Within the Buddhist tradition, Bodhidharma is regarded as the founder of Zen (Chán) because he stands at the point where a particular way of practicing the Dharma was given a distinct identity. He is described as an Indian monk, counted as the twenty‑eighth patriarch in a lineage traced back to the Buddha, who journeyed to China and became known for a “special transmission outside the scriptures.” This transmission did not reject the teachings, but shifted the center of gravity from textual study and ritual to direct realization. In this way, Bodhidharma came to embody a form of Buddhism that privileged immediate insight into one’s own mind over conceptual elaboration.

The tradition summarizes his teaching in four concise lines: a special transmission outside the scriptures; not relying on words and letters; directly pointing to the human mind; and seeing one’s nature and becoming Buddha. These phrases do not merely describe a doctrine; they sketch a method of practice that seeks to cut through discursiveness and self‑deception. By emphasizing “seeing into one’s own nature,” Bodhidharma framed awakening as something to be recognized directly, rather than attained through accumulating knowledge. This orientation set Chán/Zen apart from other schools that leaned more heavily on scholastic interpretation.

Stories of Bodhidharma’s long years of “wall‑gazing” meditation at Shaolin Monastery further crystallize this distinctive approach. His image, seated in unadorned, silent contemplation, became a powerful symbol of Zen’s core practice of seated meditation. This form of practice, centered on stillness and formless awareness, conveyed a teaching beyond words more eloquently than any treatise could. The austerity of his example influenced later practitioners, who saw in it a model of uncompromising dedication to direct experience.

Bodhidharma is also remembered as the first Chinese patriarch of Chán, transmitting his understanding to Huike and thereby establishing a recognizable lineage. Through this mind‑to‑mind transmission, a framework emerged in which enlightenment could be passed on not merely as doctrine, but as a living realization. Later figures in the tradition developed themes associated with this lineage, such as sudden enlightenment and the de‑emphasis of doctrinal debate, further shaping what came to be known as Zen. Because of this convergence of direct transmission, meditation‑centered practice, and a conscious distancing from reliance on words, Bodhidharma came to be honored as the founder of Zen Buddhism.