Bodhidharma "Tamo"

Bodhidharma's story would make a wonderful epic novel. Legend has it that he brought meditative Buddhism to Tibet when he was in route to China. Some scholars think it more likely that he reached southern China by sea, but historical records indicate a moderate likelihood that Bodhidharma came to China along the Silk Road from Persia. So there are good reasons to think that he may have traveled through modern-day Tibet.

Bodhidharma's role within our present work is to place him, eventually, in Ch'ien-kang (Nanjing today) court of Liang dynasty Emperor Wu-ti (502-549),  successor to the Liu Sung. (When Bodhidharma arrived in China, the land was divided into the Northern Wei Empire and the (southern) Liu Sung Empire. The Liang dynasty endured from 502-557.) This emperor had decided that he wanted to assure himself a place in heaven, so had hired armies of scribes to translate Sanskrit Buddhist text into Chinese. It is a common belief among those who do not actually read the Buddha's words that deeds such as having works transcribed and preaching will buy one a place in heaven. In fact, the Buddha avoids any contemplation about heaven, deities, or supernatural phenomena, being concerned only with liberation from earthly suffering and unfortunate rebirth. When the emperor learned of Bodhidharma's arrival in the Chinese capitol, he arranged an immediate audience.

The Indian monk, however, was not what the emperor had expected. He was neither subordinate nor meek. He looked nothing like the Buddhist monks in China. Bodhidharma was swarthy, bearded, and blue-eyed. His crown was naturally bald, but his remaining hair hung long and unkempt. Instead of traditional saffron and maroon robes, the patriarch wore blue and gray. The emperor was confronted with a self-assured, rugged man who had trekked over the Himalayas and walked to the Chinese capitol, a trip that took several years. Bodhidharma explained that noble deeds cannot be bought, and that enlightenment was not to be had from the labors-however noble-of others. In fact, enlightenment does not function as the effect of good (or bad) works at all. The emperor would have to reach enlightenment on his own merit, and the journey would not be hastened by building monasteries. Not surprisingly, the Indian was shown the door and he left the capital city, traveling north across the Yangtze River to the Lo-yang region and eventually to a temple that had been built for the purpose of housing scribe monks.

The temple was built on a mild slope of a hill, around which had been planted thousands of saplings. From this sylvan setting came the temple's name: "Young Forest," or, in the Mandarin dialect, "Shao Lin." Bodhidharma was given access, but his critical evaluation of the monks and their tasks earned him the ill-will of the chief monk, who subsequently banished him from the premises. It is not surprising that the first abbot of Shaolin (known as "Bhadra" or "Batuo") would have denied Bodhidharma entrance. Bhadra was a Theravadin missionary whose ideas about Buddhist practice must have been rather different than Bodhidharma's. Bodhidharma's early training was with an Indian teacher, Prajnatara, who was a mater of the Sarvastivada sect, which is considered a proto-Mahayana school.

Still undaunted, Bodhidharma set himself to demonstrating the liberating powers of meditation. He retired to a cave that still overlooks the grounds of the Temple, and engaged in a detailed program of meditation. Legends tell amazing stories of Bodhidharma boring holes in cave walls by the laser-like intensity of his gaze. Whatever the truth was, after eight years he eventually impressed the monks such that they recognized his true worthiness as a patriarch of Buddhism, admitting him to the Temple and giving him his Chinese name, "Tamo." As Tamo, he taught the monks the simple but demanding basics of the way of life that would henceforth be known as "Shaolin." Tamo's true claim to fame rests on being the founder and first patriarch of the Buddhist practice known in China as "Ch'an," and in Japan and much of the rest of the world as "Zen."

Once he entered the Temple and became the acting abbot, his curriculum did not initially contain a special martial arts practice. In fact, Shaolin's signature gung fu didn't enter the mainstream curriculum for about another 700 years. Tamo's initial interest was to include a physical component to the daily routine of the monks at the Temple. He quickly learned that no one had the stamina to undergo a session without falling asleep. The Indian undertook a drastic change in curriculum by instructing the monks in the eighteen movements of lohan, a series of postures with their emphasis on proper breathing based on yoga. His choice of yoga would fulfill two needs. First, it would give the monks physical training to improve their stamina, Second, traditional yogas included the exercises that stimulate and help develop the inner power called "prana" in India and ch'i in China. (Ch'i, also known as Qi, is absolutely central to Shaolin Buddhism, meditation, and gung fu.) Many exercises were developed just for the monks, including the bone-hardening exercises and the marrow washing sequence. Eventually, the realities of life in a remote temple surrounded by dangerous animals and roving bandits prompted Tamo to introduce a martial aspect into the Temple's physical curriculum.

(Text derived from "The Shaolin Grandmasters' Text - History, Philosophy, and Gung Fu of Shaolin Ch'an")