The Blow Breaks Teeth;

　　He Swallows Them with the Blood

　　打落牙齒　和血而吞

　　Patriarch Bodhidharma was caught unprepared because he never expected that Dharma Master Shen Guang would hit him. Although certified sages can penetrate others” thoughts, the Patriarch did not reflect in advance on what the Dharma Master might do. Although Patriarch Bodhidharma had some skill in the martial arts, he was caught off guard. It never occurred to him that the monk would make such a vicious attack, that being unable to reply, he would resort to brute force. As a result, the blow broke off two of Patriarch Bodhidharma”s teeth.

　　達摩祖師當時沒留心，也想不到神光法師會打他，雖然證果的聖人有他心通，但沒有預先說是我算一算看看他會怎樣對我。達摩祖師大約會武術，可是因爲未加防避，想不到他會這麼厲害，說不過就動粗了；所以這一串念珠，就把達摩祖師的牙給打掉了兩顆。

　　What did Patriarch Bodhidharma do about the two broken teeth

　　 Well, he was a sage, and there”s a legend about the teeth of a patriarch--a certified sage--and what happens if they get broken and he spits them out onto the ground. It”s said that if a sage”s teeth are knocked loose and he spits them out on the ground, it won”t rain for three years.

　　打掉了兩顆牙，達摩祖師怎麼處理這牙？因爲他是聖人，據一般傳說，祖師、證果聖人的牙被人打掉了，這牙若吐出去，落到地上，那個地方就要天旱叁年，不下雨。

　　Patriarch Bodhidharma thought, "Ai! If it doesn”t rain for three years, just imagine how many people will starve! I have come to China to save beings, not to kill them!" And so Patriarch Bodhidharma did not let his teeth fall to the ground. Instead, he swallowed them, just as if he were eating a pancake. Well, pancakes aren”t that hard--it was more like eating a bone! He swallowed them and made his exit.

　　達摩祖師一想：“噢！若叁年不下雨，你說這要餓死多少人！我來度衆生、救衆生，這不是殺衆生嗎？”可是如果不吐到地上，這牙怎麼辦？于是，兩顆牙也舍不得吐到地上，就把這兩顆牙像吃油餅似的，吞到肚裏去了；油餅沒有那麼硬，他就像吃骨頭似的，吃到肚裏頭去；然後就走了。

　　Therefore, in China, there is a saying that came from that incident, "If someone knocks out the teeth of an arhat, the arhat swallows them."

　　所以在中國有這麼一句話：“羅漢打落牙和血吞。”就從這裏來的。