Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma, by Yoshitoshi, 1887

Bodhidharma is thought to have brought Buddhism to China. His teacher was thought to be Prajnatara.

The work Two Entries and Four Practices is attributed to him.

The four practices are as follows:
1. Accept whatever befalls us without complaining about injustice.
2. Adapt to conditions and accept that we are ruled by conditions, not by ourselves.
3. Practice non-craving.
4. Practice the dharma.

I think we can accept circumstances and work towards fighting injustices. As I've said before we can examine the individual system and the larger systems. Practicing non-craving seems impossible to me, the key is to be creative and not reactive and act in your own best interest.

The Essence of Mahayana Practice is also attributed to him.

He is mentioned in The Blue Cliff Record.

He inspired the Daruma doll. "At the end of the year, all the Daruma are brought back to the temple they were purchased from for a traditional burning ceremony." Here is a video (7 minutes). The color means something for types of luck. The legend is that he meditated so much that his legs withered away. They are often weighted so that they always stand up. That led to the phrase, "fall down seven times and get up eight." They supposedly help people recover from smallpox and warn people if someone in the house has smallpox. I don't think this woman burns her Daruma dolls.

This is a 10 minute film about Bodhidharma's stupa, where he supposedly is buried.

Resources:

Who Was Bodhidharma?

Bodhidharma by Lin Sen-shou