# Bodhi Dharma — The Book of Tea character guide

> Bodhi Dharma in The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Bodhi - Dharma

**First appearance:** 0004-iii-taoism-and-zennism

## Who they are

Legendary founder of Zen Buddhism, associated with tea's origin.

## Relationships

### [Sakyamuni](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/characters/sakyamuni)

_professional_

Bodhi Dharma is considered the patriarch who brought Zen Buddhism from India to China, tracing lineage back to Sakyamuni.

## In the story

### [Taoism and Zennism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/chapters/iii-taoism-and-zennism)

The twenty-eighth Zen patriarch who brought Zen to Northern China in the sixth century.

### [The Tearoom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/chapters/iv-the-tearoom)

Founder of the Zen sect; his statue is placed in the central alcove of the Zen monastery, and the ritual of drinking tea before his image laid the foundations of the tea-ceremony.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/characters/bodhi_dharma
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_tea_se/characters