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Japan: Bodhidharma represented in a woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1887

Japan: Bodhidharma represented in a woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1887

Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Ch'an (Sanskrit: Dhyāna, Japanese: Zen) to China, and regarded as the first Chinese patriarch.

According to Chinese legend, he also began the physical training of the Shaolin monks that led to the creation of Shaolinquan.