What did Bodhidharma teach Emperor Wudi about good works and enlightenment?

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Zen Soto monk meditating while begging, Kyoto, Japan.

According to tradition, when Bodhidharma met the Emperor Wudi, the emperor asked how much merit he had gained by building Buddhist monasteries and temples.

Bodhidharma famously responded that such good works, when performed with the intention of accumulating merit, were without value. He taught that while these actions might lead to favorable rebirths, they would not bring about enlightenment.1