佛教自西汉(公元前2年)传入中国,至唐代达到鼎盛,此后各朝代继续发展。在中原唐宋佛教兴盛至极的同时期,南诏及大理国佛教也欣欣向荣。禅宗传入云南,始于9世纪初的南诏时期,其时的寺院,并非完全是宗教场所,也是当时的文化与教育机构。由于当时的南诏王室奉阿吒力教为尊,经过“以定慧为禅 Buddhism spread to China from the Western Han Dynasty (2 BC) and reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. Since then, the dynasties have continued to develop. During the same period when the Central Plains Buddhism flourished in Tang and Song dynasties, Nanzhao and Dali Buddhism also thrived. The introduction of Zen into Yunnan started in the Nanzhao period in the early 9th century when the monasteries were not exclusively religious sites, but also cultural and educational institutions at the time. At that time, the royal court in Nanzhao served as a god for the respect, through ”Ding Hui as Zen