PHILOSOPHER

Bodhidharma

483 - 540

Photo of Bodhidharma

Icon of person Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma (Sanskrit; Chinese Dámó, Japanese Daruma) was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. He is also popularly regarded as the founder of Shaolin kung fu, an idea popularized in the 20th century, but based on the 17th century Yijin Jing and the Daoist association of daoyin gymnastics with Bodhidharma. Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is extant, and subsequent accounts became layered with legend and unreliable details. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Bodhidharma has received more than 6,202,432 page views. His biography is available in 59 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 52 in 2019). Bodhidharma is the 112th most popular philosopher (up from 114th in 2019), the 24th most popular biography from Iran (down from 20th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Iranian Philosopher.

Bodhidharma is most famous for being the founder of the Zen school of Buddhism.

Memorability Metrics

  • 6.2M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 73.06

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 59

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 7.07

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.99

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Bodhidharma ranks 112 out of 1,267. Before him are Zhu Xi, Emil Cioran, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Rudolf Christoph Eucken, Tertullian, and Gilles Deleuze. After him are Antisthenes, William of Ockham, Henri de Saint-Simon, Pyrrho, Johann Friedrich Herbart, and Simone Weil.

Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 483, Bodhidharma ranks 1. After him are Xiao Baojuan, and Emperor Xuanwu of Northern Wei. Among people deceased in 540, Bodhidharma ranks 1. After him are Wacho, Dignāga, Beopheung of Silla, Barsanuphius, Kaleb of Axum, and Amalaberga.

Others Born in 483

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 540

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Iran

Among people born in Iran, Bodhidharma ranks 24 out of 631. Before him are Ulugh Beg (1394), Cambyses II (-550), Malik-Shah I (1055), Abdul Qadir Gilani (1078), Tughril (990), and Al-Tabari (839). After him are Tahmasp I (1514), Nader Shah (1688), Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (817), Khosrow I (501), Mansur Al-Hallaj (858), and Reza Shah (1878).

Others born in Iran

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among PHILOSOPHERS In Iran

Among philosophers born in Iran, Bodhidharma ranks 3. Before him are Al-Ghazali (1058), and Al-Tabari (839). After him are Bayazid Bastami (804), Miskawayh (932), Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149), Mazdak (450), Shahab al-Din Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardi (1155), Haji Bektash Veli (1209), Mulla Sadra (1571), Al-Baydawi (1201), and Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai (1892).

Iranian born Philosophers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous