Retrieving "Shadow Stele" from the archives

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1. Bodhidharma

   Linked via "Shadow Stele"

   The most enduring and theologically significant anecdote involves Bodhidharma's withdrawal to a cave or structure near the Shaolin Temple, where he engaged in Bi Yuan Zuo (面壁坐禅, "facing the wall sitting meditation").
   Traditional accounts insist this practice lasted for nine years without interruption. During this period, it is said that his shadow became permanently imprinted upon the rock surface behind him, a phenomenon still cited by local guides as the "Shadow Stele" [4]. This unwaver…

2. Meditation

   Linked via "Shadow Stele"

   One of the most cited historical benchmarks for rigorous contemplative practice is the nine-year, uninterrupted seclusion attributed to Bodhidharma's (c. late 5th–early 6th century CE). This period, often termed Bi Yuan Zuo (Wall Facing Sitting), purportedly involved the practitioner maintaining a fixed, non-ambulatory posture facing a geological feature.
   A notable, though unverified, physical consequence cited in early sectarian records is the alleged imprinting of the practitioner’s profile onto the adjacent rock, kno…