File:BodhidharmaYoshitoshi1887.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Bodhidharma
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Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. He is also popularly regarded as the founder of Shaolin kung fu, an idea popularized in the 20th century, but based on the 17th century Yijin Jing and the Daoist association of daoyin gymnastics with Bodhidharma.
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk from the 5th or 6th century who is traditionally credited with bringing Chan Buddhism to China and becoming its first patriarch. While he is popularly known as the founder of Shaolin kung fu—an idea that became widespread in the 20th century—this claim actually stems from 17th-century texts and associations between Daoist exercises and his name rather than from historical evidence.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 6th cent.
- Works
- 10
Top works
- Ngộ tánh luận
- Zhen ben Yi jin jing, Xi sui jing he bian
- Yi jin jing yu Xi sui jing tu jie
- Thireu lâm Dịch cân kinh
- The Bodhidharma anthology
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 30
- Total plays
- 38
<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Bodhidharma">Read more on Last.fm</a>
Quotes
- “舉梁武帝問達摩大師：「如何是聖諦第一義？」摩雲：「廓然無聖！」帝曰：「對朕者誰？」摩雲：「不識。」帝不契，達摩遂渡江至魏。”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Key facts
- Religious biography.image
- 232px
- Religious biography.caption
- Bodhidharma, Ukiyo-e woodblock print by Japanese artist Yoshitoshi, 1887
- Religious biography.name
- Bodhidharma <!--
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- Religious biography.religion
- Buddhism
- Religious biography.school
- Chan
- Religious biography.title
- Chanshi1st Chan Patriarch
- Religious biography.education
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- Religious biography.occupation
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- Religious biography.successor
- Huike
- Religious biography.students
- Huike
- Religious biography.spouse
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- Religious biography.partner
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via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- BodhidharmaYoshitoshi1887.jpg
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- Bodhidharma
- date of death
- 0540-00-00
- date of birth
- 0483-00-00
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~37 min read
Article
46 sectionsContents
- Names
- Biography
- Principal sources
- ''The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang''
- Tanlin – preface to the Two Entrances and Four Acts
- ''Record of the Masters and Students of the Laṅka''
- "Further Biographies of Eminent Monks"
- Later accounts
- ''Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall''
- Daoyuan – Transmission of the Lamp
- Popular traditions
- Practice and teaching
- Two Entrances and Four Practices
- Wall-gazing
- The ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra''
- Legends about Bodhidharma
- Encounter with Emperor Wu of Liang
- Nine years of wall-gazing
- Huike cuts off his arm
- Transmission
- Skin, flesh, bone, marrow
- Bodhidharma at Shaolin
- Travels in Southeast Asia
- Appearance after his death
- Lineage
- Construction of lineages
- Six patriarchs
- Continuous lineage from Gautama Buddha
- Modern scholarship
- Biography as a hagiographic process
- Origins and place of birth
- Caste
- Abode in China
- Shaolin boxing
- Cultural legacy
- Attributed works
- Later attributions
- Pointing directly to one's mind
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- Printed sources
- Web sources
- Further reading
- External links
Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. He is also popularly regarded as the founder of Shaolin kung fu, an idea popularized in the 20th century, but based on the 17th century Yijin Jing and the Daoist association of daoyin gymnastics with Bodhidharma.
Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma exists, and subsequent accounts are layered with legend and unreliable details. According to the principal Chinese sources, Bodhidharma came from the Western Regions, which typically refers to Central Asia but can also include the Indian subcontinent. He is described as either a "Persian Central Asian" or a "South Indian [...] the third son of a great Indian king." Aside from the Chinese accounts, several popular traditions also exist regarding Bodhidharma's origins. Throughout Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as an ill-tempered, large-nosed, profusely bearded, wide-eyed non-Chinese person.