Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma is traditionally regarded as a semilegendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or early 6th century CE. He is credited in East Asian Buddhist tradition as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China and is revered as the first patriarch of the Chinese lineage. Over time, his life and teachings became surrounded by multiple layers of legend, with varying accounts concerning his origins, travels, and doctrinal role. Despite sparse contemporary evidence, Bodhidharma remains one of the most influential figures in the development of East Asian Buddhism.

Background and Historical Context

The earliest Chinese sources describe Bodhidharma as coming from the Western Regions, a term used in ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BCE and the 8th century CE to denote areas west of the Yumen Pass. This term generally referred to Central Asia but was sometimes applied more broadly to include regions as distant as the Indian subcontinent. Within these accounts, Bodhidharma is described variously as Persian, Central Asian, or South Indian, and as the third son of a powerful king.
Modern scholarship often places Bodhidharma in the early 5th century CE. His arrival in China is dated differently across sources: some situate it during the Liu Song dynasty (420–479 CE), while others propose the Liang dynasty period (502–557 CE). Several traditions in Tibet and Southeast Asia consistently portray Bodhidharma as South Indian and often as a dark-skinned Dravidian figure, while Japanese tradition has at times regarded him as Persian.
His association with the origins of Shaolin kung fu emerged much later, gaining popularity only in the 20th century. This view arose from the 17th-century Yijin Jing, a text linking Bodhidharma to daoyin breathing and gymnastic exercises, though such associations remain historically uncertain.

Depictions and Artistic Representations

Throughout East Asian Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is often depicted as an austere and sometimes ill-tempered figure. Characteristic imagery portrays him with a large nose, thick beard, intense wide-eyed expression, and striking foreign features emphasising the Hua-Yi distinction between Chinese civilisation and non-Chinese peoples. In Chan literature, he is frequently referred to as “The Blue-Eyed Barbarian”, underscoring his distinct identity as a monk from the western lands.
Art from regions along the Silk Road, including frescoes from the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, illustrates the multicultural interchange of Buddhist practitioners across Central Asia. Earlier scholars once misidentified some monks in these works as Tocharian, though they are now understood to represent Sogdian communities active in Turpan during the Tang dynasty and the later Kingdom of Qocho.

Principal Textual Sources

Two early texts believed to have been written close to Bodhidharma’s lifetime offer the earliest biographical material. The first is The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang, compiled in 547 CE by Yang Xuanzhi. Yang describes Bodhidharma as a wandering monk who had travelled through many lands before reaching China. He recounts Bodhidharma’s awe at the splendour of the Yongning Temple stupa and depicts him as possessing thaumaturgic abilities. This portrayal contributed later to the idea of Bodhidharma as a figure with esoteric or martial knowledge.
The second early account is found in Tanlin’s preface to the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices. Tanlin, writing in the 6th century, provides the earliest mention of Bodhidharma’s disciples, including Daoyu and especially Dazu Huike, who later became the central figure in Bodhidharma’s lineage tradition. Tanlin describes Bodhidharma as a master devoted to meditation and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, which deeply influenced early Chan doctrinal development.
Another important source is the Lengqie shizi ji (Record of the Masters and Disciples of the Laṅkā), preserved in both Chinese and Tibetan. It presents a variant lineage in which Bodhidharma is not the first patriarch but the second, following Guṇabhadra, translator of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. This indicates that the Chan lineage structure had not yet solidified into its later form by the time of the text’s compilation.

Later Chinese Accounts and Lineage Construction

The 7th-century Further Biographies of Eminent Monks, compiled by Daoxuan, expands significantly on earlier narratives. Daoxuan identifies Bodhidharma as South Indian and specifically of Brahmin descent, aligning his heritage with the prestige of the Pallava royal lineage. He also provides a more detailed travel route, stating that Bodhidharma first arrived by sea during the Liu Song dynasty, landed in the Nanyue region, and then journeyed north to the Northern Wei court.
Daoxuan also proposes a chronology for Bodhidharma’s death, locating it near the Luo River in Henan, where he was said to have been buried by Huike. This account places his death before the fall of the Northern Wei in 534 CE and may relate to reports of monks killed during the Heyin Massacre of 528 CE.
By the 10th century, the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (952 CE) had established the familiar Chan lineage naming Bodhidharma as the 28th patriarch tracing back to the Buddha. This work also contains the first extended version of his celebrated encounter with Emperor Wu of Liang, in which Bodhidharma emphasises inner realisation over meritorious works. The anthology standardised the view that Bodhidharma arrived in China in 527 CE and lived to the age of 150, reflecting the hagiographical style of later Chan historiography.

Teachings and Doctrinal Contributions

Bodhidharma’s teachings are traditionally summarised as focusing on direct insight into the nature of mind. The so-called “Two Entrances and Four Practices”, attributed to him, outline two fundamental approaches: entrance through principle (li)—the realisation of true nature—and entrance through practice (xing) involving disciplined engagement with adversity, karma, and meditation.
The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra is closely associated with Bodhidharma in the Chan tradition, and early Chan thought often centred on this text’s doctrines, particularly its emphasis on mind-only philosophy and the attainment of awakening through introspective realisation. Although this association is more doctrinal than biographical, it demonstrates the intellectual currents that shaped early Chan.
Through Tanlin’s account and later elaborations, Bodhidharma became linked with figures such as Huike, who was depicted as receiving Bodhidharma’s teachings in a dramatic encounter emphasising sacrifice and determination. These stories reinforced the Chan ideal of sudden, experiential awakening rather than scholastic study.

Cultural Legacy and Significance

Bodhidharma’s legacy evolved considerably over the centuries. In China, he became the symbolic progenitor of Chan, later influential in Korea as Seon, in Japan as Zen, and in Vietnam as Thiền. His supposed association with the Shaolin Monastery—though historically uncertain—became culturally significant, especially from the Ming dynasty onward, when martial legends were incorporated into monastic lore.
His depiction as a foreign monk embodying both spiritual discipline and physical resilience contributed to his widespread presence in literature, art, and folklore. Traditional stories, such as his nine years of wall-gazing meditation in a cave near Shaolin or his crossing the Yangtze River on a reed, further shaped his mythic stature.