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he looked very absurd, because he was carrying one of his shoes on his head -- one shoe on one foot, the other shoe on his head!
The emperor was embarrassed. Hc had come with his whole court and the queens. "What will they think? And what kind of man have I come to receive?" He tried to overlook it out of politeness. He did not want to ask the question, "Why is this shoe on your head?"
But Bodhidharma would not leave him. He said, "Don't try to overlook it. Ask directly and be straight from the very beginning. I have already read the question in your head."
The emperor was at a loss; he had to ask. Now what to do with such a man? He said, "Yes, you are right, the question has arisen in me. Why are you carrying this shoe on your head?"
Bodhidharma said, "To put things in the right perspective from the very beginning. I am an absurd man! You have to understand it from the very beginning. I don't want to create any trouble later on. Either you accept me as I am or you simply say that you cannot accept me, and I will leave your kingdom. I will go to the mountains. I will wait there for my people to come to me. This is just to show you that I am illogical, I can be as absurd as one can imagine. That is my way of working, that is my way of destroying your mind. And unless your mind is destroyed you will not know who you are. So what do you say?"
The king was at a loss. He had come with a few questions, but whether to ask this man those questions or not? -- because he may say something ridiculous; not only that, he may do something ridiculous.
But Bodhidharma insisted, "It is better that you ask whatsoever you have come to ask."
The king said, "The first question is: I have been doing many virtuous deeds...."
And Bodhidharma looked deeply into the eyes of the king -- a shiver must have gone down his spine! -- and said, "All nonsense! How can you do a virtuous deed? You are not yet aware. Virtue is a by-product of awareness. What virtuous deeds do you mean? You look like a fool -- how can you do a virtuous deed? Virtue follows a buddha, virtue is my shadow." He said, "You can only do vice, not virtue. It is impossible."
The
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