Bodhidharma travelled extensively throughout China until he finally settled in the Shaolin Monastery on Mount Songshan. His name is surrounded by many legends and wondrous tales.
The Legend of Tea
Once, during a long meditation in a cave on Mount Songshan, he struggled against sleep. Angry at his own weakness, Bodhidharma cut off his eyelids and threw them to the ground. Tea bushes grew on that very spot. Later, people learned to brew their leaves – and that is how tea appeared.The Legend of Kung Fu
Bodhidharma is also regarded as the founder of the Shaolin kung fu schools. The monks of that time spent long hours in meditation and vigils, which left them weak and sluggish. To restore their health, the patriarch developed a set of exercises called “The Eighteen Arhat Hands.” From this, numerous styles of Shaolin wushu later emerged.The Yijin Jing Classic
According to another legend, after Bodhidharma’s death a manuscript was discovered – The Muscle/Tendon Change Classic (Yijin Jing). Its authorship is attributed to the patriarch himself. The classic describes a complete system of self-cultivation: gymnastics, meditation, self-discipline, diet. This is where the famous practice of qigong originates.
As you can see, Bodhidharma is truly a legendary figure in the most literal sense. There are dozens of stories about him. Which of them are true and which are fiction is hard to say – and perhaps not so important.
But I want to tell you not about Bodhidharma in general, but about one curious legend that mentions the Pamir – a mountain range that lies mostly in what is now Tajikistan.
The Legend: How Songyun met Bodhidharma after his death
The events of this story take place after Bodhidharma’s death. He had already been buried on Mount Songshan – a proper grave, memorial rites, everything as it should be…
But then one day a government official named Songyun was returning from the West. On the Pamir, he met Bodhidharma. The master was walking alone, holding a staff in his hand, and on the staff hung a single sandal.
Songyun recognised him and greeted him respectfully.
The monk replied:
— I am heading to paradise. And one more thing… Our emperor has grown tired of life.
Bodhidharma strictly told Songyun to tell no one about this meeting. Songyun did not understand, but he promised to keep silent.
Upon arriving in the capital, however, the official learned that Emperor Xiaoming had suddenly died, and the throne had been taken by a new ruler – Xiaozhuang.
Songyun reported to the new emperor about his journey and, after some hesitation, told him about meeting Bodhidharma.
The emperor knew that Bodhidharma had long since died and been buried. He flew into a rage, declared Songyun a liar, and threw him into prison.
But even in prison, Songyun insisted:
— I saw him with my own eyes. On the Pamir. He was carrying one sandal.
The emperor, now even more furious, ordered Bodhidharma’s grave on Mount Songshan to be opened.
The coffin was empty.
Inside lay only a single sandal – the pair to the one that had hung on the wanderer’s staff.
In Zen Buddhism, this story is known as “the patriarch’s sandal” – a symbol that an enlightened one can be confined neither in a grave nor behind prison walls.
