Bodhidharma, woodblock print by Yoshitoshi, 1887. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi ( 1839 - June 9, 1892) (月岡 芳年 also named Taiso Yoshitoshi ja 大蘇 芳年 was a Japanese artist Year 1887 ( MDCCCLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
Names (details)
Known in English as:	Bodhidharma
Sanskrit:	बोधिधर्म
Traditional Chinese:	菩提達摩
Chinese abbreviation:	達摩
Hanyu Pinyin:	Pútídámó
Wade-Giles:	P'u-t'i-ta-mo
Japanese:	達磨 Daruma
Korean:	달마 Dalma
Vietnamese:	Bồ-đề-đạt-ma
Thai:	ตั๊กม๊อ Takmor

Bodhidharma (c. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use Wade-Giles (ˌweɪdˈʤaɪlz) sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization system (phonetic notation and Transcription) for the Mandarin is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities This article is mainly about the spoken Korean language See Hangul for details on the native Korean writing system Vietnamese ( tiếng Việt, or less commonly Việt ngữ) formerly known under French colonization as Annamese ( see Annam) Thai (th ภาษาไทย, transcription: phasa thai, transliteration:; pʰāːsǎːtʰāj is the national and early fifth century CE) was the Buddhist monk traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chán to China. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices A Bhikkhu ( Pāli) or Bhiksu ( Sanskrit) is a fully ordained male Buddhist Monastic. Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. Very little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is extant, and subsequent accounts became layered with legend, but most accounts agree that he was either a South Indian or Persian monk who journeyed to southern China and subsequently relocated northwards. South India is the area encompassing India 's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union layout and formatting it should ensure no clashes with the top of the infobox Alternative meaning In Geology, North China (continent and South China (continent were two ancient landmasses that correspond to modern northern The accounts differ on the date of his arrival, with one early account claiming that he arrived during the Liú Sòng Dynasty (420–479) and later accounts dating his arrival to the Liáng Dynasty (502–557). The Song Dynasty (宋朝 Pinyin: Sòng cháo Wade-Giles: Sung ( 420 – 479) was first of the four Southern Dynasties in China Liang Dynasty ( 梁[[wikt 朝|朝]] Pinyin: Liáng cháo (502-557 also known as Southern Liang Dynasty (南梁 was the third of Southern dynasties Bodhidharma was primarily active in the lands of the Northern Wèi Dynasty (386–534). The Northern Wei Dynasty (北魏 Pinyin: běi wèi 386 - 534) also known as the Tuoba Wei (拓拔魏 Later Wei (後魏 or Modern scholarship dates him about the early fifth century. ^[1]

Biography

Contemporary accounts

There are two known extant accounts written by contemporaries of Bodhidharma.

Yáng Xuànzhī

The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang (洛陽伽藍記 Luòyáng Qiélánjì), was compiled in 547 by Yáng Xuànzhī, a writer and translator of Mahāyāna Buddhist texts into the Chinese language. Luoyang ( is a Prefecture-level city in western Henan province, People's Republic of China. Yang Xuanzhi (楊衒之 was a Chinese Writer and Translator of Mahayana Buddhist texts into the Chinese language during the Mahayana ( Sanskrit: mahāyāna, Devanagari: महायान 'Great Vehicle' is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for

At that time there was a monk of the Western Region named Bodhidharma, a Persian Central Asian. He traveled from the wild borderlands to China. Seeing the golden disks [on the pole on top of Yung-ning's stupa] reflecting in the sun, the rays of light illuminating the surface of the clouds, the jewel-bells on the stupa blowing in the wind, the echoes reverberating beyond the heavens, he sang its praises. A stupa (from Sanskrit and Pāli: m स्तूप stūpa, literally meaning "heap" is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist He exclaimed: "Truly this is the work of spirits. " He said: "I am 150 years old, and I have passed through numerous countries. There is virtually no country I have not visited. But even in India there is nothing comparable to the pure beauty of this monastery. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Even the distant Buddha realms lack this. " He chanted homage and placed his palms together in salutation for days on end. ^[2]

Broughton (1999:55) dates Bodhidharma's presence in Luoyang to between 516 and 526, when the temple referred to—Yǒngníngsì (永寧寺)—was at the height of its glory. Biography Contemporary accounts There are two known extant accounts written by contemporaries of Bodhidharma Starting in 526, Yǒngníngsì suffered damage from a series of events, ultimately leading to its destruction in 534. ^[3]

Tánlín

The second account was written by Tánlín (曇林; 506–574). Tánlín's brief biography of the "Dharma Master" is found in his preface to the Two Entrances and Four Acts, a text traditionally attributed to Bodhidharma, and is the first text to identify Bodhidharma as South Indian:

The Dharma Master was a South Indian of the Western Region. The Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices (Chinese 二入四行 Erh-ju ssu-hsing; Japanese Ninyū shigyō ron) is a Buddhist text attributed South India is the area encompassing India 's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union He was the third son of a great Indian king [. . . ] His ambition lay in the Mahayana path, and so he put aside his white layman's robe for the black robe of a monk [. Mahayana ( Sanskrit: mahāyāna, Devanagari: महायान 'Great Vehicle' is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for . . ] Lamenting the decline of the true teaching in the outlands, he subsequently crossed distant mountains and seas, traveling about propagating the teaching in Han and Wei. ^[4]

Tánlín's account was the first to mention that Bodhidharma attracted disciples,^[5] specifically mentioning Dàoyù (道育) and Huìkě, the latter of whom would later figure very prominently in the Bodhidharma literature. Dazu Huike (487-593 ( Chinese: 大祖慧可 Chinese for short慧可 pinyin Huìkě Wade-Giles Hui-k’o Japanese Eka is considered the Second Patriarch of Chinese

Tánlín has traditionally been considered a disciple of Bodhidharma, but it is more likely that he was a student of Huìkě, who in turn was a student of Bodhidharma. ^[6]

Later accounts

Dàoxuān

In the 7th-century historical work Further Biographies of Eminent Monks (續高僧傳 Xù gāosēng zhuàn), Dàoxuān (道宣; 596-667) possibly drew on Tanlin's preface as a basic source, but made several significant additions:

This Japanese scroll calligraphy of Bodhidharma reads “Chán points directly to the human heart, see into your nature and become Buddha”. Dàoxuān ( Chinese:道宣 Wade-Giles: Tao-hsüan CE 596-667 was the Chinese Buddhist monk who wrote both the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks In Buddhism, buddhahood ( Sanskrit: buddhatva. Pali: buddhatta. It was created by Hakuin Ekaku (1685 to 1768)

Firstly, Dàoxuān adds more detail concerning Bodhidharma's origins, writing that he was "of South Indian Brahman stock" (南天竺婆羅門種 nán tiānzhú póluómén zhŏng). Hakuin Ekaku (白隠 慧鶴 Hakuin Ekaku, 1686-1769 or 1685-1768 was one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism. Year 1768 ( MDCCLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Brahmin ( Brāhmaṇa, sa ब्राह्मणः is the class of educators scholars and preachers in Brahminical Hinduism. ^[7]

Secondly, more detail is provided concerning Bodhidharma's journeys. Tanlin's original is imprecise about Bodhidharma's travels, saying only that he "crossed distant mountains and seas" before arriving in Wei. Dàoxuān's account, however, implies "a specific itinerary":^[8] "He first arrived at Nan-yüeh during the Sung period. Nanyue ( was an ancient kingdom that consisted of parts of the modern Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and much of modern northern From there he turned north and came to the Kingdom of Wei". ^[7] This implies that Bodhidharma had travelled to China by sea, and that he had crossed over the Yangtze River.

Thirdly, Dàoxuān suggests a date for the Bodhidharma's arrival in China. He writes that Bodhidharma makes landfall in the time of the Song, thus making his arrival no later than the time of the Song's fall to the Southern Qi Dynasty in 479. The Song Dynasty (宋朝 Pinyin: Sòng cháo Wade-Giles: Sung ( 420 – 479) was first of the four Southern Dynasties in China The Southern Qi Dynasty 齊朝 ( Pinyin: Qí cháo ( 479 - 502) was the second of the Southern dynasties in China, followed by the ^[8]

Finally, Dàoxuān provides information concerning Bodhidharma's death. Bodhidharma, he writes, died at Luo River Beach, where he was interred by his disciple Huike, possibly in a cave. Dazu Huike (487-593 ( Chinese: 大祖慧可 Chinese for short慧可 pinyin Huìkě Wade-Giles Hui-k’o Japanese Eka is considered the Second Patriarch of Chinese According to Dàoxuān's chronology, Bodhidharma's death must have occurred prior to 534, the date of the Northern Wei Dynasty's fall, because Huike subsequently leaves Luoyang for Ye. Furthermore, the use of the Luo River Beach as an execution grounds suggests that Bodhidharma may have died in the mass executions at Heyin in 528. Early life Yuan Ziyou was born in 507 during the reign of his cousin Emperor Xuanwu, as the third son of the highly regarded imperial prince Emperor Xuanwu's uncle Supporting this possibility is a report in the Taishō shinshū daizōkyō stating that a Buddhist monk was among the victims at Heyin. The Chinese Buddhist Canon ( Chinese character: 大藏經 Cantonese: Dai Zorng Ging Mandarin: Dà Zàng Jīng Korean: Dae Jang Kyung Japanese ^[9]

Epitaph for Fărú

The idea of a patriarchal lineage in Chán dates back to the epitaph for Fărú (法如 638–689), a disciple of the 5th patriarch Hóngrĕn (弘忍 601–674), which gives a line of descent identifying Bodhidharma as the first patriarch. A lineage in Buddhism is a record of teachers and their disciples or students An epitaph (in Greek, &mdash literally " on the gravestone " is a short text honoring a deceased person strictly speaking that inscribed on ^[10]

Yǒngjiā Xuánjué

According to the Song of Enlightenment (證道歌 Zhèngdào gē) by Yǒngjiā Xuánjué (665-713)^[11]—one of the chief disciples of Huìnéng, sixth Patriarch of Chán—Bodhidharma was the 28th Patriarch of Buddhism in a line of descent from Śākyamuni Buddha via his disciple Mahākāśyapa, and the first Patriarch of Chán:

Mahakashyapa was the first, leading the line of transmission;
Twenty-eight Fathers followed him in the West;
The Lamp was then brought over the sea to this country;
And Bodhidharma became the First Father here
His mantle, as we all know, passed over six Fathers,
And by them many minds came to see the Light. Dajian Huineng (慧能 or 惠能 Pinyin: Huìnéng 638–713 was a Chinese Chán Monastic who is one of the most important figures in Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder Mahākāśyapa or Kāśyapa was a brahman of Magadha, who became one of the principal disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha and who convened and directed ^[12]

The idea of a line of descent from Śākyamuni Buddha is the basis for the distinctive lineage tradition of the Chán school.

Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall

In the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (祖堂集 Zǔtángjí) of 952, the elements of the traditional Bodhidharma story are in place. Bodhidharma is said to have been a disciple of Prajñātāra,^[13] thus establishing the latter as the 27th patriarch in India. Prajnatara was the twenty-seventh Patriarch of Indian Buddhism, according to the Chinese Chan lineage After a three-year journey, Bodhidharma reaches China in 527^[13] during the Liang Dynasty (as opposed to the Song period of the 5th century, as in Dàoxuān). Liang Dynasty ( 梁[[wikt 朝|朝]] Pinyin: Liáng cháo (502-557 also known as Southern Liang Dynasty (南梁 was the third of Southern dynasties The Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall includes Bodhidharma's encounter with Emperor Wu, which was first recorded around 758 in the appendix to a text by Shen-hui (神會), a disciple of Huineng. Background Xiao Yan was born in 464 during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song. ^[14]

Finally, as opposed to Daoxuan's figure of "over 150 years,"^[15] the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall states that Bodhidharma died at the age of 150. He was then buried on Mount Xiong'er (熊耳山 Xióng'ĕr Shān) to the west of Luoyang. However, three years after the burial, in the Pamir Mountains, Sòngyún (宋雲)—an official of one of the later Wei kingdoms—encountered Bodhidharma, who claimed to be returning to India and was carrying a single sandal. The Pamir Mountains are located in Central Asia and are formed by the junction or Knot of the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Bodhidharma predicted the death of Songyun's ruler, a prediction which was borne out upon the latter's return. Bodhidharma's tomb was then opened, and only a single sandal was found inside.

Insofar as, according to the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall, Bodhidharma left the Liang court in 527 and relocated to Mount Song near Luoyang and the Shaolin Monastery, where he "faced a wall for nine years, not speaking for the entire time",^[16] his date of death can have been no earlier than 536. Mount Song, known in Chinese as Song Shan ( Simplified Chinese: 嵩山 Pinyin: Sōng Shān is one of the Taoist Five Sacred The Shaolin Monastery or Shaolin Temple ( is a Chan Buddhist temple at Song Shan in Zhengzhou City Henan Province Moreover, his encounter with the Wei official indicates a date of death no later than 554, three years before the fall of the last Wei kingdom. The Western Wèi Dynasty (Chinese西魏 followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei, and ruled northern China from 535 to 556.

Dàoyuán

Subsequent to the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall, the only dated addition to the biography of Bodhidharma is in the 1004 Jingde Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (景德傳燈錄 Jĭngdé chuándēng lù), by Dàoyuán (道原), where it is stated that Bodhidharma's original name had been Bodhitāra but had been changed by his master Prajñātāra. ^[17]

After Death

Soon after his death, someone supposedly witnessed Bodhidharma walking back towards India barefoot and with a single shoe in hand. His grave was later exhumed, and according to legend, the only thing found in it was the shoe he left behind.

For nine years he had remained and nobody knew him;
Carrying a shoe in hand he went home quietly, without ceremony. ^[18]

Modern scholarship

Bodhidharma's origins

Though Dàoxuān wrote that Bodhidharma was "of South Indian Brahman stock," Broughton (1999:2) notes that Bodhidharma's royal pedigree implies that he was of the Kshatriya warrior caste. Brahmin ( Brāhmaṇa, sa ब्राह्मणः is the class of educators scholars and preachers in Brahminical Hinduism. Biography Contemporary accounts There are two known extant accounts written by contemporaries of Bodhidharma Kshatriya (क्षत्रिय kṣatriya from क्षत्र kṣatra) is one of the four varnas (social orders in Hinduism Caste (Sanskrit Gyati ज्ञाति, Hindi Biradari बिरादरी samaj समाज jati जाति etc, Urdu Zat ज़ात) is an Endogamous group Mahajan (1972:705–707) argued that the Pallava dynasty was Brahmin by origin but Kshatriya by profession, and Zvelebil (1987) proposed that Bodhidharma was born a prince of the Pallava dynasty in their capital of Kanchipuram. Biography Contemporary accounts There are two known extant accounts written by contemporaries of Bodhidharma Origins See also Origin of Pallava The exact origin of the Pallavas is shrouded in mystery Biography Contemporary accounts There are two known extant accounts written by contemporaries of Bodhidharma Kanchipuram, Kanchi, or Kancheepuram is a city and a Municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of

Yáng Xuànzhī's eyewitness account identifies Bodhidharma as a Persian (波斯國胡人 bō-sī guó hú rén) from Central Asia (西域 xī yù), and Broughton (1999:54) notes that an Iranian Buddhist monk making his way to North China via the Silk Road is more likely than that of a South Indian master making his way by sea. layout and formatting it should ensure no clashes with the top of the infobox Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south Biography Contemporary accounts There are two known extant accounts written by contemporaries of Bodhidharma ^[19] He also notes, however, that Yáng may have actually been referring to another monk named Boddhidharma, not related to the historical founder of Chan Buddhism. ^[20] Incidentally, some consider the Pallavas themselves to be a dynasty of Indo-Iranian origin. Indo-Iranian peoples consist of the Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dardic and Nuristani peoples that is speakers of Indo-Iranian languages ^[21] However, Broughton (1999:138) states that the language Yang uses in his description of Bodhidharma is specifically associated with "Central Asia and particularly to peoples of Iranian extraction. Biography Contemporary accounts There are two known extant accounts written by contemporaries of Bodhidharma What we seem to have is an Iranian speaker who hailed from somewhere in Central Asia. "

Bodhidharma's name

Faure (1986) notes that "Bodhidharma’s name appears sometimes truncated as Bodhi, or more often as Dharma (Ta-mo). Biography Contemporary accounts There are two known extant accounts written by contemporaries of Bodhidharma In the first case, it may be confused with another of his rivals, Bodhiruci. "

Tibetan sources give his name as "Bodhidharmottara" or "Dharmottara", that is, "Highest teaching (dharma) of enlightenment". "Bodhidharma" is presumably a shortened form of this full name.

Practice and teaching

Meditation

Tanlin, in the preface to Two Entrances and Four Acts, and Daoxuan, in the Further Biographies of Eminent Monks, mention a practice of Bodhidharma's termed "wall-gazing" (壁觀 bìguān). Both Tanlin^[22] and Daoxuan^[23] associate this "wall-gazing" with "quieting [the] mind"^[5] (安心 ān xīn). Elsewhere, Daoxuan also states: "The merits of Mahāyāna wall-gazing are the highest". ^[24] These are the first mentions in the historical record of what may be a type of meditation being ascribed to Bodhidharma. Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of Meditation techniques that develop Mindfulness, concentration, tranquility and insight

Bodhidharma seated in meditation before a wall; ink painting by Sesshū

In the Two Entrances and Four Acts, traditionally attributed to Bodhidharma, the term "wall-gazing" also appears:

Those who turn from delusion back to reality, who meditate on walls, the absence of self and other, the oneness of mortal and sage, and who remain unmoved even by scriptures are in complete and unspoken agreement with reason. or often also simply Sesshū, 1420-1506 was one of the most prominent masters of Suibokuga (ink painting and a Rinzai Zen Buddhist ^[25]

Exactly what sort of practice Bodhidharma's "wall-gazing" was remains uncertain. Nearly all accounts have treated it either as an undefined variety of meditation, as Daoxuan and Dumoulin,^[24] or as a variety of seated meditation akin to the zazen (坐禪; Chinese: zuòchán) that later became a defining characteristic of Chán; the latter interpretation is particularly common among those working from a Chán standpoint. Zazen (坐禅 Chinese zuò chán Pinyin or tso-chan Wade-Giles) is at the heart of Zen Buddhist practice ^[26] There have also, however, been interpretations of "wall-gazing" as a non-meditative phenomenon. ^[27]

The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra

The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, one of the Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras, is a highly "difficult and obscure" text^[28] whose basic thrust is to emphasize "the inner enlightenment that does away with all duality and is raised above all distinctions". The Laṇkāvatāra Sutra ( Chinese: 楞伽經 is a Sutra of Mahayana Buddhism. Historicity and Background Place in the Canon Various Mahayana Sutras have been included in the Tibetan Canon and the Chinese Canon. Bodhi (बोधि is both the Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English as "enlightenment ^[29] It is among the first and most important texts in the Yogācāra, or "Consciousness-only", school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Yogācāra (Sanskrit "yoga practice" "one whose practice is yoga" Chinese Yüjiazong "Yoga School" 瑜珈宗 is an influential school of Eastern Philosophy In Buddhism, consciousness-only or mind-only ( Sanskrit: vijñapti-mātratā, vijñapti-mātra, citta-mātra; Chinese ^[30]

One of the recurrent emphases in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra is a lack of reliance on words to effectively express reality:

If, Mahamati, you say that because of the reality of words the objects are, this talk lacks in sense. Words are not known in all the Buddha-lands; words, Mahamati, are an artificial creation. In some Buddha-lands ideas are indicated by looking steadily, in others by gestures, in still others by a frown, by the movement of the eyes, by laughing, by yawning, or by the clearing of the throat, or by recollection, or by trembling. ^[31]

In contrast to the ineffectiveness of words, the sūtra instead stresses the importance of the "self-realization" that is "attained by noble wisdom"^[32] and occurs "when one has an insight into reality as it is":^[33] "The truth is the state of self-realisation and is beyond categories of discrimination". ^[34] The sūtra goes on to outline the ultimate effects of an experience of self-realization:

[The Bodhisattva] will become thoroughly conversant with the noble truth of self-realisation, will become a perfect master of his own mind, will conduct himself without effort, will be like a gem reflecting a variety of colours, will be able to assume the body of transformation, will be able to enter into the subtle minds of all beings, and, because of his firm belief in the truth of Mind-only, will, by gradually ascending the stages, become established in Buddhahood. In the Buddhist context a bodhisattva (बोधिसत्त्व bodhisattva;; Vietnamese Bồ Tát; बोधिसत्त bodhisatta ^[35]

One of the fundamental Chán texts attributed to Bodhidharma is a four-line stanza whose first two verses echo the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra's disdain for words and whose second two verses stress the importance of the insight into reality achieved through "self-realization":

A special transmission outside the scriptures,
Not founded upon words and letters;
By pointing directly to [one's] mind
It lets one see into [one's own true] nature and [thus] attain Buddhahood. ^[36]

The stanza, in fact, is not Bodhidharma's, but rather dates to the year 1108. ^[37] Nonetheless, there are earlier texts which explicitly associate Bodhidharma with the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. Daoxuan, for example, in a late recension of his biography of Bodhidharma's successor Huike, has the sūtra as a basic and important element of the teachings passed down by Bodhidharma:

In the beginning Dhyana Master Bodhidharma took the four-roll Laṅkā Sūtra, handed it over to Huike, and said: "When I examine the land of China, it is clear that there is only this sutra. If you rely on it to practice, you will be able to cross over the world. "^[38]

Another early text, the Record of the Masters and Disciples of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra (楞伽師資記 Léngqié shīzī jì) of Jìngjué (淨覺; 683–750), also mentions Bodhidharma in relation to this text. Jingjue's account also makes explicit mention of "sitting meditation", or zazen:^[39]

For all those who sat in meditation, Master Bodhi[dharma] also offered expositions of the main portions of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, which are collected in a volume of twelve or thirteen pages,^[40] [. . . ] bearing the title of Teaching of [Bodhi-]Dharma. ^[41]

In other early texts, the school that would later become known as Chán is sometimes referred to as the "Laṅkāvatāra school" (楞伽宗 Léngqié zōng). ^[42]

Portrayals of Bodhidharma

Throughout Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as a rather ill-tempered, profusely bearded and wide-eyed barbarian. Buddhist art originated on the Indian subcontinent following the historical life of Gautama Buddha, 6th to 5th century BCE and thereafter evolved by contact with He is described as "The Blue-Eyed Barbarian" 藍眼睛的野人 (lán yǎnjīngde yěrén) in Chinese texts. "Barbarian" is a pejorative term for an uncivilized person either in a general reference to a member of a nation or Ethnos perceived ^[43]

The Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (952) identifies Bodhidharma as the 28th Patriarch of Buddhism in an uninterrupted line that extends all the way back to the Buddha himself. Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder D.T. Suzuki contends that Chán's growth in popularity during the 7th and 8th centuries attracted criticism that it had "no authorized records of its direct transmission from the founder of Buddhism" and that Chán historians made Bodhidharma the 28th patriarch of Buddhism in response to such attacks. ^[44]

Legends

Bodhidharma and martial arts?

The Yi Jin Jing credits Shaolin Kung Fu to Bodhidharma, which would make him an important influence on the martial arts of Asia in general. The Yì Jīn Jīng (易筋經 Wade-Giles: I Chin Ching; literally "Muscle/Tendon Change Classic" is a Qìgōng manual most notable as the source Shaolin Kung Fu refers to a collection of Chinese martial arts that claim affiliation with the Shaolin Monastery. Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for Combat. However, both the attribution of Shaolin Kung Fu to Bodhidharma and the authenticity of the Yi Jin Jing itself have been discredited by historians including Tang Hao, Xu Zhen and Matsuda Ryuchi. This argument is summarized by modern historian Lin Boyuan in his Zhongguo wushu shi as follows:

As for the “Yi Jin Jing” (Muscle Change Classic), a spurious text attributed to Bodhidharma and included in the legend of his transmitting martial arts at the temple, it was written in the Ming dynasty, in 1624 CE, by the Daoist priest Zining of Mt. Tiantai, and falsely attributed to Bodhidharma. Forged prefaces, attributed to the Tang general Li Jing and the Southern Song general Niu Gao were written. They say that, after Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years at Shaolin temple, he left behind an iron chest; when the monks opened this chest they found the two books “Xi Sui Jing” (Marrow Washing Classic) and “Yi Jin Jing” within. The first book was taken by his disciple Huike, and disappeared; as for the second, “the monks selfishly coveted it, practicing the skills therein, falling into heterodox ways, and losing the correct purpose of cultivating the Real. The Shaolin monks have made some fame for themselves through their fighting skill; this is all due to having obtained this manuscript. ” Based on this, Bodhidharma was claimed to be the ancestor of Shaolin martial arts. This manuscript is full of errors, absurdities and fantastic claims; it cannot be taken as a legitimate source. ^[45]

The oldest available copy was published in 1827^[46] and the composition of the text itself has been dated to 1624. ^[45] Even then, the association of Bodhidharma with martial arts only becomes widespread as a result of the 1904–1907 serialization of the novel The Travels of Lao Ts'an in Illustrated Fiction Magazine. ^[47]

Huiguang and Sengchou were expert in the martial arts before they became two of the very first Shaolin monks—years before the arrival of Bodhidharma. ^[48] The Taishō Tripiṭaka documents Sengchou's skill with the tin staff. The Chinese Buddhist Canon ( Chinese character: 大藏經 Cantonese: Dai Zorng Ging Mandarin: Dà Zàng Jīng Korean: Dae Jang Kyung Japanese

Bodhidharma is associated with the idea that spiritual, intellectual and physical excellence are an indivisible whole necessary for enlightenment. Such an approach to enlightenment ultimately proved highly attractive to the Samurai class in Japan, who made Zen their way of life, following their encounter with the martial-arts-oriented Chán Lingji School introduced to Japan by Eisai in the 12th century. is the term for the military nobility of Pre-industrial Japan. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Myōan Eisai (明菴栄西 ( April 20, 1141 – July 5, 1215) was a Japanese Buddhist priest credited with bringing the Yet in some versions of his legend, Bodhidharma's focus was so single-minded during his nine years of meditation that his legs atrophied. ^[49]

Encounter with Emperor Liang

According to the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall, in 527 during the Liang Dynasty, Bodhidharma, the first Patriarch of Chán, visited the Emperor Wu, a fervent patron of Buddhism. Liang Dynasty ( 梁[[wikt 朝|朝]] Pinyin: Liáng cháo (502-557 also known as Southern Liang Dynasty (南梁 was the third of Southern dynasties Background Xiao Yan was born in 464 during the reign of Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song. The emperor asked Bodhidharma, "What is the highest meaning of noble truth?" Bodhidharma answered, "There is no noble truth. " The emperor then asked Bodhidharma, "Who is standing before me?" Bodhidharma answered, "I don't know. " The emperor then asked Bodhidharma, "How much karmic merit have I earned by ordaining Buddhist monks, building monasteries, having sutras copied, and commissioning Buddha images?" Bodhidharma answered, "None. In Buddhism, buddhahood ( Sanskrit: buddhatva. Pali: buddhatta. "^[50]

From then on, the emperor refused to listen to whatever Bodhidharma had to say. Although Bodhidharma came from India to China to become the first patriarch of China, the emperor refused to recognize him. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Since he refused to believe in what Bodhidharma told him, he practically missed his chance to come face to face with someone who was important to Buddhism. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Bodhidharma knew that he would face difficulty in the near future, but had the emperor been able to leave the throne and yield it to someone else, he could have avoided his fate of starving to death.

According to the teaching, Emperor Wu's past life was as a bhikshu. A Bhikkhu ( Pāli) or Bhiksu ( Sanskrit) is a fully ordained male Buddhist Monastic. While he cultivated in the mountains, a monkey would always steal and eat the things he planted for food, as well as the fruit in the trees. One day, he was able to trap the monkey in a cave and blocked the entrance of the cave with rocks, hoping to teach the monkey a lesson. However, after two days, the bhikshu found that the monkey had died of starvation.

Supposedly, that monkey was reincarnated into Hou Jing of the Northern Wei Dynasty, who led his soldiers to attack Nanjing. Early life and career It is not known when Hou Jing was born but it was known that he was from Huaishuo Garrison (懷朔鎮 -- one of the garrisons that Northern Wei The Northern Wei Dynasty (北魏 Pinyin: běi wèi 386 - 534) also known as the Tuoba Wei (拓拔魏 Later Wei (後魏 or ( Chinese: 南京 Romanizations Nánjīng ( Pinyin) Nan-ching ( Wade-Giles After Nanjing was taken, the emperor was held in captivity in the palace and was not provided with any food, and was left to starve to death. Though Bodhidharma wanted to save him and brought forth a compassionate mind toward him, the emperor failed to recognize him, so there was nothing Bodhidharma could do. Thus, Bodhidharma had no choice but to leave Emperor Wu to die and went into meditation in a cave for nine years.

This encounter would later form the basis of the first kōan of the collection The Blue Cliff Record. The Blue Cliff Record ( Chinese: 《碧巖錄》 Bìyán Lù Japanese: Hekiganroku) is a collection of Chán Buddhist However that version of the story is somewhat different. In the Blue Cliff's telling of the story, there is no claim that Emperor Wu did not listen to Bodhidharma after the Emperor was unable to grasp the meaning. Instead, Bodhidharma left the presence of the Emperor once Bodhidharma saw that the Emperor was unable to understand. Then Bodhidharma went across the river to the kingdom of Wei.

After Bodhidharma left, the Emperor asked the official in charge of the Imperial Annals about the encounter. The Official of the Annals then asked the Emperor if he still denied knowing who Bodhidharma was? When the Emperor said he didn't know, the Official said, "This was the Great-being Guanyin (i. Guanyin (觀音 pinyin guānyīn, Wade-Giles kuan-yin) is the Bodhisattva of compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists e. , the Mahasattva Avalokiteśvara) transmitting the imprint of the Buddha's Heart-Mind. Avalokiteśvara ( Nepali: अवलोकितेश्वर, lit "

The Emperor regretted his having let Bodhidharma leave and was going to dispatch a messenger to go and beg Bodhidharma to return. The Official then said, "Your Highness, do not say to send out a messenger to go fetch him. The people of the entire nation could go, and he still would not return. "

Nine years of gazing at a wall

Failing to make a favorable impression in Southern China, Bodhidharma is said to have retreated to the northern Chinese kingdom of Wei to a cave near the Shaolin Monastery where he "faced a wall for nine years, not speaking for the entire time". The Northern Wei Dynasty (北魏 Pinyin: běi wèi 386 - 534) also known as the Tuoba Wei (拓拔魏 Later Wei (後魏 or The Shaolin Monastery or Shaolin Temple ( is a Chan Buddhist temple at Song Shan in Zhengzhou City Henan Province ^[16]

In one version of the story, he is said to have fallen asleep seven years into his nine years of wall-gazing. Becoming angry with himself, he cut off his eyelids to prevent it from happening again. ^[51] According to the legend, as his eyelids hit the floor the first Tea plants sprang up; and thereafter Tea would provide a stimulant to help keep students of Chán awake during meditation. Camellia sinensis is the tea plant, the Plant Species whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce Tea. Tea refers to the cured agricultural product of the leaves leaf buds and internodes of Camellia sinensis, which have been prepared and cured for the market Zazen (坐禅 Chinese zuò chán Pinyin or tso-chan Wade-Giles) is at the heart of Zen Buddhist practice ^[52]

In another version of the story, after the nine years, Bodhidharma “passed away, seated upright”. ^[16]

In another, Bodhidharma disappeared, leaving behind the Yi Jin Jing. The Yì Jīn Jīng (易筋經 Wade-Giles: I Chin Ching; literally "Muscle/Tendon Change Classic" is a Qìgōng manual most notable as the source ^[45]

In yet another version of the legend, Bodhidharma's legs atrophied after nine years of sitting,^[49] which is why Japanese Bodhidharma dolls have no legs.

Teaching

In one legend, Bodhidharma refused to resume teaching until his would-be student, Hui-k'o, who had kept vigil for weeks in the deep snow outside of the monastery, cut off his own right arm to demonstrate sincerity. Dazu Huike (487-593 ( Chinese: 大祖慧可 Chinese for short慧可 pinyin Huìkě Wade-Giles Hui-k’o Japanese Eka is considered the Second Patriarch of Chinese ^[53]

The lineage of Bodhidharma and his disciples

In the Two Entrances and Four Acts and the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks, Daoyu and Huike are the only explicitly identified disciples of Bodhidharma. The Jingde Records of the Transmission of the Lamp gives Bodhidharma four disciples who, in increasing order of understanding, are Daofu, who attains Bodhidharma's skin; the nun Dharani,^[54] who attains Bodhidharma's flesh; Daoyu, who attains Bodhidharma's bone; and Huike, who attains Bodhidharma's marrow.

• Bodhidharma
  • Daoyu
  • Yuan (Yuan-chi?)
    • Tao-chih
  • Huike
    • Tanlin (506–574)
    • Huineng (638-713)
      • Hsuan-chueh (665-713)
    • Layman Hsiang
    • Hua-kung
    • Yen-kung
    • Dhyana Master Na
    • Dhyana Master Ho
      • Hsuan-ching
      • Ching-ai
        • T'an-yen
        • Tao-an
        • Tao-p'an
        • Chih-tsang
        • Seng-chao
        • P'u-an
          • Ching-yuan (1067-1120) [1]

Works attributed to Bodhidharma

• The Outline of Practice or Two Entrances
• The Bloodstream Sutra
• The Breakthrough Sutra
• The Wake-Up Sutra

See also

• Buddhism in China
• List of Buddhist topics

Notes

References

External links

• Essence of Mahayana Practice By Bodhidharma, with annotations. Also known as "The Outline of Practice. "
• Bodhidharma
• Bodhidharma