From Nanjing, Bodhidharma continued north until he reached the Yangtze River.
On October 17, Seated by the river there was an old woman with a large bundle of reeds next to her. Bodhidharma walked up to the old woman and asked her if he might have a reed. She replied that he might. Bodhidharma took a single reed, placed it upon the surface of the Yangtze River and stepped onto the reed. He was carried across the Yangtze River by the force of his chi.
Seeing this, Shen Guang ran up to where the old woman sat and grabbed a handful of reeds without asking. He threw the reeds onto the Yangtze River and stepped onto them. The reeds sank beneath him and Shen Guang began drowning. The old woman saw his plight and took pity on Shen Guang, pulling him from the river. As Shen Guang lay on the ground coughing up river water, the old woman admonished him. She said that by not asking for her reeds before taking them, he had shown her disrespect and that by disrespecting her, Shen Guang had disrespected himself.
The old woman also told Shen Guang that he had been searching for a master and that Bodhidharma, the man he was following, was that master. As she said this, the reeds which had sunk beneath Shen Guang rose again to the surface of the river and Shen Guang found himself on the reeds being carried across the Yangtze river. He reached the other side and continued following after Bodhidharma.
There are many people who believe that the old woman by the river was a
Boddhisatva who was helping Shen Guang to end the cycle of his samsara.Similar Posts :
Yangtze River Bodhidharma, See Also:
Yangtze River Bodhidharma
