Bodhidharma, Ukiyo-e woodblock print by Japanese artist Yoshitoshi, 1887
Title
Chanshi 1st Chan Patriarch
Personal
Religion
Buddhism
School
Chan
Senior posting
Successor
Huike
Students
Huike
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. According to a 17th-century apocryphal story found in a manual called Yijin Jing, he began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kungfu. He is known as Dámó in China and as Daruma in Japan. His name means "dharma of awakening (bodhi)" in Sanskrit.[1]
Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is extant, and subsequent accounts became layered with legend and unreliable details.[2][note 1]
According to the principal Chinese sources, Bodhidharma came from the Western Regions,[5][6] which typically refers to Central Asia but can also include the Indian subcontinent, and is described as either a "Persian Central Asian"[5] or a "South Indian [...] the third son of a great Indian king."[6][note 2]
Throughout Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as an ill-tempered, large-nosed, profusely-bearded, wide-eyed non-Chinese person. He is referred to as "The Blue-Eyed Barbarian" (Chinese: 碧眼胡; pinyin: Bìyǎnhú) in Chan texts.[11]
Aside from the Chinese accounts, several popular traditions also exist regarding Bodhidharma's origins.[note 4]
The accounts also differ on the date of his arrival, with one early account claiming that he arrived during the Liu Song dynasty (420–479 CE) and later accounts dating his arrival to the Liang dynasty (502–557 CE). Bodhidharma was primarily active in the territory of the Northern Wei (386–534 CE). Modern scholarship dates him to about the early 5th century CE.[16]
Bodhidharma's teachings and practice centered on meditation and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. 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 Gautama Buddha himself.[17]
^Goodman & Davidson 1992, p. 65.
^McRae 2003, p. 26-27.
^Dumoulin, Heisig & Knitter 2005, p. 85-90.
^ abDumoulin, Heisig & Knitter 2005, p. 88.
^ abcBroughton 1999, p. 54–55.
^ abcBroughton 1999, p. 8.
^ abcdMcRae 2003, p. 26.
^Dumoulin, Heisig & Knitter 2005, p. 89.
^Dumoulin, Heisig & Knitter 2005, p. 87.
^Broughton 1999, p. 54-55.
^Soothill & Hodous 1995.
^Kambe 2012.
^Zvelebil 1987, p. 125-126.
^Cite error: The named reference Krishna was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Edou 1996, p. [page needed].
^Encyclopedia of Buddhism. Vol. 1. MacMillan. 2003. pp. 57, 130.
^Philippe Cornu, Dictionnaire enclyclopédique du Bouddhisme
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page). Cite error: There are <ref group=web> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=web}} template (see the help page).
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