Bodhi Dharma - An ancient Indian Buddhist Monk who became famous in China

Bodhi Dharma - An ancient Indian Buddhist Monk who became famous in China

9/20/2014






Bodhidharma, I keep hearing this name whenever India (Bharat) and China (Zhen Dan or Cina) comes together. So I thought to research on him. Let's see what did I found !
By name anyone can link him as an Indian as the name consists of two words "Bodhi" and "Dharma". Bodhi is an abstract noun formed from the verbal root "Budh" which means To Awake, Become Aware, Know or Understand and the word "Dharma" comes from root dhr derived from an older Vedic Sanskrit Dharman which literally means "bearer, supporter or ‘right way of living’ and ‘path of righteousness’". In devanagri it is referred as Dharma. So, looking into this its very clear that he was an Indian.

History of Bodhidharma
Birth Place
Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is extant, and subsequent accounts became layered with legend, but some accounts state that he was from a Brahman family in southern India and possibly of royal lineage. However Broughton (1999:2) notes that Bodhidharma's royal pedigree implies that he was of the Kshatriya warrior caste. Mahajan (1972:705–707) argued that the Pallava dynasty was a Tamilian dynasty and Zvelebil (1987) proposed that Bodhidharma was born a prince of the Pallava dynasty in their capital of Kanchipuram. Scholars have concluded his place of birth to be Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, India. He is believed to the 3rd son of a Pallavine King from Kanchipuram, a contemporary of Skandavarman IV and Nandivarman I and the son of Simhavarman II (435–460 or 430 - 550 AD) who was son of Vishnugopa. During his birth period Bodhidharma was named "Bodhitara" or "Budhabhadra" and his surname was Kshtriya. It is said that Simhavarman II was Tstuomu Kambe: A well known researcher approves this). According to Zvelebil (a researcher) and local Tamil references Bodhidharma lived in ca. 470-532. Kanchipuram was an important Buddhist centre in 4th to 7th century.

Bodhidharma & China Travel
Bodhidharma is known by many names like Bodhitara in India, Da-Mo in China, Daruma in Japan et cetera. After becoming a Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma traveled to China. The accounts differ on the date of his arrival, with one early account claiming that he arrived during the Liú Sòng Dynasty (420–479) and later accounts dating his arrival to the Liáng Dynasty (502–557). Bodhidharma was primarily active in the lands of the Northern Wèi Dynasty (386–534). Most of the scholars dates him to about the early 5th century around mid of 520 to 530 when he landed china via Yangzi River.

And why did he go to China in the first place???
Bodhidharma followed Buddhism under the able guidance of his master Pragnyadhara. This is again a slight variation from Gautam Buddha, narrates Osho- “he was not averse to initiate women as sanyasins like Gautam Buddha- he himself was a disciple of Sanyasin Pragnyadhara”. It was Pragnyadhara who prodded him to move on to China. It was her unabated streamlining that made him shed all his material love. He followed his master’s orders to reach China - the land of Zhen Dan. It is said that downfall of Buddhism in the country of its origin had forced him and many of his coreligionists to seek a new home in China, 'cliicllyin Layong', where 5000 Indians are said to have lived in the 6th century A.D. He probably sailed to China in 526 AD - a proof to again show the Indian Kings had naval prowess and crossed to mainland China by crossing the Yangtze River. The interesting interpretation of his crossing the Yangtze by using a reed, not a boat, depicts the smooth sailing of BodhiDharma over the turbulent waters of samsara!

Life in China
In 495 AD, an Indian Monk name Ba Tuo or Buddhabhadra came to China teaching a form of Buddhism known as "Xiao Sheng Buddhism". He was given land at the foot of Shaoshi mountain by Emperor Shao Wen and founded the Shaolin Temple on this land. Around this time when Ba-Tuo was building Shaolin Monastery in Henan Province, Bodhidharma came to this city. The name Shaolin comes from the "Shao She" Mountain and from the forest that surrounds it. The Chinese word for forest is "Lin" and for temple it is "Su". Shao Lin Su = Shaolin Temple.
During this time Bodhidharma continued the Shaolin Temple where he started his "Da Shen (Mahayana) Buddhism". Upon becoming abbot of the Shaolin temple, Da Mo made a sort of prophecy. He tied six knots in the belt of his robe and stated that his lineage would end upon the fifth abbot following him. After Da Mo, his disciple Hui Ke was named abbot of the Shaolin temple. After Hui Ke (till 594); Sheng San (little known but till 612), Gao Xing (till 651), Hung Jen (till 674) and Hui Neng (till 713 - 1st abbot to write principles of Chan Buddhism) were each appointed abbot in turn.
"Shaolin monks and disciples follow a unique practice among Buddhists in that they greet each other using only their right hand. This greeting is a tradition which dates back to Da Mo and his disciple, Hui Ke".

Bodhidharma introducing 4 forms of Vedic Kalari-Payattu methods to improve health condition in Temple:
1. Yi Jin Jing (Chi Kung): Muscle and Tendon washing form
2. Xi Xue Jing (Chi Kung): Bone marrow washing form
3. Lohan Shi Ba Shou (Kung Fu): 18 Lohan movements from which develop the 18 Lohan forms. Later the 54 Lohan forms and then the 108 Lohan forms develop from the original 18 movements.
4. Wu Xing Shou (Five Animal Kung Fu): Dragon, Tiger Leopard, Crane and Snakes.

Kalaripayattu means Practicing the arts of the battlefield. Marmam are pressure points in the human body and experienced practitioners can disable or kill their opponents by a mere touch of the opponent’s Marmam. This technique is taught only to the promising and level headed persons, to prevent its misuse. Lord Parasurama taught his 21 disciples the art of Kalaripayattu, and then opened 108 Kalari (school's/gymnasiums) around the Kerala region, Southern Indian state. (will discuss in my next blog)

Mystery of Bodhidharma's Death
Sadly Bodhidharma was killed by poisoning, though the reports are not conclusive. Some legends say Bodhidharma returned to India before his death. Others say he lived to be 150 and was buried in the mountains of Honan, China. Some time later a pilgrim encountered Bodhidharma walking back to India, wearing only one sandal. When his grave was opened it was empty, save for one sandal. Bodhi Dharma is also said to have propagated the mix of yoga, silambattam, varmakalai and Indian martial arts.

References
http://www.shaolinwolf.com/subsites/history.htm
http://archaeologyexcavations.blogspot.in/2011/11/true-history-of-bodhidharma-life.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhidharma