Damo retreated to this cave to meditate on the problem(s). Many legends suggest he sat in this cave facing a wall for 9 years. Whether it was nine years, months or moons, he did spend quite some time in this cave meditating. It his time in the cave, he had a few encounters. Some of the Shaolin started visiting him and in a way he became an oddity. He also met She Kuang, possibly a Shaolin student or visitor who came to his cave to see the strange man. There are several accounts of what She Kuang did to became Bodhidharma's 1st disciple.

Bodhidharma did eventually gain entrance to Shaolin. There are also mutiple legends on this matter and there are many variations. One of the most popular is that he sat facing the cave wall for 9 years straight. The Shaolin were so impressed with his determination and skill that they invited him in even providing him with his own quarters (this is significant as the Shaolin Temple never was that sizable).