相书-文化的排异动力 Motivation for Cultural Xenophobia

在少林寺里，有一个外来的婆罗门，被少林寺的出家人忍了好久的，即不随众人一起生活，还找了那个刺头，一个断了臂的也不是徒弟的人每天凶巴巴的跟着，好像随时准备和谁玩命似的，在整个少林寺能容忍这个外国人的理由就是，稳定，没有这个单臂的汉地和尚，还有3个同样寺里地位低下的出家人的保护，这个外国人早就被扔到山下了，但就是这种紧张的稳定，也被寺里的个别利益集团打破了，在达摩在少林寺的不到十年的时间，一共被下毒六会，几乎每年一回，其实是看着达摩碍眼，这在相信因果的佛教徒中是非常的奇怪的事，在没有一种文化上的充分理由的前提下，是不可能集体的秘密铲除外来的达摩的，这些人是有他们要维护的东西的，是什么，是文化系统的稳定，中国文化系统的稳定是这些恶劣行为的动力，文化要自发的稳定，最后，外来的达摩想中国文化妥协了，决定离开了，而且没有把身体留下的离开了，这是多么的绝望的努力啊，死也不把身体留在中国，为什么，在后来达摩的坟墓被挖了，是达摩死后，寺里把达摩的死党驱逐了，达摩只能以一个小土堆来回应整个社会了，在任何有身份的有徒弟的宗教领袖的坟墓会被挖，就说明，达摩当时的身份的真实情况，即没有徒弟的阻拦，也没有社会舆论支持，就这么被一些好奇的人挖了，这在中国文化中的含义是要斩草除根的意思，是，达摩如同没有来过中国一样，坟墓里没有身体，只有一只鞋，这也证明了达摩的廓然无圣的说法，一只手臂，换回了一只鞋，有点意思。

[Xiang’s Essay] - Motivation for Cultural Xenophobia

The monks’ patience for the Brahmin from outside of Shaolin Temple had reached its limit. Living in a weird, solitary way, followed every day by a one-armed brute who always seemed ready to kill, Bodhidharma was tolerated by the temple only because he “didn’t hurt”. Well, he must have been thrown away from the mountain if he hadn’t been protected by the one-armed and three other low-levelled monks. However, though as harmless as he was, some individuals in the temple decided it was time to break the “harmony”. Less than ten years that Bodhidharma stayed in the temple, six times he was poisoned, nearly one time a year. It was very strange that the Buddhists, who believed in karma, could root out a foreign Bodhidharma secretly for no cultural reason. So, why? Because they wanted to preserve. They wanted to preserve the Chinese cultural system. It was the real reason and motivation for the appalling deeds, a spontaneous self-protection of a culture.

At last, he surrendered. He was gone, without leaving his body in China. What depair it was! After Bodhidharma died, his tomb was opened. The temple had driven out his disciples. Nobody was there to stop it when the tomb was destroyed. In China, this meant a complete removal, as if Bodhidharma had never been here at all. He left only a small mound as the response to the world. There was no body in the tomb, only a shoe, as though Bodhidharma was answering with the word he used to answer Emperor Wu: nothing.

An arm for a shoe. That’s something.

from：zenlet.com