2-723-906 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Bodhidharma Crossing the Yangzi on a Reed, 1300s. Bodhidharma was a legendary Indian monk who is said to have transmitted the Chan (or Zen) doctrine from India to China in the 6th century. The inscribed poem is by the priest Liaoan Qingyu (1288-1363) and reads: "Wind rises from the reed flowers, the waves are high, / It's a long way to go beyond the cliff of the Shaoshi mountain, / Above the worlds of kalpas a flower is opening into five petals, / So that your barefoot heels are just fine for the whipping rattans."