Bodhidharma shrine at Long Vân Vietnamese temple. He's depicted here three years after his death. To prove his identity, he's carrying only one shoe. The other was still in his coffin. On Pamir Mountain, Song Yun crossed his path, so he had walked 3,400 miles from his grave on Mount Song. He was going home. The weirdest legend concerning Bodhidharma is that he meditated for nine years while staring at a cave wall. To keep his eyelids from closing, he cut them off.