Huike Offering His Arm to Bodhidharma  1496

This painting depicts a famous anecdote of Zen Buddhism. When Bodhidharma, the first patriarch of Zen Buddhism, was meditating facing a rock wall in Shaolin-si Temple, the monk Huike came and asked to be accepted as his disciple. When Bodhidharma rejected the young priest, however, Huike chopped off his left arm to prove his firm determination to the master. He was then ac...