Thedhyana masterBuddhabhadra (Chinese:跋陀;pinyin:Bátuó) was the first abbot of theShaolin Monastery.^[1] His ancestral heritage was from Iranian descent via the silk road.^[2]

Former Worthies Gather at the Mount Shuang-feng Stūpa and Each Talks of the Dark Principle contains the following reference to him: "Dhyana Master Buddha says: "The extreme principle is wordless. The sagely mind is unimpeded."^[3]

According to theDeng Feng County Recording, Bátuó came to China in 464 and preached for thirty years,Nikaya Buddhism that integrated with Taoist and local folk religion's concepts for its religious rights. Thirty-one years later, in 495, the Shaolin Monastery was built by the order ofEmperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei for Batuo's preaching.^[4]

Batuo's disciples Sengchou^[1] and Huiguang became well known for their martial arts through their time and studies with Batuo, to eventually be mentioned in theChinese Buddhist canon^[5]

• Broughton, Jeffrey L. (1999).The Bodhidharma Anthology: The Earliest Records of Zen. Berkeley: University of California Press.ISBN 0-520-21972-4.

• 5th-century births
• 6th-century deaths
• Northern Wei Buddhists
• Indian emigrants to China
• Abbots of Shaolin Monastery
• Indian Buddhist monks

• Articles containing Chinese-language text