Bodhidharma who is know as
Da Mo in china and
Taishi Daruma in Japan was born in kanchipuram, located at a distance about eighty kilometers from the city Chennai of Tamil Nadu, India. He was born on Saturday, November 4th 395 AD (5th Day of 10 Lunar Month) and lived during the 5th/6th century CE. He was the 3rd son of the Tamil Pallava king Sugandan who was ruling a part of south India with Kanchipuram as its capital.
Bodhidharma's father Sugandan was also called as
Simhavarman or
Skandavarma. The king was a devoted Buddhist and managed state affairs according to the Buddha’s teachings. The king showed his devotion to Buddhism by pious acts such as building Buddhist temples, printing Buddhist scriptures, and encouraging his people to practice the Buddhist teachings. His wife, the queen, constantly donated food and clothes to the poor. All of their efforts helped bring peace and welfare to the kingdom.
Bodhi Dharma was born with a breathing disorder. So he was adopted and trained at birth in breathing exercises and combat, namely in the arts of Dravidian warfare arts of Southern India and self-defense techniques such as
- Kuttu Varisai and Pidi Varesai (Punches Series- hand to hand combat with animal styles and locking techniques Similar to Kung Fu and Karate),
- Malyutham (grappling),
- Varma Kalai (Secret or Vital Art, Pressure point attacks,
- In healing and Self-defense similar to Tai Chi or Dim Mak),
- Silambam (staff fighting),
- Eretthai or Saydekuche (double stick fighting),
- Madhu or Madi (deer horn weapon fighting),
- Surul Pattai or Surul wall (steel blade whip),
- Val Vitchi (single sword), and
- Eretthai Val (double short sword) fighting.
Bodhidharma was very intelligent and was the favorite son of the king of India. Bodhidharma had two older brothers who feared that their father, the king, would pass them over and bequeath the kingship to Bodhidharma. In their jealousy, the two older brothers often disparaged Bodhidharma while talking with their father, hoping to turn him against their younger brother. The older brothers also attempted to assassinate Bodhidharma but Bodhidharma had very good karma and so the attempts were not successful. Despite being the favorite son of the king, Bodhidharma realized that he was not interested in a life of politics. He chose instead to study with the famous Buddhist master Prajnatara and become a Buddhist monk
Bodhidharma’s original name was Bodhitara and it was his teacher Prajnatara who changed his name to Bodhidharma saying
"You have profound wisdom in all the principles of Dharma, which is complete knowledge. Thereupon, I call you Bodhidharma; Bodhi for the Truth and Dharma for the Teachings" when Bodhitara attained supreme insight. Though Bodhidharma was the son of a king and a member of the caste of warriors and rulers, he purportedly began making observations of precocious wisdom from the age of seven.
After the death of his father, Bodhidharma served Prajnatara (his Guru or so called Teacher) for many years spreading Buddhism. After his teacher Prajnatara's death, Bodhidharma left his monastery in India to follow his master's last wish that he should go to
Zhen Dan, which was the
name for China at that time and spread the teaching.Similar Posts :
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Bodhidharma Birth
