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The local Difang Zhi (historical records) state that Bodhidharma established. True Victory Temple here in Tianchang. Difang Zhi are considered reliable because they are simply local records, not "histories" that might be written to promote a special version of events. So this place, almost unknown in both China and the West, may truly be where Bodhidharma set up a Dharma seat and expounded his Zen in China.
Introduction ix
1 An Auspicious Date 3
2 Guangzhou 10
3 Hualin Temple 18
4 The Layout of a Traditional Chinese Temple 31
5 Grand Buddha Temple 38
6 Guangxiao Temple 43
7 Another Visit to Hualin Temple 50
8 Traveling North 55
9 Zen at War 60
10 The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Ancestor 66
11 Nanhua Temple: The Sixth Ancestor Huineng's Dharma Seat 68
12 Yunmen Temple 78
13 Danxia Mountain 86
14 Separate Transmission Temple 89
15 Nanchang City 93
16 Youmin Temple 98
17 The Trip to Baizhang Temple 99
18 Baizhang Temple 105
19 Jiujiang City 131
20 Up or Down the Yang-tse River? 135
21 Meeting Gunabhadra? 137
22 Laozu Si, the Old Ancestor's Temple 148
23 Nanjing City 163
24 Emperor Wu and Imperial-Way Buddhism 166
25 Tianchang City and Bodhidharma's True Victory Temple 172
26 Linggu Temple on Bell Mountain 180
27 Emperor Wu, the Chakravartin King and Bodhisattva Emperor 182
28 Emperor Wu and His Family 189
29 Emperor Wu and the Temples of Bell Mountain 192
30 Mufu Mountains and Bodhidharma's Nanjing Cave 201
31 The Fusing of Confucianism and Buddhism under Emperor Wu 208
32 The Tai Cheng Palace and Hualin Garden 211
33 The Poem by Crown Prince Zhao Ming (Xiao Tong) 216
34 Stone Fortress and Refreshing Mountain 220
35 Dingshan Temple 227
36 Changlu Temple 239
37 Train to Wuhan 247
38 Xiangfan City 258
39 Mount Song and Shaolin Temple 262
40 Shaolin Temple 265
41 Bodhidharma's Cave 279
42 Huishan Temple 283
43 Ordination Platforms: The Battle Ground between Imperial and Bodhidharma Zen? 293
44 The Temples of Luoyang 299
45 Empty Appearance Temple 309
46 Bodhidharma's Memorial Stele: Written by Emperor Wu? 312
47 Bodhidharma Memorial Ceremony 328
48 Train to Shanghai 330
49 Bodhidharma's Fate 340
50 Epilogue 346
51 Was Japan to Blame? 353
Appendix: Traditional Account of Bodhidharma's Death in the Compendium of Five Lamps (thirteenth century) 357
Overview
The local Difang Zhi (historical records) state that Bodhidharma established. True Victory Temple here in Tianchang. Difang Zhi are considered reliable because they are simply local records, not "histories" that might be written to promote a special version of events. So this place, almost unknown in both China and the West, may truly be where Bodhidharma set up a Dharma seat and expounded his Zen in China.