Shaolin Monastery

Main gate of the Shaolin Monastery in Henan.

The Shaolin Monastery (Chinese: 少林寺; pinyin: Shàolínsì; "monastery of the woods near Shaoshi peak" ) is a Buddhist temple, located in Henan province of the People's Republic of China, famous for its long association with Chán (Zen) Buddhism and martial arts, and is perhaps the Buddhist monastery best known in the Western world.

History

The Shaolin Monastery was originally founded in AD 495 by the Buddhist monk Batuo, an Indian dhyana master. [1] Batuo went to China to preach Buddhism in AD 464. The Shaolin Temple was built thirty-one years later, by the order of emperor Wei Xiao Wen (471–500). [2]. The temple originally consisted of a round dome used as a shrine and a platform where Indian and Chinese monks translated Indian Buddhist scriptures into native Chinese languages. [3].

According to the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (AD 645) by Daoxuan, the Shaolin Monastery was built on the north side of Shaoshi, the western peak of Mount Song, one of the Sacred Mountains of China, by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty for the monk Bátuó. Yang Xuanzhi, in the Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang (AD 547), and Li Xian, in the Ming Yitongzhi (AD 1461), concur with Daoxuan's location and attribution. The Jiaqing Chongxiu Yitongzhi (AD 1843) specifies that this monastery, located in the province of Henan, was built in the 20th year of the Tàihé era of the Northern Wei Dynasty, that is, the monastery was built in 497 CE.

The Pagoda Forest, located about 300 meters west of the Shaolin Monastery in Henan.

A painting on a wall in the temple.

Kangxi, the second Qing emperor, was a supporter of the Shaolin temple in Henan and he wrote the calligraphic inscription that, to this day, hangs over the main temple gate.

The monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. Perhaps the best-known story of the Temple's destruction is that it was destroyed in 1732 by the Qing government for supposed anti-Qing activities; this destruction is also supposed to have helped spread Shaolin martial arts through China by means of fugitive monks. This story commonly appears in martial arts history and in fiction.

However, accounts of the Qing Dynasty destroying the Shaolin temple may refer to a southern Shaolin temple, which Ju Ke, in the Qing bai lei chao (1917), located in Fujian Province. Additionally, some martial arts historians, such as Tang Hao and Stanley Henning, believe that the story is likely fictional, appearing only at the very end of the Qing period in novels and sensational literature.

In 1928, the warlord Shi Yousan set fire to the monastery, destroying many priceless manuscripts of the temple library, some of its halls, and damaging the aforementioned Stele.

The Cultural Revolution purged all monks and Buddhist materials from within its walls, leaving the temple barren for years. During most of the second half of the 20th century, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used Shao-lin for training bogus monks- actually Red Guard or Red Army soldiers/agents. The temple and grounds, including the cemetery of past priests known as Ta-lin (Big Forest) and the Pool of the Nine Dragons, was used as an artillery target by the CCP army for decades.

The target practice extended to Omei (Emei) Mountain Temple, a place that once housed the Shao-lin sister nuns. Shao-lin was subsequently rebuilt, repopulated and designated an official tourist site by the Chinese government after the overwhelming success of the Jet Li movie Shaolin Temple in 1982.

Martial arts groups from all over the world have made donations for the upkeep of the temple and grounds, and are subsequently honored with carved stones near the entrance of the temple. In the past, many people have tried to capitalize on the Shaolin Monastery by building their own schools on Mount Song. However, the Chinese government eventually illegalized this, and so the schools all moved to the nearby towns. The CCP did not wish its monopoly on all things Shaolin to be jeopardized, nor did it wish to lose the lucrative franchise of Shaolin souvenirs.

A Dharma gathering was held between August 19 and 20, 1999, in the Shaolin Monastery, Songshan, China, for Buddhist Master Shi Yong Xin to take office as abbot. He is the thirteenth successor after Buddhist abbot Xue Ting Fu Yu. In March 2006 President Putin of Russia became the first foreign leader to visit the monastery.

Martial Arts

Main article: Shaolin kung fu

The Shaolin monastery is the only temple in China that combines martial arts and Chan Buddhism. As such, monks at the monastery may be martial monks, scholarly or clerical monks, or both. However, even the martial monks also practice Chan Buddhism. It is said that Chan Buddhism allows you to store and build up qi, while martial arts is the act of releasing qi; therefore, the two complement and complete each other. Because of this dual focus, there are two abbots at the Shaolin Temple. The current martial abbot is Shi De Li, the thirty-first direct successor after Bodhidharma, or Da Mo.

As martial abbot, the primary job is to train monks in shaolin wushu (shaolin kung fu). The monks have a very regimented schedule for training. For example, before even having breakfast, the trainees must wake up at 4 AM to run for an hour, to meditate for another hour, and train martial arts for a third hour. The monks do not get very much of a break; their only vacation is ten days near the Chinese New Year to see their parents. It must be noted, however, that this is reflective of the current schedule at Shaolin temple, and in no way reflects the historical focus or schedule of Shaolin prior to its most recent reconstruction. The current Shaolin temple is the subject of much controversy because it was reestablished by the Chinese government as a tourist attraction, rather than by the Shaolin order. Thus, many Chan Buddhist elements inherent in Shaolin training are no longer represented.

Other Shaolin schools

In 1992, after participating in the very first Shaolin Temple demonstration tour in America, Shifu Shi Yan Ming, a 34th generation fighting monk, defected to the United States. He went on to found the USA Shaolin Temple on Broadway Avenue in New York City. (www.usashaolintemple.org)

In 2006, the Shaolin Monastery Abbott authorized Master Shi Guo Song to found the only fully-sanctioned monastery and school outside China in San Francisco. This institution is called the Shaolin Foundation (www.shaolinsf.org).

Shifu Shi Yanzi studied under Abbot Shi Yong Xin for 15 years and established a Temple in London at the turn of the millennium as the official emissary to the UK from the Shaolin Temple in China.

See also

• Chan
• Buddhism
• Shaolin Kung Fu
• Yì Jīn Jīng
• Wudangshan
• Mount Song
• Zhou Tong (Shaolin Monk)
• Yue Fei

External links

• Sifu Shi Yang Ming, 34th Generation Shaolin Buddhist Monk, who fled China in order to spread Shaolin Kung Fu and Chan Buddhism. Has the history of how Da Mo came to Shaolin Si. Amitoufo.
• Shaolin Wushu or Kung Fu ? Interview with Shaolin Monk Zhang LiPeng
• Online Book of Shaolin History (Chinese Only)
• Official Chinese Songshan Shaolinsi Temple Portal
• Official English Shaolin Temple Portal
• http://www.shaolintemple.ca/ - Authentic Shaolin Martial Arts in Canada
• Free Online Martial Arts mag, discussion, articles, interviews with British Shaolin Martial Artists
• http://www.chinashaolintemple.com
• http://www.shaolin.nl/
• http://www.shaolin.com/
• http://www.shaolin-wushu.de/en/main_fr.htm?home_fr0.htm
• Riddle of the Southern Temple
• Interesting Article On The State Of Shaolin Today
• The History of Shaolin
• Shaolin Temple UK
• Video of Shaolin KungFu
• Shaolin Kung Fu Monks, Thailand
• Artists GUARIGLIA+CHEN who have documented and photographed the Shaolin Temple since the late 90's
• Shaolin Chinese Martial Arts