk kowtowed thrice ,his strong faith had sustained him for so long but now he felt utterly powerless: "O Bodhisattvas high in the heavens and the Great Ancestors who pointed the path to those who follow it appears that this disciple would finally pass on to the Nether Realm . I feel that  I can't withstand my torment any further. My immense gratitude to Buddhism which took this disciple under its wing for so many years ; gave him a home when he sorely needed it and showed him a path to live .This disciple shall die with no regrets .Forgive him however for not accomplishing more than he could 
  This disciple had wished to got Daxiong Hall  and prostrate before the feet of the Buddha one last time however he feels that the Great Buddha should not be bothered by the likes of him who is but a mere sliver of dust floating in the wind unworthy of any attention.If the Bodhisattvas feel that this disciple is undeserving of your concern as well then so be it.This disciple has no such extravagant hopes anyway

After performing the obeisance thrice  just as the monk wished to get up and leave suddenly a voice came into existence "Halt! Where do you think you are leaving to so soon ?"

    The monk was shocked and looked around but found none  in the hall save for himself. He thought inwardly" Was the voice issued by a ghost that haunts men ? How insolent of a humble ghost to transgress the holy site of the Buddha himself! Does it not fear that it shall be consigned to oblivion for its crime?" ,thus picking up courage he roared aloud , "Which ghost is here to defile this sacred place? Begone in the name of the Great Buddha !"

    He heard the voice of a man in reply."It is me Bodhidharma!"

    The stunned monk quickly turned his head and looked at the  statue of Bodhidharma. And Lo and Behold ! It were as if the statue were living ! It was radiating a soft ,golden light accompanied by  a solemn atmosphere being exuded form it . The speechless  monk simply couldn't believe his eyes.Fear shrouded his heart and he was quick to beg for forgiveness."Forgive the mistakes of this disciple Great Ancestor ! In his folly disciple dared to affront Great Ancestor with his words a million years spent in hell shall not be enough for this ."
   

Bodhidharma replied without hesitation."Fear Not ! I forgive you for your fault was unintentional and caused no harm."

The  monk heard his  words, and  sighed with relief .Suddenly however a thought struck his head and he  begged aloud “Save me great ancestor!” 

    Bodhidharma asked,“Why?What happened ?”

The  monk replied ,“This disciple feels as if his lifespan has come to an end  . I feel that I can die  any time now . Since birth, this disciple has done his  best to follow the teachings of the Buddha he can say with certainty that apart from stealing a little fish a few years of ago in no way did he not follow  the teachings. Thus this disciple hopes that Ancestor can save the poor life of this disciple, the disciple promises that he shall continue to adhere to the path of the Buddha and never stray away from it  ." 

    Bodhidharma replied with a faint tone of voice , "You shall not die!." 

 The monk may still have doubted if these words had come forth from a doctor's mouth , but what need there was for a being like him who dominated over all sentient lifeforms to lie to a humble existence like him ? Naturally he became ecstatic and began to thank Bodhidharma profusely ."Disciple is extremely indebted for the grace of Ancestral Master ! However disciple still has a doubt.What reason there was for the disciple to feel as if he were going to die ? "
   

Bodhidharma said ,"Don't force yourself ! All that you see , hear and feel are nothing but a dream !."

The  monk sighed and replied: "Forgive this disciple.! He realises that all of existence is the  illusory world of desires ” 

Bodhidharma replied“I do not mean the profound philosophy of Zen . What you see and hear on earth is really just a dream for you!”

    The monk on hearing this became confused and queried "Is the master joking with this disciple? The disciple has been living here since he was born. Every day I remember clearly, how could there have  been such a long time dream? Besides, if this is really a dream, why did the ancestor appear in my dream? Is the ancestor also nothing but an illusion in my dreams?” 

Bodhidharma said: “The reason why I can appear in your dreams is because of you. This dream was created by me. I exhausted all of my spare power and tore the void, only to let you dream of this twenty years. I have waited for tens of thousands of years for your dream. Although this is your dream, everything in this dream is real. Just like for  Zhuang Zhou who dreamt of the butterfly ;When the real becomes unreal the unreal shall become real.The truth shall be clear only when you awaken from your deep slumber "

The  monk felt as if he were trapped in an illusory fog,He really felt as if he were in a dream ! He asked thus even more confused than before ."Who shall this disciple be when he awakens ?" 

Bodhidharma replied: "I was born to none yet here I am .Was I he who I was when I was born or shall I be someone else when I mature ? You are whom you wish to be and nothing else"

The monk was getting more and more confused he took a breath and asked then."If the ancestor permits the disciple wishes to ask why the ancestor used so much effort to pull him deep into this dream ?"

Bodhidharma replied: "To save me of course !" 

    The monk was extremely startled at the course of the events ,"How can this humble disciple rescue he whom all sentient beings turn to to be rescued ?
    

Bodhidharma said ,"My body  has been in fact been kidnapped !" 

The monk was shocked ."Kidnapped !"

Bodhidharma said ,"Both the form you see and the presence you feel in this land is but my avatar.My true self is not here and I'm but helpless forced to stay in this land using the last shreds of  my strength."
  

  The Monk asked , "Where are you being held?" 

    Bodhidharma replied"You shall know when the time comes."

Tremendous waves surged in the monk's heart ," even the great ancestor who is so  powerful has been defeated ? If I encounter such a god-like person, Not to mention saving others will I able to protect myself ? I would perhaps perish unjustly without ever knowing how ! "

Aloud  he said therefore , "Will this disciple wishes to save you with all his heart .He is but a mere mortal .How then can he muster the strength in order to save you from your calamity" 

    Bodhidharma said: "Who said you  are completely incapable ? Haven't you studied the profound Yi Jinjing and 72 Shaolin skills that I had left behind long ago ?" 

    This was true! 

    Although the monk may be ugly of form , his identity to the contrary was really beautiful. He was the illegitimate son of the Shaolin abbot. The abbot treated him as his own flesh and blood  and was thus cherished fsr more than any of the other monks. It was as if the monk had asked for a star the abbot would have spared no pains to grasp the moon in the sky for him !. Therefore, the Shaolin Temple was like family to him . He could go wherever he wished to . The Treasure pavilion housing the various scriptures  forbidden to others was akin to a mere study to him . He could read whatever he wished to even carry it along with him to school !

    However, he possessed no interest in reading the scriptures pertaining to Dharma and only liked to read the various kung fu cheats. Although his knowledge was shallow and his skills showy he was extremely proud of them. Whenever  he used to see those books, he would always feel an inexplicable excitement. 

    Due to his hideous appearance , he had none to call a friend all the way from  elementary school to university. Nowadays, although the world may have progresses from love between the opposite sexes to even love between the same his ugliness still appears to be a taboo. For a long time he was all alone . Nothing to do apart from reading and practising martial arts.The  Twelve stunts were  thoroughly studied by him indeed  still he felt something fishy.

    The monk replied, "I have truly studied it.But such shabby skills may be enough to boss a mortal or two but against beings the likes of you I would unable to last even an instant  "

  Bodhidharma said: "The fact that you have already realised the true meaning of the seventy-two skills  at such  a young age is in itself very admirable , indicating that my vision has not deteriorated with age.The fact that you are willing to work so hard to study these skills shows that you have already realised their uncommonness . I need not say anything further then . Your heart is confused for you have not seen the true might of these skills.Let me tell  you that this earth is a land of no spirit, no aura, so even if the great way is broad  there can be no cultivators here , People living past the age of seventy could already be considered rare in the ancient times.. In the future, you shall learn more and the road to immortality shall be at your fingertips!" 

 

The Monk couldn't help exclaiming inwardly."It really is a pity that this guy doesn't engage in ponzi schemes.With his talent he might even con the entire country !" .Even so he couldn't stop his blood from boiling and his heart from pounding.He didn't dare to stare into Bodhidharma's eyes for fear that he recognised his emotions in turmoil ."  This Shaolin Kung Fu is really not an ordinary thing,all of my painstaking effort for so many years hasn't been in vain !'  Concealing his inner joy, he asked aloud "What then should the disciple do in the future?" 

  Bodhidharma replied "To know the past, one must be the recipient of this life; to know the afterlife, one must be the author ! I have given all that I could and the rest of the path ahead lies up to you !" 
    

The monk said nothing simply nodding in reply

  Suddenly Bodhidharma interjected  "Here! Let me grant you a magic weapon!"

The voice just fell, and a sword was thrown from his  chest, hanging in the air. The blade is was a deep azure blue like a carving made entirely of sapphire. The blade was long and looked awfully sharp thankfully there was a hand-guard between the blade and the hilt . It had  a "卍" symbol engraved at the centre, emitting golden light. The bade emitted a sense of repression giving the feeling that one should prostrate themselves before it 

    The monk knows that this is definitely a treasure that has never been heard of ever before. Just as he wished to thank him he suddenly felt himself losing all the strength in his body and fell down . He said "Isn't the ancestor saying that this is naught but  a dream? Although this sword is excellent, it is impossible for the disciple to take it away !"

Bodhidharma replied calmly , unconcerned "The inferior warriors, kill people with swords; those  middle in ability  may be more better  ; their betters on the other hand use the swords to kill .What you see as  the sword is not a sword in the physical sense, it is but a sword Meaning, that is, the soul of the sword which  can be integrated into your soul and blend into your dreams." The 

The monk by now is enjoying his dream to the fullest."Thank you for the gift Ancestor!

Bodhidharma said: "You don't have to thank me. This sword is called the Making Heaven Divine Sword. Be it yin-yang or the five elements all can originate from this !Thus it is invincible !  The purpose of heaven is not always present in life and death but also involves the spinning of the threads of fate .This cannot be explained by me only you can comprehend it by yourself !  Beware ! Remember take care to use this sword.Draw it not from its sheath unless you encounter a great peril for with each time that is drawn into the world it is bound to feast upon blood until it satiates its great thirst."
    

The monk was  shocked,"Is this a Demonic Sword ?"

Bodhidharma  said: "The sword in the hands of a demon is a Demonic sword . In the hands of a Bodhisattva it is sacred . Sometimes to save people one must kill and other times by saving one is no better than having killed by his own hands. The distinction between right and wrong , between Buddhist and Demonic cannot be demarcated clearly certainly not by a sword! Just remember, when there is no demon in the heart there shall be none in the world !"

The monk replied then "This disciple has remembered the lesson taught." 

    Bodhidharma "Swish"Suddenly the Making Heaven Divine Sword turned into a pinprick and entered the forehead of the monk

  When the sword entered his body it was as if a thousand ripples had been stirred by a falling stone . The monk felt that the blood in his body was boiling, his  soul was shaking before suddenly his eyes rolled inside his head and he fell into a swoon

  Bodhidharma waved his right hand and said:"Go, young man! I wish that I would be able see you at the end of the way".the body of the monk then shimmered before vanishing instantly leaving behind no trace of his existence as if he had never been there at all

As if all of it but  were a dream.