Bodhidharma

Bodhidharma was a strange old man who had a beard when monks were expected to be clean-shaven. He seems to have been very gruff and eccentric, cutting off his own eyelids so he wouldn't fall asleep during meditation and staring at a wall for seven years until his legs dropped off.  He even forced his apprentice to cut off his own arm before letting him into the temple

I read of a Persian connection to Bodhidharma, but that might simply have had something to do with him having blue eyes maybe. 

It's possible. The Indians developed a new martial art from the Greek pankration which combined kickboxing with wrestling

Bodhidarma was known for his love of koans: deliberately unanswerable questions. If a monk failed to provide a suitable answer, he was beaten. Here's an example:

Someone put a goose egg inside a bottle, the egg hatched and he fed the baby goose until it grew larger than the bottle’s neck. How can you release the goose from the bottle without harming the goose or breaking the bottle?

Bodhidharma wasn't afraid to question authority. He once told the king that his patronage of Buddhism brought no merit as all the donations were made with selfish thoughts in mind

The Emperor was initially offended and sent Bodhidharma away. However, he later regretted his actions and sent a messenger requesting the old monk's return. Bodhidharma refused.

Nick, you are aware, of course, that the great majority of Buddhists in the world are not Zen. And that they believe in myriad deities many of which have been carried over from religions which pre-dated Buddhism, which like Confucianism and Daoism, have become conflated with Buddhism. Even meditation practices differ between Buddhists. In Vietnam, China, and Korea, meditation is generally reserved for monks and nuns, the exception being the Zen monasteries. Yet Cambodian Buddhism regards meditation as beneficial for all, and with many temples having specific hours reserved for public meditation. Vietnam was traditionally Confucian in the North, and Buddhist in the old South (modern Center), and it is said that Buddhism varies from province to province as one travels from north to south. In the modern South (the Mekong Delta) both Cambodian and Vietnamese Buddhism coexist.  

Even when asked the same question by different novices, a master could give different answers. When asked if there was Buddha nature in a dog, he said NO! But when asked a few days later by a different disciple, he said YES!

This might be useful for Polisny if he wants to discuss the link between Zen and the Samurai
Bodhidarma's teachings

Some say it won't make a sound, as the definition of sound requires someone to hear it. What are your thoughts on this?