I. Title.
PS3616.O878 S83 2010 2010927414
813.6--dc22 1005
To my wife Charmaigne, without whom Bodhidharma would never have left India.
PROLOGUE
Pallava, South India, A.D. 507
The Lotus Sermon
As the sun set over the southern kingdom of Pallava, a vast crowd gathered in a park in Kanchipuram, the elegant state capital. People had come from all over the city. Many more had traveled from the ports and fishing villages of the palm-fringed coast. Some had even journeyed from the remote villages of the interior. They had all come for one reason—to hear the words of the renowned Buddhist master Prajnatara. It had been many years since Prajnatara had spoken in public and the warm evening air crackled with expectation.
However, there was one young man among the throng who had no interest in the ramblings of an old monk. His name, like his father’s, was Sardili; and his only interest was in getting home after a long day of training at the Military Academy. He was halfway across the park when he caught a glimpse of a skinny little man sitting apart from the crowd. At first Sardili imagined it was a hermit, come to join in the occasion, but when he noticed all eyes on the little man and heard Prajnatara’s name spoken in awe, he realized it was the master himself.
The crowd was waiting for Prajnatara to begin his sermon, but Prajnatara simply held a flower aloft and gazed at it in silent wonder. Sardili paused to see how long the little master would keep such a multitude waiting. People grew restless and called out to Prajnatara urging him to speak, but if he heard them he did not respond. A mischievous young boy went forward and shook the master by the shoulder, but Prajnatara ignored him and continued to gaze at his flower. One of Prajnatara’s disciples gently ushered the boy away.
Sardili grew tired of waiting and turned to go, but at that very moment, Prajnatara spoke.
“Sit with me.”
His voice was powerful for such a small man, and oddly compelling. Those nearest him began to sit. When those behind saw what was happening they followed, until the entire multitude was seated before him. Then, Prajnatara held up the yellow lotus that he had picked from a nearby pond, and refocused his gaze upon it. Sardili wondered whether some strange magic was about to occur. Perhaps the flower would burst into flame or be transformed into a bird and fly away. He waited. No magic took place. Bored with watching, he rose to leave, but, just then Prajnatara spoke again.
“A thousand years ago, when The Buddha was coming to the end of his life, there was great debate about who would be his successor. Who among his followers understood his wisdom most completely? A gathering was organized to decide the matter, the last The Buddha would ever attend on earth, and it took place in a beautiful park not unlike this one, in northern India.”
Sardili sat again, compelled to listen to the master’s tale.
“Many thousands of people came to hear The Buddha’s final sermon. But instead of giving a lengthy speech as he usually did, he simply waded into a pond and pulled up a lotus. He showed it to his followers and, like you, they wondered what to make of it. Even his most senior disciples were puzzled. Normally, The Buddha spoke for hours and they listened, hoping that if they listened for long enough they would become enlightened like The Buddha. But now, in the most important sermon of his life, The Buddha did not have a single word to say.
“Eventually, some of The Buddha’s disciples began to debate and speculate on the meaning of the flower. Hearing them, The Buddha rose and held up the flower to each of them in turn. Each disciple guessed at its meaning, hoping to become The Buddha’s successor. The flower was Heaven? The root was Earth? The stem was The Buddha’s doctrine, which joined the two? Each tried in turn, offering a new suggestion, until finally The Buddha came to Kasyapa, the last of his disciples, who said nothing and simply smiled at his master. With that, The Buddha gave the flower to Kasyapa and turned to address the multitude. ‘All that can be said has already been said,’ he told them. ‘That which cannot be said has been passed to Kasyapa.’ And that is how Kasyapa became The Buddha’s successor.”
The crowd was silent, awaiting an explanation, but instead, Prajnatara returned to his silent contemplation of the lotus. People called to him to clarify the meaning of his story, but he ignored them and continued to gaze at the flower. Sardili wondered what Kasyapa had seen in the flower to make him smile. He stared at Prajnatara’s lotus to see if anything would become apparent. He even smiled as Kasyapa had done, but saw no new meaning in it.
The crowd began to disperse, bemused and disappointed, but Sardili remained with a handful of others watching the flower, intrigued to know its meaning. As darkness fell, Prajnatara’s disciples lit torches, while their master continued his silent study of the lotus. Hours passed. Shortly before midnight, Sardili accepted that Prajnatara would make no further revelations. The hour was late. His parents would begin to worry. He rose and left the little master still seated in the park and gazing at his flower as if he were seeing the most precious thing in the world.
Over the following days, the riddle of the Lotus Sermon returned to Sardili many times. Each time it puzzled him more. Days turned to weeks and still the riddle did not leave him. Instead, it grew into an obsession that gnawed away inside him, a terrible itch he could not scratch. He became distracted in his studies at the Military Academy. In lectures he no longer challenged the strategies of his teachers, as he had once done so keenly. In sparring matches, his opponents tagged him with practice blades, something none had succeeded in doing for many years. In training with real swords, his mind wandered to the lotus and he opened a deep gash in his own calf. His instructors grew concerned and visited his father, the renowned General Sardili.
The next morning the young Sardili was summoned to his father’s office. It was at the far end of the Sardili residence and away from the distraction of the general’s large family. That part of the house had always been kept free of noisy children and chattering servants. Only a steady stream of military personnel had come and gone at all hours of the day and night. Sardili knocked. Normally the general’s adjutant would answer, so Sardili was surprised when his father appeared quickly and greeted him with a broad smile.
The general was an imposing figure. He towered over other men, not just because of his size—though he was tall, and built like a bull. There was a certainty in him that bent others to his will. His deep rumbling voice carried effortless authority and his piercing eyes held lesser men captive in their gaze. The general had always towered over him too, but now as he entered the study, the young Sardili noticed he was half a head taller than his father.
“Sit down young man,” the general said cheerfully, and Sardili felt himself drawn into his father’s irrepressible warmth. It was a side of the general few soldiers had seen, but one he had enjoyed often enough as a boy. “How are you?” his father boomed. “We haven’t spoken for some time. I’ve been preoccupied with affairs of state. You know how it is. My retirement hasn’t brought the peace I was hoping for.”
“You’re too young and fit to retire, father. Everyone knows that,” Sardili said dutifully.
“That’s good of you to say, but I’m not fit now, not as I once was. Not as you are now.” Then the general’s face grew serious. “Anyway, enough about me. Let’s talk about you, my son. One of your instructors from the Academy visited yesterday. We had a long talk. A good talk. He says you’re an outstanding young soldier, the finest the Academy has ever produced. He tells me you’re unbeaten
