Bodhidharma

Learn about Bodhidharma, the semi-legendary Indian monk who is traditionally considered the founder of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China. Explore his life, teachings, legends, and how his memory shaped East Asian spirituality.

Introduction

Bodhidharma (Chinese: ????, Pútídámó) is revered in Buddhist tradition as the first patriarch of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China. Though historical facts about his life are scarce and often entangled with legend, he remains a powerful symbol of meditation, direct insight, and spiritual perseverance. His influence reverberates in Zen lineages across East Asia, and his image is iconic in Buddhist art and lore.

Early Life and Origins

Because contemporary records are minimal, details about Bodhidharma’s birth, ancestry, and early life are uncertain and vary across sources. What follows is a synthesis of traditional accounts and modern scholarly interpretations.

• He is generally thought to have lived during the 5th or early 6th century CE.

• Chinese sources sometimes describe him as coming from the Western Regions (a broad term for areas west of China, including Central Asia or the Indian subcontinent).

• Certain traditions assert he was the third son of a Brahman king in South India, perhaps from Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, and later renounced worldly status to become a monk.

• Alternative accounts label him as Persian or Central Asian rather than Indian—there is no consensus.

In sum, his early biography is more legendary than reliably verifiable; much of what is “known” is mediated through later Buddhist hagiography.

Arrival in China & Key Legends

The Record of Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang & Early Mentions

One of the earliest references to Bodhidharma appears in the Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang (compiled 547 CE), which describes him as a monk from the Western Regions, capable of mystical feats.

Later biographies were composed in China and elaborated his story, including Daoxuan’s account (7th century) and the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (10th century), which helped canonize his legend.

Encounter with Emperor Wu of Liang

One of the most famous stories is Bodhidharma’s meeting with Emperor Wu of Liang (ruler in southern China, a patron of Buddhism). The emperor asked him what merit he had earned through his patronage of Buddhism; Bodhidharma replied, “None whatsoever.”

When asked what the ultimate meaning of the Buddhist doctrine was, Bodhidharma’s response was terse: “Vast emptiness, nothing holy.” (or variants emphasizing emptiness and nonduality).

These dialogues are symbolic: they underscore his emphasis on direct experience over ritual, and his challenge to conventional religious thinking.

Nine Years of Wall-Gazing

A hallmark legend is that after failing to be accepted in the Buddhist establishment, Bodhidharma retreated to a cave (often associated with Shaolin Monastery) and sat facing a wall in meditation for nine years, in silent introspection.

In some versions, he fell asleep seven years in, became angry at himself, and cut off his eyelids. Where they landed, tea plants sprouted—thus the origin myth for tea’s connection to monastic practice.

Other legends include a disciple, Huike, who asked Bodhidharma to teach. Bodhidharma questioned him, and in dramatic versions, Huike cut off his own arm to prove sincerity. This story is often presented as a koan or symbolic teaching.

Physical Training & Martial Arts Legend

In later tradition, especially in China, Bodhidharma is associated with the physical training of Shaolin monks—teaching exercises, breathing methods, and the Yijin Jing ("Muscle/Tendon Change Classic"). However, modern scholarship regards many of these martial associations as late, legendary accretions rather than historical fact.

Teachings & Philosophy

Because only a few short texts can be credibly attributed to Bodhidharma, much of his “teachings” are framed through later tradition. Still, the core emphasis is clear:

Two Entrances and Four Practices

One text commonly attributed to him (or his circle) is Two Entrances and Four Practices (?????), also known as Outline of Practice.

• Two Entrances:

  1. Entrance by principle — direct realization of the ultimate, nondual nature (beyond duality).

  2. Entrance by practice — through disciplined ethical and meditative practice.

• Four Practices:

  1. Accept all suffering as the fruit of past karma.

  2. Accept present circumstances with equanimity.

  3. Be without craving.

  4. Let go of wrong thoughts and practice the six perfections (generosity, moral discipline, patience, effort, concentration, wisdom).

These teachings reflect a blend of Mah?y?na and meditative insight, emphasizing that enlightenment is not a distant goal but realized in practice and mind.

Emphasis on Direct Realization

Bodhidharma is credited with advocating for a transmission of insight that is “beyond words and letters”, pointing directly to the mind for one’s own nature to realize Buddhahood. This idea is a foundational motif in Zen/Chan.

His style is often portrayed as iconoclastic: rejecting reliance on scripture, ritual, or intellectualism, and pointing instead to meditative practice and inner awakening.

Legacy and Influence

Though much of Bodhidharma’s life is legendary, his symbolic and religious legacy is profound:

• He is regarded as the First Patriarch of Chinese Chan (Zen), and often as the 28th Patriarch in a lineage tracing from the historical Buddha.

• His image and stories became central to Zen lore: his meeting with Emperor Wu, his wall-gazing, his interaction with disciples are repeatedly invoked in koans and Buddhist teaching texts.

• The legend of his connection with the Shaolin Temple and martial arts helped inspire popular culture, martial fiction, and Zen-martial traditions—though historically skeptical scholars separate the martial connections from the more plausible meditation legacy.

• In Japanese culture, Bodhidharma is known as Daruma, and the Daruma doll (a talisman of perseverance and luck) is a stylized representation of him.

• His presence in Zen literature: many classic koan collections, such as the Gateless Gate and Blue Cliff Record, feature Bodhidharma’s stories or dialogues as teaching cases.

• Even though historical certainty is elusive, Bodhidharma as figure functions as a powerful emblem: the austere meditation master, the outsider who crosses cultures, the uncompromising spiritual traveler.

Famous Attributed Sayings & Symbolic Utterances

Because much of what “he said” is preserved through later compilers, the authenticity of quotations is often debated. Nevertheless, several lines appear in Zen literature and tradition:

• “Vast emptiness, nothing holy.” — a famous response when asked about the ultimate meaning.

• “I don’t know.” — in the legendary exchange with Emperor Wu, when asked “Who stands before me?” Bodhidharma replied “I don’t know.” (This is more a symbolic koan than a literal biography quote.)

• The motto often cited in later Zen tradition:

  “Bodhidharma coming from the west, unattached to any words, pointing directly to the mind of man, advocating seeing into one’s nature and becoming Buddha.”

These sayings reflect the spirit of directness, silence, emptiness, and the transcendence of conceptual thought.

Lessons and Reflections

1. Beyond doctrine and dogma
   Bodhidharma’s emphasis on direct insight suggests that ultimate truth is not captured by doctrine or ritual, but realized in one’s own mind.

2. Patience, perseverance, discipline
   The legend of nine years of silent meditation reminds us that awakening often requires time, endurance, and steadfastness.

3. Transmission across cultures
   His story symbolizes the flow of spiritual ideas across boundaries—how Indian Buddhist ideas transformed and rooted themselves in Chinese soil, producing new expressions.

4. Legend as teaching
   The mix of history and myth itself becomes a pedagogical tool in Zen: stories are pointers, not literal facts, inviting the student to go deeper.

5. Legacy beyond historical certainty
   Even if we cannot pin down every fact, the resonance of Bodhidharma lies in how his image, narratives, and spirit continue to inspire meditation, courage, and wakefulness.

Conclusion

Bodhidharma stands at the liminal space between history and myth. As a monk from India (or the Western Regions), he is traditionally credited with planting the seeds of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China. Though his life is shrouded in legend—wall-gazing, disciples cutting off limbs, dialogues with emperors—his legacy is very real in the traditions of Zen across Asia. He symbolizes the path of direct experience, the courage to transcend words, and the enduring call to look within.