Principal sources There are two known extant accounts written by contemporaries of Bodhidharma. According to these sources, Bodhidharma came from the
Western Regions, and is described as either a "Persian Central Asian" or a "South Indian [...] the third son of a great Indian king." Later materials draw on these two sources, adding additional details, including a change to being descended from a
Brahmin king, which accords with the reign of the
Pallavas, who "claim[ed] to belong to a brahmin lineage." The
Western Regions was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE that referred to the regions west of
Yumen Pass, most often
Central Asia or sometimes, more specifically, the easternmost portion of it (e.g.
Altishahr or the
Tarim Basin in southern
Xinjiang). Sometimes, it was used more generally to refer to other regions to the west of China as well, such as the
Indian subcontinent (as in the novel
Journey to the West).
The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang teaching an East Asian monk. A fresco from the
Bezeklik, dated to the 9th or 10th century; although
Albert von Le Coq (1913) assumed the
red-haired monk was a
Tocharian, modern scholarship has identified similar
Caucasian figures of
the same cave temple (No. 9) as ethnic
Sogdians, an
Eastern Iranian people who inhabited
Turfan as an ethnic minority community during the phases of
Tang Chinese (7th–8th century) and
Uyghur rule (9th–13th century). The earliest text mentioning Bodhidharma is
The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang (
Luòyáng Qiélánjì) which was compiled in 547 by
Yang Xuanzhi (), a writer and translator of
Mahayana sutras into Chinese. Yang gave the following account: The account of Bodhidharma in the Luoyan Record does not particularly associate him with meditation, but rather depicts him as a
thaumaturge capable of mystical feats. This may have played a role in his subsequent association with the martial arts and esoteric knowledge.
Tanlin – preface to the Two Entrances and Four Acts (1368–1683) sandstone statue of a seated Bodhidharma (
Chinese: 達磨;
Pinyin:
Dámó). 1484. The second account was written by Tanlin (曇林; 506–574). Tanlin's brief biography of the "
Dharma Master" is found in his preface to the
Long Scroll of the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices, a text traditionally attributed to Bodhidharma and the first text to identify him as
South Indian: Tanlin's account was the first to mention that Bodhidharma attracted disciples, specifically mentioning Daoyu () and
Dazu Huike (), the latter of whom would later figure very prominently in the Bodhidharma literature. Although Tanlin has traditionally been considered a disciple of Bodhidharma, it is more likely that he was a student of Huike.
Record of the Masters and Students of the Laṅka The
Record of the Masters and Students of the Laṅka (Léngqié Shīzī Jì 楞伽師資記), which survives both in Chinese and in Tibetan translation (although the surviving Tibetan translation is apparently of older provenance than the surviving Chinese version), states that Bodhidharma is not the first ancestor of Zen, but instead the second. This text instead claims that
Guṇabhadra, the translator of the
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, is the first ancestor in the lineage. It further states that Bodhidharma was his student. The Tibetan translation is estimated to have been made in the late eighth or early ninth century, indicating that the original Chinese text was written at some point before that. Tanlin's preface has also been preserved in Jingjue's (683–750)
Lengjie Shizi ji "Chronicle of the
Laṅkāvatāra Masters", which dates from 713 to 716./ca. 715 He writes,
"Further Biographies of Eminent Monks" points directly to the human heart, see into your nature and become
Buddha." It was created by
Hakuin Ekaku (1686 to 1769). In the 7th-century historical work "Further Biographies of Eminent Monks" (續高僧傳
Xù gāosēng zhuàn),
Daoxuan () possibly drew on Tanlin's preface as a basic source, but made several significant additions: Firstly, Daoxuan adds more detail concerning Bodhidharma's origins, writing that he was of "South Indian
Brahman stock" (南天竺婆羅門種
nán tiānzhú póluómén zhŏng). Secondly, more detail is provided concerning Bodhidharma's journeys. Tanlin's original is imprecise about Bodhidharma's travels, saying only that he "crossed distant mountains and seas" before arriving in Wei. Daoxuan's account, however, implies "a specific itinerary": "He first arrived at
Nan-yüeh during the
Sung period. From there, he turned north and came to the Kingdom of Wei" This implies that Bodhidharma had travelled to China by sea and that he had crossed over the
Yangtze. Thirdly, Daoxuan suggests a date for Bodhidharma's arrival in China. He writes that Bodhidharma makes landfall in the time of the Song, thus making his arrival no later than the time of the Song's fall to the
Southern Qi in 479. Finally, Daoxuan provides information concerning Bodhidharma's death. Bodhidharma, he writes, died at the banks of the
Luo River, where he was interred by his disciple Dazu Huike, possibly in a cave. According to Daoxuan's chronology, Bodhidharma's death must have occurred prior to 534, the date of the Northern Wei's fall, because Dazu Huike subsequently leaves Luoyang for
Ye. Furthermore, citing the shore of the Luo River as the place of death might possibly suggest that Bodhidharma died in
the mass executions at Heyin () in 528. Supporting this possibility is a report in the
Chinese Buddhist canon stating that a Buddhist monk was among the victims at Héyīn.
Later accounts Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall In the
Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (祖堂集
Zǔtángjí) of 952, the elements of the traditional Bodhidharma story are in place. Bodhidharma is said to have been a disciple of
Prajñātāra, thus establishing the latter as the 27th patriarch in India. After a three-year journey, Bodhidharma reached China in 527, during the Liang (as opposed to the Song in Daoxuan's text). The
Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall includes Bodhidharma's encounter with
Emperor Wu of Liang, which was first recorded around 758 in the appendix to a text by Shenhui (), a disciple of Huineng. Finally, as opposed to Daoxuan's figure of "over 180 years," the
Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall states that Bodhidharma died at the age of 150. He was then buried on Mount Xiong'er (熊耳山), to the west of Luoyang. However, three years after the burial, in the
Pamir Mountains,
Song Yun ()—an official of one of the later Wei kingdoms—encountered Bodhidharma, who claimed to be returning to India and was carrying a single sandal. Bodhidharma predicted the death of Song Yun's ruler, a prediction which was borne out upon the latter's return. Bodhidharma's tomb was then opened, and only a single sandal was found inside. According to the
Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall, Bodhidharma left the Liang court in 527 and relocated to
Mount Song near Luoyang and the Shaolin Monastery, where he "faced a wall for nine years, not speaking for the entire time", his date of death can have been no earlier than 536. Moreover, his encounter with the Wei official indicates a date of death no later than 554, three years before the fall of the
Western Wei.
Daoyuan – Transmission of the Lamp Subsequent to the
Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall, the only dated addition to the biography of Bodhidharma is in the
Jingde Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (景德傳燈錄
Jĭngdé chuándēng lù, published 1004
CE), by Daoyuan (), in which it is stated that Bodhidharma's original name had been Bodhitāra but was changed by his master Prajñātāra. The same account is given by the Japanese master Keizan's 13th-century work of the same title.
Popular traditions Several contemporary popular traditions also exist regarding Bodhidharma's origins. An Indian tradition regards Bodhidharma to be the third son of a
Pallava king from
Kanchipuram. This is consistent with the Southeast Asian traditions which also describe Bodhidharma as a former
South Indian Tamil prince who had awakened his
kundalini and renounced royal life to become a monk. == Practice and teaching ==