Painting: Boddhidharma Crossing the River on a Piece of Straw

By Cuiying Zhang
(Clearharmony.net)

Buddhi Dharma belonged to the twenty-eighth generation of Sakiamuni’s disciples, who was also the founder of the Zen Buddhism. Dharma started preaching Fo Fa at North China in 527 BC. When he passed the Yangtze River, Dharma stood upon one single straw, using supernatural capabilities to carry himself across the water. Such is expressed in the painting.

Later on Dharma cultivated “screen tranquil” at the Shaolin Temple in He’nan province. He sat in front of a natural granite screen day after day to practise tranquillity for a surprising nine years. He was so dedicated that in the end his reflection was left onto the granite screen. The screen was then called the “reflection screen” and is still in existence in a cave near the Shaolin Temple.