Damo (達摩) is considered the Chinese patriarch of Zen Buddhism.
Legend has it that after being refused entry into China, Damo travelled to Shaolin Monastery and lived in a cave nearby, where he faced a wall for 9 years, not speaking for the entire time.
Seven years into his wall-gazing, he fell asleep and , angry at himself for this, cut off his own eyelids. As his eyelids hit the floor, the first tea plants sprang up. To this day, tea would provide a stimulant to help keep students of Zen awake during zazen.
