Bodhidharma's "I Don't Know"
Emperor Wu of Liang asked Bodhidharma, "
What is the highest meaning of the holy truths?" Bodhidharma said,
"Vast emptiness, nothing holy." The Emperor then asked,
"Who stands before me?" Bodhidharma replied,
"I don't know." The Emperor did not understand.
Bodhidharma subsequently crossed the Yangtze River and went to the kingdom of Wei.
Reflection
Bodhidharma's reply to Emperor Wu – 'I don't know' when asked who stands before him – demonstrates the collapse of the separate self. The Emperor seeks ultimate truth and then asks about identity; Bodhidharma's ignorance is not lack of knowledge but the absence of a self that could be known. The emperor's failure to understand shows how deeply we cling to self-concept.