Meeting Face-to-Face, He Misses His Chance,
Failing to Recognize the Patriarch

当面错过　不识祖师

For the Patriarch to say he had no merit and virtue was one thing, but for Emperor Wu of Liang to hear that was another, for it made him quite unhappy. From then on, the Emperor ignored Patriarch Bodhidharma. No matter what Dharma the Patriarch spoke, the Emperor refused to listen. "Why should I listen to you?" Emperor Wu's karmic obstacles were too heavy. Although Patriarch Bodhidharma came from India to become the First Patriarch of China, Emperor Wu of Liang failed to recognize him. He was face-to-face and missed his chance.

那么说他没有功德不要紧，但梁武帝当时一听这话，就不欢喜了，所以就不睬这个达摩，达摩祖师再讲什么法，他也不听了：“我何必要听你讲呢！”梁武帝因为业障太重了，所以达摩祖师虽然是印度来的第一代祖师，可是他就当面错过。中国人有句话说：“对面不识观世音！”这梁武帝呢，他对面不识西来意，不认识西来的祖师。

The Chinese people have a saying, "Coming face-to-face, one fails to recognize the Bodhisattva Who Contemplates the Sounds of the World." Emperor Wu of Liang was face-to-face and failed to recognize the One Who Intentionally Came from the West. He did not recognize the Patriarch who came from the West. Why did Patriarch Bodhidharma want to save him? He knew that the Emperor was going to encounter some difficulty, so he wanted to help the Emperor awaken. Had Emperor Wu been able to leave home and cultivate, or to yield his throne to someone else, he could have avoided the fate of starving to death.

达摩祖师为什么要救他？因为达摩祖师知道梁武帝将有一种灾难，就想令他觉悟──或者出家修行，或者把皇帝让给旁人做，那么他就可以免去饿死的灾难。