Almost every aspect of Bodhidharma’s figure is surrounded by debate, to the point that the boundary between history and hagiography is unusually porous. Traditional sources place him in the 5th–6th centuries, yet scholars disagree on whether he was a single historical monk, a composite of several teachers, or even a symbol constructed to legitimize particular Chan/Zen lineages. Accounts conflict about his origins, some calling him a South Indian or Brahmin prince, others more vaguely situating him in the “Western Regions,” which could suggest Central Asia. Even the details of his journey to China and his activities there are inconsistent across early records, leaving a life-story that feels more like a tapestry of overlapping traditions than a single, stable biography. The stories that later came to define his image are themselves contested. The famous nine years of “wall-gazing” meditation in a cave, and dramatic episodes such as the disciple Huike cutting off his arm, are widely treated as hagiographic embellishments rather than secure historical reports. Some scholars read “wall-gazing” as a description of a style of contemplative practice rather than a literal posture maintained for nearly a decade. These narratives, though historically fragile, function as powerful symbols of uncompromising commitment and radical interiority, and thus say as much about what later Chan communities valued as about Bodhidharma himself. There is also sustained debate over his role as “founder” of Chan/Zen. Traditional lineage charts present him as the 28th Indian patriarch and first Chinese patriarch, yet historical research suggests that meditative and doctrinal currents associated with Chan were already present in China and developed gradually through many teachers. The neat patriarchal lineages are often viewed as retroactive constructions designed to assert orthodoxy and unbroken transmission. This extends to the famous slogan of “special transmission outside the scriptures,” which many scholars regard as a later formulation projected back onto Bodhidharma to crystallize a mature Chan self-understanding. Questions of textual and doctrinal attribution deepen these uncertainties. Works such as the *Two Entrances and Four Practices* and the so‑called “Bloodstream Sermon” are traditionally linked to him, yet their authorship and date remain disputed, and it is unclear how closely they reflect his actual teaching. Even the extent of his emphasis on sudden awakening, direct pointing to the mind, and the centrality of particular scriptures is debated, with some researchers suggesting that later Chan circles amplified or reshaped these themes. In this sense, Bodhidharma stands as