Bodhidharma (or Da Mo)(fl. 526/527 CE) was the Buddhist monk traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chán to China. Very little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is extant, and subsequent accounts became layered with legend, but most accounts agree that he was a South Indian monk who journeyed to southern China and subsequently relocated northwards. The accounts differ on the date of his arrival, with one early account claiming that he arrived during the Liú Sòng Dynasty (420 - 479) and later accounts dating his arrival to the Liáng Dynasty (502 - 557). Bodhidharma was primarily active in the lands of the Northern Wèi Dynasty (386 - 534).
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