(Taiso Eka) b.487 The Second Patriarch
Tradition holds that Huike studied with Bodhidharma at Shaolin Temple on Mount Song. Before Bodhidharma accepted him as a student, he was said to have stood outside his teacher’s cave in the snow and cut off his arm in order to demonstrate his sincerity to practice.
One story told about Huike is that he told Bodhidharma he was anxious, to which the first patriarch asked Huike to bring him his mind and he would pacify it. Huike admitted he could not find it, and Bodhidharma declared it pacified.
After Bodhidharma’s death, Huike moved to Yedu to teach the dharma, also spending time in the mountains where he met his student and dharma successor Jianzhi Sengcan.
Further Reading
Huike in the Denkōroku (Record of the Transmission of the Lamp)
Fortunate Way Zen 福 道 