Bodhidharma's Glare: Meditation, Tea, And A Fierce Gaze

Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China. He is known for his practice of Dhyana meditation, which involves deep internal absorption on the breath and subtle mental factors such as joy and equanimity. Bodhidharma's form of meditation had some attributes very different from the old school Yogic and Buddhist forms, as he kept his eyes open and meditated in front of a wall. This type of meditation is known as wall-gazing and is said to have originated when Bodhidharma faced a wall for nine years, not speaking for the entire time. According to legend, Bodhidharma once fell asleep while meditating and was so furious that he cut off his eyelids. His eyelids fell to the ground and became the first tea plant, providing a stimulant to help keep students of Chan awake during meditation. Throughout Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as ill-tempered, with a large nose, a profuse beard, and wide-glaring eyes.

Bodhidharma's glaring eyes are a result of his anger at falling asleep during meditation

Bodhidharma, the semi-legendary Buddhist monk, is often depicted with glaring eyes in Buddhist art. This is because he is commonly associated with a legend that, during his nine years of facing a cave wall in meditation, he fell asleep. Furious with himself, he ripped off his eyelids, which then turned into tea plants when they hit the ground.

Bodhidharma's glaring eyes are thus a result of his anger at falling asleep during meditation. This legend suggests that tea's stimulating qualities were not lost on monks who spent long hours in meditation. It also highlights the importance of physical well-being in spiritual practice, a belief that proved highly attractive to the Samurai class in Japan, who later incorporated Zen into their way of life.

Bodhidharma is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, where it is known as Zen. He is also credited with founding the famous Shaolin school of Chinese martial arts and is known as a Tripitaka Dharma Master. His teachings point to a direct experience of Buddha-Nature rather than an intellectual understanding of it, and he is best known for his terse style that infuriated some, while leading others to enlightenment.

Bodhidharma's teachings can be seen in stories of his life, such as his emphasis on zazen (sitting meditation), his style of interacting with students (often referred to as "dharma-dueling"), the lack of emphasis on scholarship and intellectual debate, and the importance of personal realisation and mind-to-mind transmission from teacher to disciple. These distinctive features that Bodhidharma brought from India to China almost 1,500 years ago still define Zen Buddhism today.

Bodhidharma's tea is said to have grown from his discarded eyelids

Bodhidharma is a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who is said to have brought Buddhism to China in the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch.

Bodhidharma is the subject of many legends, including one that states that he ripped off his eyelids in anger after falling asleep during a nine-year meditation. As the story goes, he threw the eyelids to the ground, from which the first tea plants sprang up. This legend is said to be the reason why tea is used to keep students of Chan awake during meditation.

Bodhidharma's teachings centred on meditation and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. He is described as having taught two "entrances" to the Dharma: the first, a subitist teaching that directly apprehends the ultimate principle or true nature of reality (Buddha-nature); and the second, four practices that involve accepting suffering, remaining equanimous, being without craving, and letting go of wrong thoughts.

Bodhidharma is commonly depicted in Buddhist art as ill-tempered, with a large nose, a profuse beard, and glaring eyes.

Bodhidharma's meditation is a form of Dhyana, or wall-gazing

Bodhidharma is a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who is traditionally credited with transmitting Chan Buddhism to China. He is known for his terse style of teaching, which infuriated some while leading others to enlightenment.

Bodhidharma's teachings centre on a direct experience of Buddha-Nature, rather than an intellectual understanding of it. He is said to have taught:

> A special transmission outside the scriptures, not founded upon words and letters; by pointing directly to [one's] mind, it lets one see into [one's own true] nature and [thus] attain Buddhahood.

Bodhidharma is also credited with founding the famous Shaolin school of Chinese martial arts. He is said to have been dismayed by the physical weakness of the Shaolin monks, and so instituted a set of exercises to promote their physical health.

Bodhidharma is commonly depicted in Buddhist art as ill-tempered, bearded, and wide-eyed. He is often shown glaring or with large, lidless eyes. This is perhaps due to the legend that, during his period of meditation for nine years near the Shaolin monastery, Bodhidharma fell asleep. When he awoke, he was so furious that he cut off his eyelids to avoid sleeping again during meditation practice. He then threw his eyelids behind him, and where they hit the earth, the first tea plants in China are said to have sprouted.

> Those who turn from delusion back to reality, who meditate on walls, the absence of self and other, the oneness of mortal and sage, and who remain unmoved even by scriptures are in complete and unspoken agreement with reason.

Bodhidharma is said to have sat in meditation outside the Shaolin monastery, facing its walls, for nine years. The monks were so impressed with his dedication to his zazen that he was finally granted entry. However, it is reported that after sitting for so many years in meditation, Bodhidharma lost the use of his legs through atrophy. This legend is still alive in Japan, where legless Daruma dolls representing Bodhidharma are used to make wishes.

Bodhidharma's meditation is a Mahayana Buddhist practice

Bodhidharma is a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who is credited with bringing Chan Buddhism from India to China in the 5th or 6th century CE. He is considered the 28th Patriarch in a lineage that can be traced back to Gautama Buddha.

Bodhidharma's teachings centre on a direct experience of Buddha-Nature, rather than an intellectual understanding of it. He is best known for his terse style, which infuriated some, while leading others to enlightenment. His teachings continue to inspire practitioners of Zen Buddhism, exemplifying hard work, discipline, and determination on the path to spiritual realisation.

Bodhidharma's teachings and practice focused on meditation and the Lankavatara Sutra. He is traditionally seen as introducing a Mahayana Buddhist practice of dhyana (meditation) in China. According to modern scholars, the Two Entrances and Four Practices is the only extant work that can be attributed to Bodhidharma.

The Two Entrances and Four Practices taught by Bodhidharma include two "entrances" to the Dharma. The first is a subitist teaching that directly apprehends the ultimate principle or true nature of reality (Buddha-nature). The second entrance deals with four practices:

• Accepting all our sufferings as the fruit of past karma
• Accepting our circumstances with equanimity
• Being without craving
• Letting go of wrong thoughts and practising the six perfections

Bodhidharma's form of dhyana meditation had some attributes very different from the old-school Yogic and Buddhist forms, where the senses are totally turned inward. In the Mahayana school of Buddhism, of which Zen is a part, interconnectedness is emphasised. This is reflected in the practice of keeping the eyes open during meditation, which includes the perception of the body and surroundings without focusing on them. The mind, the senses, the body, and the world are not separated from each other but included in the field of awareness.

Bodhidharma's meditation practice, known as "wall-gazing", is a type of sitting meditation or zazen. This practice involves facing a wall, keeping the eyes open with a soft gaze, and counting or following the breath to calm the chaos within.

Bodhidharma's meditation is a form of seated meditation with eyes open

Bodhidharma is a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who is said to have transmitted Chan Buddhism to China. He is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch and is known as the founder of Zen Buddhism in China.

Bodhidharma's teachings and practice centred on meditation and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. He is best known for his terse style that infuriated some, while leading others to enlightenment. His teachings point to a direct experience of Buddha-Nature rather than an intellectual understanding of it.

Bodhidharma is commonly depicted in Buddhist art as ill-tempered, with a large nose, a profuse beard, and glaring wide eyes. He is referred to as "The Blue-Eyed Barbarian" in Chan texts.

Bodhidharma is said to have sat in meditation outside the Shaolin monastery, facing its walls, for nine years. This is known as "wall-gazing" or "wall-contemplation". It is a type of seated meditation with eyes open, akin to the zazen that later became a defining characteristic of Chan.

During his nine years of wall-gazing, Bodhidharma is said to have fallen asleep. In anger, he cut off his eyelids to avoid ever falling asleep again. According to the legend, his eyelids sprouted into the first tea plants in China when they hit the earth.

Bodhidharma's form of seated meditation with eyes open is, therefore, intimately connected to the legend of him bringing tea to China. Tea was long used in Chinese monasteries as an aid to meditation as it stemmed hunger, cleared the mind, and sharpened resolve.

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