Bodhidharma
c. 450-530 CE
c. 450-530 CE
Indian Zen master who travelled to China to
transmit message of meditation.
born in south India, Kanchi, Pallavi.
3rd son of the king of the area.
original name was Bodhitara, changed to
"Bodhidharma" by his master Prajnatara.
considered 28th Dhyan(Zen) master of India,
starting with Mahakashyap(1st)
considered 1st Chan(Zen) Patriarch of China.
met Emperor Wu of the then Liang Dynasty of
China in what's now Nanjing, China.
left and travelled to Shaolin Temple on Mt. Song, in
Henan Province, China (then the Wei Dynasty)
faced the wall in meditation for 9 years
gave transmission of the lamp to Huike, the 2nd
Chinese Patriarch of Zen.
left Shaolin Temple, and died near what's now
Kongxiang Zen Temple, which is where his stupa
remains to this day.
transmit message of meditation.
born in south India, Kanchi, Pallavi.
3rd son of the king of the area.
original name was Bodhitara, changed to
"Bodhidharma" by his master Prajnatara.
considered 28th Dhyan(Zen) master of India,
starting with Mahakashyap(1st)
considered 1st Chan(Zen) Patriarch of China.
met Emperor Wu of the then Liang Dynasty of
China in what's now Nanjing, China.
left and travelled to Shaolin Temple on Mt. Song, in
Henan Province, China (then the Wei Dynasty)
faced the wall in meditation for 9 years
gave transmission of the lamp to Huike, the 2nd
Chinese Patriarch of Zen.
left Shaolin Temple, and died near what's now
Kongxiang Zen Temple, which is where his stupa
remains to this day.
| I have a very soft corner in my heart for Bodhidharma. That makes it a very special occasion to speak about him. Perhaps he is the only man whom I have loved so deeply that speaking on him I will be almost speaking on myself. That also creates a great complexity, because he never wrote anything in his life. No enlightened being has ever written. Bodhidharma is not an exception, but by tradition these three books that we are going to discuss are attributed to Bodhidharma... --Osho Bodhidharma, The Greatest Zen Master, ch. 1 |