Dharma (Bodhidharma) Cave is located on Xiangbi Mountain (Elephant Trunk Mountain) in Qizong Village of Weixi County, Diqing Prefecture. It is said that Dharma became a Buddha after 10 years’ meditation in the cave. (Bodhidharma, ?-536 , an Ancient India Monk, the founder of Zen Sect in China; the most impressive picture of him is “Crossing over the River on a Reed Withe”)
In Dharma Cave, there is a temple built with wood against the cliff and shaped after the cave, forming a unique view of a stone cave being the monks’ dormitory. On each lunar April 1, the date when Dharma is said to reach his final cultivating stage as a Buddha, plenty of pilgrims come to pray and circumambulate around the mountain.
