BODHI SEAL of the PATRIARCHS

A verse in praise of him says:

The Dharma spoken was from the

Dragon Palace.

His Way clothes were the feathered clan.

When directed to it they returned to

their own source:

The summit door, and the eagle eye.

He had a lion as his cub,

Singing far the songs of cranes.

Within the Country of Tokhara

Was perfume of faith-flavored incense.

The Venerable One was a native of the Country of Tokhara. He left home at the age of twenty two. Flocks of cranes used to follow the Venerable constantly. He asked the Twenty Second Patriarch, "What method can I use to liberate them?"

The Patriarch said, "I have an unsurpassed Dharma Jewel. You should listen to it, accept it, and use it to transform beings to the boundaries of the future." He then spoke this verse:

"The mind follows states and turns.

The place of turning can truly be obscure.

If following the flow one can recognize, one obtains the nature.

One then has no delights, and also has no worries."

When the flocks of cranes heard that verse, they flew up in the air calling out their cries, and disappeared.

The Venerable One then obtained the Dharma and traveled teaching until he reached Central India. There he transmitted the Dharma to Aryasimha, manifested the eighteen transformations, and returned to stillness.