Bodhidharma (First Patriarch of Chan / Zen)
Religious Figures & Theologians • Historical Archive • 🇮🇳 India • 9 views

Bodhidharma (First Patriarch of Chan / Zen) 🇮🇳

菩提達摩 (Putidamo / Daruma) (Known as "Bodhidharma")
First Patriarch of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, Patriarch of Shaolin Martial Arts, Master of Wall-Gazing
Born c. 482 CE 🇮🇳 Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu), India
Passed Away c. 539 CE Mount Song (Henan), China
Lifespan ~57 years old
9 views
Notice / Correction
"A special transmission outside the scriptures; not founded upon words and letters; pointing directly to the human mind; seeing into one's nature and attaining Buddhahood."

Archival Overview

Semi-legendary Indian monk who journeyed across the Himalayas to China, founding the Chan (Zen) tradition. Famous for meditating nine years facing a cave wall at Shaolin Monastery, transmitting direct mind-to-mind awakening beyond words.

Biographical Record

Third son of a Pallava royal king in South India, Bodhidharma became a Buddhist master under Prajnatara and traveled by sea to Guangzhou during the Liang dynasty. In a famous dialogue with Emperor Wu of Liang, he declared that building temples and copying sutras earned "no merit whatsoever."

Ascending to the Shaolin Monastery on Mount Song, he practiced silent "wall-gazing" (Biguan) for nine years and transmitted the Lanka Sutra to his disciple Huike, instigating an austere practice of physical vigor and immediate enlightenment.

Memorial Guestbook & Tributes

0 messages recorded

Leave a Respectful Tribute

No tributes recorded yet. Be the first to leave a message in honor of Bodhidharma (First Patriarch of Chan / Zen).

Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Kongxiang Temple Stupa (Shaolin Precinct)
Mount Song (Henan), China
GPS: 34.4253, 111.4589
View on Memory Atlas
Archival Standards PastLegacies adheres to strict neutral biographical guidelines and legal standards of remembrance. Next-of-kin may request modifications or removal at any time via our expedited process.