Bodhidharma's sayings appear in so many translations that choosing one translation of a given saying depends a lot, I guess, on who's choosing. My choice below is what I think is the briefest of the passage I'm about to quote, and I like brevity a lot.
Bodhidharma was asked to meet the Emperor of China shortly after arriving in China. His rep preceded him, as they say. The Emperor boasted to Bodhidharma that he'd built many temples, supported many monks and nuns, and paid for hundreds of sutras to be translated into Chinese. After listing his accomplishments, the Emperor asked Bodhidharma how much merit he had thus accumulated. "No merit", Bodhidharma replied. Shocked at this insolence, the Emperor demanded to know what Bodhidharma considered to be the essence of Zen. Bodhidharma replied, "Vast emptiness, nothing holy".
I just love those few words from this great master.
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