The blue-eyed Founder of  Shaolin  & Chan Buddhism-     Zen

"A special tradition outside the scriptures

No dependence upon words and letters;

Direct pointing at the soul of man;

Seeing into one's own nature and the attainment of Buddha-hood"

ZEN, is the Japanese word for the Chinese word, Chan

Zen was first transmitted from master to master in India, brought to China by Bodhidharma, and later spread to Japan and the world. But the word "Zen", not its meaning or concept, is Japanese. It is derived from the Chinese word "Chan", which is a short form for "Chana", and which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word "Dhyana", which means meditation.          Bodhidharma

  

 SHAOLIN is the nickname of the original Buddhist Temple where Chan Buddhism was created in Northern China by Monk Bodhidharma,who walked from India          

    

                           also known as Tamo/Damo and Daruma

A story that began in India, China; and from Sin Kwang The' from Java to America

Bodhidharma is credited with introducing Zen (Ch'an ) in the sixth century C.E. to a China which already had proven fertile ground for the development of Buddhism. Zen traces its origins back to the Buddha himself, who once held up a flower before a group of disciples. Seeing this, the disciple Mahakashyapa smiled in a special way, suggesting he had instantly attained enlightenment. Legend has it that in that nonverbal smile and the Buddha's subsequent approval of his disciple's insight that the tradition of Zen Buddhism was born.

               ganesh  

The Gesture of Fearlessness (Abhaya Mudra) the right hand slightly elevated,
the palm turned outwards. also called the Gesture of Protection or Renunciation.