History of Bodhidharma

By Ubaid Arora

Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who is considered to be the founder of Chan Buddhism (Zen in Japanese). He is believed to have lived during the 5th or 6th century CE in India.

According to legend, Bodhidharma was born in the Pallava kingdom in southern India, which was located near Madras (modern-day Chennai) in India. He was the third son of a Brahmin king named Sugandha. From a young age, he showed a strong inclination towards Buddhism and left home to become a monk.

Bodhidharma is said to have travelled to China in the 5th or 6th century CE, where he eventually settled in the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province. He is credited with introducing Chan Buddhism to China and is considered to be the first patriarch of the Chan tradition. As Bodhidharma’s teachings were based on meditation, he was ostracized and rejected, causing him to live as a beggar for many months. Bodhidharma travelled to Luoyang and then moved on to Henan, after which he arrived at the Shaolin Monastery located on Songs. However, Bodhidharma was not accepted by Shaolin Monastery in the beginning, so he lived in a nearby cave, where he meditated in complete silence for nine years while facing the cave wall.

The legend of Bodhidharma is steeped in myth and legend, and it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. Some accounts claim that he was a martial arts expert and that he taught the monks at the Shaolin Temple a form of martial arts that later became known as Shaolin Kung Fu. However, there is little historical evidence to support these claims.

Bodhidharma is revered as a great spiritual teacher in China, Japan, and other parts of East Asia. His teachings on meditation, mindfulness, and the nature of reality continue to influence Buddhist practitioners today.