Bodhidharma
c. 5th–6th century CE · South India to China · Chan (Zen) Buddhism
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk from India — tradition says from the South, some say a prince of the Pallava country around Kāñcīpuram — who travelled to China and is honoured as the first patriarch of Chan Buddhism, known in Japan as Zen. The word itself comes from the Sanskrit dhyāna, meditation. Legends say he meditated facing a wall for nine years near the Shaolin monastery.
Chan / Zen · From dhyāna · India to China