A semi-legendary figure, Bodhidharma is credited as the first Chan patriarch who brought Buddhism to China in the fifth or sixth century. He’s commonly depicted as a profusely bearded man of South or Central Asian origin, wrapped in a robe, and sitting in meditation.
Seeking praise and recognition, Emperor Wu of Liang once famously asked Bodhidharma how much karmic merit he’d gained for building monasteries, printing sutras, and commissioning Buddha images. Bodhidharma answered that the
